Morning Headlines

Gold royalty rise to cost 3,000 jobs: lobby

Almost 3000 jobs would disappear if the West Australian Labor government implemented its controversial plan to increase gold mining royalties, according to economic modelling by a resources industry lobby group. The Aus

‘Don’t drag banks into GST battle’

The banking industry has warned the McGowan Government against imposing a special levy on the sector to cover the Budget problems caused by the State’s poor GST share. The West

Report sells congestion levy for city

Perth should consider increasing parking fees and the State Government look at charging motorists who drive into the city centre to avoid the traffic jams facing the east coast, a report to be released today has found. The West

China moves to put a price on carbon

China will launch a national emissions trading scheme (ETS) by the end of the year, joining major regional economies India and South Korea in putting a price on carbon and placing further long-term pressure on Australian coal exports. The Fin

CBA’s management exodus continues

Upheaval in Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s senior management ranks continues, with the chief executive of its New Zealand subsidiary, Barbara Chapman, announcing she will retire at Easter next year. The Fin

Mitre 10 accused of hacking rival’s website

Simmering tensions between two of Australia’s largest hardware groups have erupted after a Mitre 10 employee allegedly took confidential supplier information from the website of archrival Natbuild. The Fin

Libs left to defuse Baird’s timebombs

As Mike Baird moved to push his council amalgamations agenda through cabinet, he had a blunt message for his ministers. The Aus

Westfield wrestles with retail revolution

Department stores are “clearly in decline globally” with shopping centre giant Westfield continuing to buy back stores and reinvent the space, according to co-chief executive Steven Lowy. The Aus

Rinehart’s Kidman beef aim

Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart is planning to launch a Kidman-branded beef range. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Australia will bolster its ballistic missile defence against North Korea and other rogue nations by equipping the navy’s new fleet of frigates to shoot down warheads from the sky.

China will launch a national emissions trading scheme (ETS) by the end of the year, joining major regional economies India and South Korea in putting a price on carbon and placing further long-term pressure on Australian coal exports.

P4: NSW country electricity network has been accused of hypocrisy after it told the state government it could keep prices low for its consumers with ‘‘minimal impact’’ on its business even as it pushes in the courts for a 25 per cent price hike.

P5: House prices in Sydney fell 0.1 per cent over September, the first fall since late 2015, when the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority imposed a 10 per cent growth limit for investor loans.

P6: More than half of Liberal voters support the Turnbull government delivering a Clean Energy Target to end uncertainty over climate policy and drive investment in the energy sector, according to new polling.

P9: Upheaval in Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s senior management ranks continues, with the chief executive of its New Zealand subsidiary, Barbara Chapman, announcing she will retire at Easter next year.

The government’s ‘‘open banking’’ regime, which will create a framework for customers to share data held by their bank with competitors, should be established quickly to avoid incumbents and start-ups losing revenue to global digital giants like Google and Apple, and Australian tax revenue and skilled labour being lost abroad.

P11: Simmering tensions between two of Australia’s largest hardware groups have erupted after a Mitre 10 employee allegedly took confidential supplier information from the website of archrival Natbuild.

Kerry Stokes’ Seven Group Holdings enjoyed an instant $35 million-plus windfall yesterday after shares in Beach Energy rose to a year high as investors piled into an equity raising to help fund the $1.6 billion acquisition of Lattice Energy, which will transform the size and breadth of its portfolio.

The chief executive of Australia’s largest listed gold producer, Newcrest Mining, will meet with West Australian politicians this week to raise concerns about the state’s proposed gold royalty rate increase, as lobby group Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA claimed the hike could cost up to 3000 jobs.

The Australian

Page 1: At least 50 people are dead and more than 200 injured in America’s deadliest mass shooting after a gunman on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel opened fire on a crowd at an open-air country music concert.

As Mike Baird moved to push his council amalgamations agenda through cabinet, he had a blunt message for his ministers.

P4: Pauline Hanson is targeting 20 seats at the looming Queensland election in a strategy to secure the balance of power for One Nation.

A Chinese company that invested $300 million doubling the size of the Ord Valley farming district in the far north of Western Australia has been slammed by the state government for breaking promises and failing to meet commitments.

P5: The star academic poached to head the Australian Catholic University’s flagship health research centre has resigned amid controversy that resulted in several internal investigations and involved the Archbishop of Melbourne.

P6: Almost 3000 jobs would disappear if the West Australian Labor government implemented its controversial plan to increase goldmining royalties, according to economic modelling by a resources industry lobby group.

P7: Toyota “definitely” would still be building cars in Australia if one of the other manufacturers had stayed and had been planning an extra model to keep its factory busy, according to the man at the helm for more than two decades, John Conomos.
P17: Department stores are “clearly in decline globally” with shopping centre giant Westfield continuing to buy back stores and reinvent the space, according to co-chief executive Steven Lowy.

The nation’s top company directors have demanded immediate bipartisan policy certainty to allow Australia’s stretched energy sector to invest in a range of technologies, to maintain retail and business supplies for the coming decades.

The West Australian

Page 1: WA Police will be given increased powers to shoot to kill suspected terrorists if they believe a pre-emptive strike would help minimise the risk of harm to hostages and other innocent members of the community.

P4: Spy allegations engulfing the McGowan Government were making some Cabinet members sick to their stomachs and the issue needed to be resolved quickly, Labor ministers said yesterday.

The banking industry has warned the McGowan Government against imposing a special levy on the sector to cover the Budget problems caused by the State’s poor GST share.

P5: Perth should consider increasing parking fees and the State Government look at charging motorists who drive into the city centre to avoid the traffic jams facing the east coast, a report to be released today has found.

P16: Sydney may have outpriced itself for savvy homeowners as figures suggest the Perth property market has stabilised.

P18: West Australians have donated more than $15 million to friends and strangers on the social fundraising platform GoFundMe, with the amount pledged doubling in the past year.

P40: Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart is planning to launch a Kidman-branded beef range.

The West Pilbara gold rush story, which draws breath from a theory the area was once connected to South Africa’s famed Witwatersrand deposits, gathered momentum yesterday when Canada’s Kirkland Lake Gold invested $5 million in De Grey Mining, sending the WA company’s shares to new highs.

P41: Perth-based national stockbroking and advisory firm Patersons Securities has emerged from some of its toughest years with a return to profit and a leaner business it sees as better placed to meet the changing financial services industry.

WA shipbuilder Austal has won an $18 million contract to sustain the navy’s Cape-class patrol boats for the next three years.