Wealthy in Swan's sights on super – The Aus; Union ire rises over floating LNG plan – The West; Browse leeway for Woodside – The Fin; Premier to campaign on state of economic growth – The Aus; China to ease grip on interest rates – The Fin
Wealthy in Swan's sights on super
Labor is searching for new ways to cut superannuation tax breaks worth $32 billion after yesterday ruling out one of three main reform options amid growing government support for higher taxes on wealthier savers. The Aus
Union ire rises over floating LNG plan
Unions have widened their campaign against Shell's plans for more floating LNG projects in Australia, saying the move would cost jobs and the federal government should slug petroleum giants higher royalties to discourage the massive offshore vessels. The West
Browse leeway for Woodside
Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has rejected calls from West Australian Premier Colin Barnett for an early decision on Woodside Petroleum's $40 billion Browse liquefied natural gas venture and left the door open on a potential move by the partners to switch the project to a floating plant. The Fin
Premier to campaign on state of economic growth
West Australian Premier Colin Barnetthas cast the state election as a referendum on who can be trusted to manage the economy at a crucial juncture in relations with Asia, while reminding voters the last time Labor was in power its ministers ‘‘embarrassed and discredited’’ the state in marathon corruption hearings. The Aus
China to ease grip on interest rates
China's new leaders have taken their first step towards transforming the world's second-largest economy by sketching out a plan to raise incomes, drive consumption and reduce social unrest by loosening interest rate restrictions. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: The credibility of Peel Health Campus whistleblower Ashton Foley has taken another hit with evidence she was arrested in a second US county on a charge of bigamy.
Page 3: Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, will be featured in a six-hour miniseries by the makers of popular TV dramas Cloudstreet, the Underbelly franchise and Brothers in Arms.
Page 4: The outdoor films have been running for 2 ½ months and the first exhibition opened last week but the Perth International Arts Festival is about to unleash all the forces at its disposal at the weekend.
Page 9: More than 700 newly qualified teachers who applied to work in public schools have been left without jobs at the start of the school year.
Page 11: Premier Colin Barnett urged voters to stick with his “respected, responsible and decisive” government yesterday as he promised to deliver the nation's toughest penalties for serious home invasions if re-elected on March 9.
Page 14: Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has denied he is delaying a decision on Woodside's controversial James Price Point gas hub until after the state election to avoid hurting Mark McGowan's campaign.
Business: Unions have widened their campaign against Shell's plans for more floating LNG projects in Australia, saying the move would cost jobs and the federal government should slug petroleum giants higher royalties to discourage the massive offshore vessels.
The WA wine industry is taking a glass half-full view of its future despite the findings of an international study which predicts a big fall in Australian production over the next five years.
Rupert Murdoch's News Limited has asked the competition watchdog for a private ruling on whether a sale of its Sunday Times newspaper to Seven West Media would breach competition laws.
The Indian-owned Collie miner Griffin Coal has hit trouble again, with its mining boss resigning abruptly amid a wider review that could see 30 per cent of its workforce axed.
Gold Fields boss Nick Holland has rejected suggestions Australia is an impossibly high-cost mining destination, saying the company's local operations have become the lowest cost mines in its portfolio.
Perth-listed carbon farming company C02 says it is on target to begin selling carbon credits in July after receiving a green light from an industry body set up by the federal government.
Debt levels are taking a toll on John Nicoletti's grain growing empire, with the high-profile farmer putting one of his most valuable properties up for sale.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has ruled out taxing withdrawals on superannuation for people aged over 60, narrowing changes the government can make to the super system to pay for big spending promises.
China's new leaders have taken their first step towards transforming the world's second-largest economy by sketching out a plan to raise incomes, drive consumption and reduce social unrest by loosening interest rate restrictions.
Page 3: Veteran investment banker and company director Peter Hunt has broken ranks with the main business lobby and called for legally enforceable quotas for women on company boards.
Page 5: Embattled independent federal MP Craig Thomson will face a committal hearing in May on 154 fraud charges stemming from his time as national secretary of the Health Services Union.
Page 6: Hiring foreign workers is a lazy option and companies should invest more in training and apprenticeships, the major union body says.
