Morning Headlines

Iron ore miners in $65bn upswing

More than $65 billion has been added to the value of the nation’s iron ore miners this financial year — $2.3bn of it into Andrew Forrest’s share portfolio — as confidence grows in the strength of prices of Australia’s biggest export. The Aus

Skills slump

A looming WA skills shortage is feared with 7,000 fewer people starting training of apprenticeships in the year to June compared with the previous year. The West

Hockey readies spending cuts

Treasurer Joe Hockey has started preparing for a tough May budget by dumping a range of Labor tax initiatives, in a move that meets business demands for greater certainty and will further blow out the budget deficit in next month’s mid-year budget review. The Fin

Super changes to cost us $53bn

National savings will take a $53 billion hit from the Abbott government’s imminent changes to superannuation, according to research that heightens pressure on the Senate to veto plans to be introduced within weeks. The Aus

$500m vow for WA highways

The Abbott Government is promising to find $500 million extra for WA roads after committing yesterday to upgrades to the North West Coastal Highway and the Great Northern Highway. The West

Call to lift NBN out of the trenches

A Pioneer of the National Broadband Network, former Tasmanian Labor premier David Bartlett, has urged a national shift to roll out fibre by overhead cabling, as NBN Co confirmed the idea would be considered. The Aus

Barrick chases $20m payout from Apache

Five years after the Varanus Island gas explosion crippled WA’s industry, aggrieved customer Barrick Gold has taken its claim for damages and lost earnings to the Supreme Court. The West

Minority view holds fast on RBA rate cuts

Three of Australia’s most prominent economists are sticking to what is increasingly becoming a minority view; that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut official interest rates in 2014 despite the risk of overheating property. The Fin

 The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Treasurer Joe Hockey has started preparing for a tough May budget by dumping a range of Labor tax initiatives, in a move that meets business demands for greater certainty and will further blow out the budget deficit in next month’s mid-year budget review.

Page 3: Ten Network Holdings chief executive Hamish McLennan has defended the ratings of the No.3 commercial broadcaster’s new morning shows, saying “anyone who’s been in the business knows these shows need to build and that takes time.”

Former Victorian premier John Brumby, a director of Chinese telecommunication company Huawei says the federal government has never suggested there were problems with the global group’s business, which was banned last week for tendering for the work on the national broadband network.

Page 4: An influential group of chief executive officers from Australia’s biggest companies is upping the ante on the drive to advance women in business – putting pressure on suppliers to prove they have a commitment to diversity.

A new move by Australia’s top business lobby to encourage businesses to aim to have 50 per cent of senior roles held by women is a “one-size-fits-all approach” that needs adjusting for different types of companies, the chairwoman of the Women on Boards network Ruth Medd says.

Page 5: Liberal Mps believe Tony Abbott needs to rein in the Nationals and some rural Liberals as tempers begin to flare over the proposed takeover of GrainCorp by American agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland.

Page 7: Industry superannuation funds will mount a campaign to force the Abbott government to retain a super contributions rebate for low-income earners.

Page 14: Three of Australia’s most prominent economists are sticking to what is increasingly becoming a minority view; that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut official interest rates in 2014 despite the risk of overheating property.

Page 25: Commonwealth Bank of Australia is on track to break the $8 billion mark for profits in 2014 after its first quarter earnings surged 14 per cent amid lower bad debts and gains in the home loan market.

Page 40: Sydney-based hotel group Staywell Hospitality is targeting a number of Asian portfolio acquisitions and is in discussions to develop new hotels in Perth, Adelaide and Darwin as it seeks to build a 100-strong hotel chain and a near $500 million balance sheet within three years.

The Australian

Page 1: The building watchdog is investigating alleged attempts by construction unionists to intimidate a builder into flying the union flag and employing ‘‘non-working’’ union shop stewards, as employers demand the Coalition fast-track plans to wind back union access to projects.

A Pioneer of the National Broadband Network, former Tasmanian Labor premier David Bartlett, has urged a national shift to roll out fibre by overhead cabling, as NBN Co confirmed the idea would be considered.

Aggressive lobbying has sparked an angry declaration from Joe Hockey that he will not be bullied into a decision over the $3.4 billion sale of GrainCorp to US-owned giant Archer Daniels Midland.

Page 2: National savings will take a $53 billion hit from the Abbott government’s imminent changes to superannuation, according to research that heightens pressure on the Senate to veto plans to be introduced within weeks.

Page 4: The car industry is blaming continued confusion over the status of the fringe benefits tax compliance regime for a 3.1 per cent drop in motor vehicle sales in October.

The federal government has announced a major restructuring of the $420 million Farm Finance rescue package delivered by the Rudd government in the lead-up to the September federal election, by assigning more cheap loans to drought-stricken Queensland producers.

Page 6: Skilled migrants who are immediately taught and mentored on how to negotiate the Australian job market and workplace culture face dramatically higher chances of being employed in their chosen field.

Page 19: More than $65 billion has been added to the value of the nation’s iron ore miners this financial year — $2.3bn of it into Andrew Forrest’s share portfolio — as confidence grows in the strength of prices of Australia’s biggest export.

Former BHP Billiton petroleum chief Michael Yeager says even moderate gas prices on the east coast should generate ample supply for exports and domestic gas, raising hopes that a looming gas price surge will be short-lived.

Page 20: Downer EDI has warned its shareholders there is a high level of uncertainty in revenue for 2014 given the slowdown in construction work in the resources sector.

Page 21: Rupert Murdoch has cheered investors with bullish long-term market guidance for 21st Century Fox, predicting the newly created film and entertainment company will deliver $US9 billion of operating income by 2016.

Woolworths has tied up more than $2 billion in its hardware joint venture, which chief executive Grant O’Brien has said will not make a profit for another three years.

The West Australian

Page 1: A looming WA skills shortage is feared with 7,000 fewer people starting training of apprenticeships in the year to June compared with the previous year.

Page 3: The booth at Mt Helena has emerged as the most critical polling place in the WA senate farce, with more missing votes capable of affecting the result cast there than anywhere else.

Page 4: The Abbott Government is promising to find $500 million extra for WA roads after committing yesterday to upgrades to the North West Coastal Highway and the Great Northern Highway.

Page 7: WA farmers have declared war on Canberra after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce gave millions of dollars from the State’s debt crisis package to Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

WA could win back its AAA credit rating if Australians paid GST on their overseas purchases, former Victorian Premier John Brumby has suggested.

Page 11: Millions of dollars from a tax that is supposed to discourage landfill will be ripped from a WA environmental agency to prop up the State Government’s shaky finances, it has emerged.

Page 26: The Federal Government will increase Budget deficits by another $3.1 billion after ditching a raft of planned taxes backed by business and industry.

Business: St John of God hospital is buying Mercy Hospital in Mt Lawley in a move that will bring 14 Australian hospitals under the care of the $1 billion-a-year company.

Gold sales from the Perth Mint, which refines most of the bullion produced in Australia, rose last month as a drop in the precious metal’s price to a three-month low spurred demand and the mint filled a backlog of orders.

WA’s biggest private energy provider has called for a wholesale review of the State Government’s changing role in the electricity market, saying it was stifling reform and threatening valuable investment.

Five years after the Varanus Island gas explosion crippled WA’s industry, aggrieved customer Barrick Gold has taken its claim for damages and lost earnings to the Supreme Court.