Morning Headlines

Tax hike widens split over Kalgoorlie Super-Pit value

A tax hike in Western Australia stands to lower the value of a massive gold deposit and further drive apart its owners: the world’s biggest producers of the metal who have spent the last two years debating what the mine is worth. The Fin

Cops lose fight

WA police officers were forced to call off extreme industrial action last night within hours of it being launched after Commissioner Chris Dawson invoked special powers to protect public safety. The West

China ore splurge near: BHP

China’s “belt and road” infrastructure program — already seven times bigger than the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Western Europe after World War II — will significantly boost iron ore demand, a BHP analysis has found. The West

Stevens in new role at hedge fund investor

Perth-based hedge fund investor NWQ has signed up former Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens as it ramps up efforts to attract offshore investors to the Australian hedge fund scene. The Fin

Gas ‘train wreck before our eyes’

The nation’s biggest manufacturers have called for urgent gas market intervention to divert east coast exports to domestic users to ease the impact of what they say is a train wreck that has been years in the making. The Aus

Judges grill unions on penalty rate challenge

The judges of the Full Federal Court have warned unions their urgent attempt to stop cuts to weekend and public holiday rates may come back to bite them by also preventing the Fair Work Commission from protecting lower paid workers. The Fin

Taxes flow faster to trim deficit

Tax revenue is coming in faster than Treasury’s forecasts for the first time since the end of the global financial crisis as an improved economy has helped the Turnbull government trim the 2016-17 deficit by $4.4 billion. The Aus

Palmer ‘paid for fugitive nephew’s travel’

Clive Palmer paid for his fugitive nephew Clive Mensink’s trips to the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Amsterdam and Ireland as he dodged court orders to return to Australia, his personal assistant revealed yesterday. The Aus

Investa tests CBD resilience with 25pc top-tier QV1 sale

Investa Commercial Property Fund has put a 25 per cent stake in Perth’s premium-grade QV1 office tower on the market, a significant test of the appetite for high-quality, well-leased Perth office assets. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Queensland’s $80 billion LNG industry is set to tell Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that all the gas needed to avoid the identified shortfall for 2018 is available for sale but buyers need to sign up to contracts rather than hang back hoping for cheaper prices.

Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce has vented his frustration at BHP in the belief it allowed itself to be hijacked by anti-coal activism which forced the resignation of Brendan Pearson as chief of the Minerals Council of Australia.

P3: One of Sydney’s most prominent chambers of barristers – Blackstone Chambers, which was once headed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s father-in-law Tom Hughes, QC – is folding after failing to renew the lease for its premium office space towards the top of the MLC Centre in Martin Place.

P5: Labor will try to up the ante over economic engagement with Asia with the announcement later this week of a new strategy to substantially deepen economic, political and cultural ties with the region.

P9: The Seven Network is under pressure to change the way it handles workplace investigations and sexual harassment claims following fresh criticism over its dismissal of a young female cadet who complained about an older male colleague.

The judges of the Full Federal Court have warned unions their urgent attempt to stop cuts to weekend and public holiday rates may come back to bite them by also preventing the Fair Work Commission from protecting lower paid workers.

P13: Tatts Group will have to delay its shareholder vote on its $11 billion merger proposal with Tabcorp as a result of fresh hearings into the deal that will blow the timetable of the transaction out to more than 12 months after it was first announced.

Solomon Lew’s attack on Myer appears to have backfired by drawing attention to the difficulties facing apparel retailers amid changing shopping habits and increasing competition from global brands.

P17: Perth-based hedge fund investor NWQ has signed up former Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens as it ramps up efforts to attract offshore investors to the Australian hedge fund scene.

The Australian

Page 1: The maths, reading and science skills of average Australian students are barely on par with Singapore’s most disadvantaged teenagers and risk undermining Australia’s economic prosperity, warns the man responsible for the gold standard in international tests.

Tax revenue is coming in faster than Treasury’s forecasts for the first time since the end of the global financial crisis as an improved economy has helped the Turnbull government trim the 2016-17 deficit by $4.4 billion.

Clive Palmer paid for his fugitive nephew Clive Mensink’s trips to the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Amsterdam and Ireland as he dodged court orders to return to Australia, his personal assistant revealed yesterday.

P4: Australia has been ranked 21st among 137 countries on the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index and is being held back by an inflexible labour market, high tax rates and excessive red tape.

P5: Australia would have a considerable housing shortfall if young people moved out and formed new households at the same pace as they did in the past, according to research from ANZ.

P6: One Nation has emerged as a new obstacle to developing vast gas reserves in western Queensland that the Turnbull government hopes can help ease the nation’s exposure to serious gas shortages and price hikes for domestic users.

P7: The Seven Network has hit back at claims it mishandled a sexual harassment complaint by a cadet reporter.

P17: The nation’s biggest manufacturers have called for urgent gas market intervention to divert east coast exports to domestic users to ease the impact of what they say is a train wreck that has been years in the making.

P20: Rio Tinto finance director Chris Lynch says the decision to step down from the Anglo-Australian mining giant was a personal one, made with the company in good shape to return cash to shareholders after four years of harddriving cost gains and balance sheet repair.

The West Australian

Page 1: WA police officers were forced to call off extreme industrial action last night within hours of it being launched after Commissioner Chris Dawson invoked special powers to protect public safety.

P4: A split is emerging within WA Labor over how many women should be chosen to run for winnable seats at the next Federal election.

Hannah Beazley, daughter of former Federal Labor leader Kim Beazley, has put her hand up to run at the next Federal election, eyeing the Liberal seat of Swan once held by her father.

P5: WA households could be hit with flat electricity price increases of more than 15 per cent over the next three years as the State Government shores up power provider Synergy’s financial position.

P6: The Australian Securities Exchange has demanded a retraction from WA’s peak mining industry lobby group over a statement which compared the State Government to an African nation.

P14: It may surprise those who question local motorists’ ability to merge, but Perth has been ranked among the top cities in the world in which to drive.

P16: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been delivered a pleasant Budget surprise, with the nation’s finances improving on the back of stronger corporate tax collections and lower welfare spending that could bring forward when the country finally returns to surplus.

P33: China’s “belt and road” infrastructure program — already seven times bigger than the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Western Europe after World War II — will significantly boost iron ore demand, a BHP analysis has found.

P63: The company behind the Australian stock exchange believes it has found the global “sweet spot” for attracting companies to list on the local market.

It’s been flagged for some time now and the seemingly inevitable consolidation of superannuation funds appears to be finally happening, with Perthbased funds Concept One and WA Super yesterday announcing their intention to merge.

P64: Chevron’s Gorgon project has been producing LNG from all three trains since February, but one task remains: to start injecting carbon dioxide underground. Without the $2 billion CO2 injection effort, Gorgon can emit more CO2 than all of Collie’s coal-fired power stations.

P65: Investa Commercial Property Fund has put a 25 per cent stake in Perth’s premium-grade QV1 office tower on the market, a significant test of the appetite for high-quality, well-leased Perth office assets.

P67: The straight-talking Sentinel Property Group managing director Warren Ebert has $300 million-plus burning a hole in his back pocket — with a hefty proportion earmarked for Perth.