Page 7: Treasurer Wayne Swan has come under fire for claiming that Labor is Australia's lowest spending government in three decades.
The true extent of the revenue collected by the mining tax is closer to being revealed, after the Senate gave the Tax Office just over a week to reveal the figure.
Page 8: Employers, job advertisers and employment consultants could face fines of up to $51,000 as part of a blitz on exploitative unpaid internships, despite the law being unclear.
Page 10: Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Bob Gregory and China expert Ross Garnaut have predicted that interest rates will fall steeply but added that would not prevent a sharp slowing in economic growth and a decline in living standards in coming years.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce insists Tourism Australia's $44 million marketing deal with Qantas will not be renewed unless the tourism body sorts out an alleged conflict of interest associated with its chairman Geoff Dixon.
Page 11: Western Australia's opposing political parties are under pressure to find savings to fund election promises for the March 9 poll, as the distant threat of a ratings downgrade looms.
Page 14: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission failed to rein in Google and force it to change its advertising strategy when the High Court ruled the global search engine had not misled consumers.
Page 21: Telstra's rivals have united in a fresh protest against billions of dollars in taxpayer and industry-funded payments the company is scheduled to receive to supply essential fixed-line services for the next two decades.
Page 23: Australian coalminers have played down the competitive threat from US rivals targeting the Asian market, but admit there needs to be an improvement in the local coal sector's overall cost competitiveness.
Page 24: Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has rejected calls from West Australian Premier Colin Barnett for an early decision on Woodside Petroleum's $40 billion Browse liquefied natural gas venture and left the door open on a potential move by the partners to switch the project to a floating plant.
Mining consumables and steel maker Arrium has taken a $474 million write-off on its steel manufacturing and distribution assets, as the strong Australian dollar and tough steel market conditions show no sign of letting up pressure on the business.
THE AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Labor is searching for new ways to cut superannuation tax breaks worth $32 billion after yesterday ruling out one of three main reform options amid growing government support for higher taxes on wealthier savers.
Tens of thousands of jobs would be shifted to the Top End and the nation split into different economic zones, under a Coalition plan for the development of the country’s north.
Page 2: Australians have been warned to brace for economic shock, rising unemployment and falling incomes as China puts the brakes on its industrial boom.
Farmers are more worried about the increasing influence of green groups and the foreign ownership of land than they are about coal-seam gas mining, the surprise results of new polling find.
Retailers are experiencing their worst run since the GST was introduced 12 years ago, with poor Christmas sales making the third consecutive month of falling turnover.
Page 4: Tens of thousands of jobs would be shifted to the top end and Australia would be split into different economic zones, under a sweeping draft Coalition plan for the development of the country’s north.
Page 6: Foreign Minister Bob Carr is waging a major diplomatic campaign to convince the European Union to permanently lift its sanctions on Myanmar.
The gap between the number of Australians departing for the beaches of Bali or the shopping malls of Singapore and visitors arriving from abroad exploded last year, according to new federal government data.
Page 8: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has cast the state election as a referendum on who can be trusted to manage the economy at a crucial juncture in relations with Asia, while reminding voters the last time Labor was in power its ministers ‘‘embarrassed and discredited’’ the state in marathon corruption hearings.
Business: Arrium is to take an asset impairment hit of $474 million on its steel division, highlighting the continuing pressure on the local manufacturing sector from the strong dollar and weak building and construction markets.
Australian businesses need to get used to living with a strong dollar, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce warned yesterday.
Retail stocks surged yesterday despite weaker-than-expected sales figures as investors looked beyond the immediate woes of the sector and focused on the increased likelihood of further cuts in official interest rates.
Gina Rinehart’s strategy of investing in early-stage coal projects in Queensland appears increasingly likely to lead to further riches for the billionaire after her listed joint venture partner, International Coal, yesterday revealed a surprisingly high-quality discovery near Bundaberg.
The consumer watchdog is expected to raise issues about Virgin Australia’s proposal to take a 60 per cent stake in Tiger Airways Australia when it rules on the deal today.
BHPBilliton has slated its high-cost Gregory-Crinum coking coal mining operation near Emerald in central Queensland for possible sale as part of its renewed focus on cost-cutting in response to lower commodity prices and the strong dollar.
Online account savers may face a slide in rates as the improvement in wholesale funding markets forces the banks to shift their focus to deposit products to recoup the cost of new regulation.
Telstra's booming mobiles business is expected to show no signs of a slowdown when the company reveals its half-year results today.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Page 1: Craig Thomson faces a court room full of journalists in Melbourne. Police are worried Asian match fixing rings are grooming Australian sports stars to aid a plan to infiltrate local competitions, with intelligence showing an increase in Asian betting on Australian sports. The Labor government is considering increasing tax on superannuation for the top one per cent of earners.
Page 2: Eddie Obeid's son Paul has revealed the family negotiated a stake in the company interested in the mine under the Obeid home months before the government said it would release the site to miners.
Page 3: Environment minister Tony Burke has written to NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell requesting the NSW government reconsider coal seam gas exploration licenses in Western Sydney.
World: The British parliament has voted to support gay marriage following a debate involving 70 MPs.
Business: China is planning to invest more heavily in energy conservation and move away from coal-driven industry.
Sport: NRL clubs are likely to face probing about the use of supplements, following an investigation into their use at AFL club, Essendon.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Page 1: Tony Abbott is considering splitting the country into different personal tax zones at the Tropic of Capricorn and using tax incentives to create an economic powerhouse and food bowl in the north.
Page 2: Six members of Surf Life Saving Australia's fundraising board have quit, amid pressure for chief executive Brett Williamson to resign.
Page 3: TV star Chrissie Swan has come under fire for admitting she has been smoking while heavily pregnant.
World: British MPs have voted in favour of a bill that would allow same sex marriage.
Business: The Aussie dollar has fallen to its lowest point in four months after retail figures showed the worst December sales result in more than 10 years.
Sport: NRL officials say they believe at least one NRL club was given the same supplements as AFL club Essendon.
THE AGE
Page 1: Essendon was supplied potentially illegal supplements by a convicted drug trafficker who calls himself Dr Ageless. Australia's sporting competitions may be being targeted by international matchfixing syndicates, say police.
Page 2: A group of prominent Australians urge the federal and state governments to to put aside partisan interests and act on the Gonski recommendations on school funding.
Page 3: County Court staff suspended for approaching a juror which led to Victoria's highest court ordering a retrial. Call for Ombudsman to investigate decision by outgoing building industry commissioner Michael Kefford to award a $10 million contract to a company part-owned by a friend. Independent MP Craig Thomson in court on 154 charges including misusing his union card to pay for sex.
World: Chinese warships take aim at Japanese military targets in what Japanese government says could lead to unforeseen consequences.
Business: China to cut down on coal consumption in shift towards towards energy conservation.
Sport: Federal police warned AFL clubs increasing prevalence of peptides and human growth hormone-like substances.
THE HERALD SUN
Page 1: Essendon's former performance scientist Stephen Dank says players received "clean injections".
Page 2: OPI report claimed the Ombudsmen's office tipped off then deputy police commissioner Sir Ken Jones that he was an OPI target.
Page 3: New energy charges could mean people will pay $477 before even flicking on a switch. On the fourth anniversary of Black Saturday, survivors Natasha and Trevor Campbell celebrate new life. Babies could be tested for their risk of autism and mental illness with a blood test before birth.
World: World powers and Iran meet on Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
Finance: Australian dollar weakens as retailers report their worst December sales in more than a decade.
Sport: Some Essendon players forced to accept injections against their will as drug scandal widens.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER
Page 1: Householders can expect average water bills to increase by up to $30 a year when the industry regulator announces new prices on Thursday.
Page 3: Tony Abbott will take to the election a radical plan to reshape Australia by splitting it into different personal tax zones and forcibly shifting tens of thousands of jobs to the nation's top end.
World: A powerful earthquake off the Solomon Islands generated a tsunami of up to 1.5m that damaged dozens of homes and likely killed several people in the South Pacific islands yesterday.
Business: Harris Scarfe will look at opening a new store in the northern suburbs later this year, following the March 26 opening of its flagship Rundle Mall site.
Sport: Some Essendon players were forced to continue taking injections against their will last season, despite voicing objections in the middle of the year.
