Rates freeze threat for new councils
The State Government has warned it may freeze council rates immediately after amalgamations to ensure opportunistic local governments do not slug residents unfairly. The West
Fogarty’s $7.25m Cottesloe buy sets tongues wagging in Perth
Jon Fogarty, the controlling shareholder of a controversial healthcare company, was the successful bidder for a $7.25 million house that triggered speculation and gossip across Perth’s wealthy western suburbs. The Fin
Debt ceiling ultimatum
Treasurer Joe Hockey has threatened to cut spending even harder in the May budget if Labor and the Greens do not allow him to increase the debt ceiling from $300 billion to $500 billion. The Fin
Ausdrill directors stand by their man
The Ausdrill board has thrown its weight behind besieged managing director Ron Sayers despite him facing a potential retrial next year on a tax fraud charge related to his secret stake in another contractor. The West
Organisers, picketers face fines
Unions and employers risk heavy financial penalties if they seek to hinder investigations by the Abbott Coalition government’s new registered organisations commission. The Aus
Guns blazing in TV battle for west
Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner has fired another shot in the TV battle for the west, after Nine Entertainment Co broadcast the Melbourne Cup in Perth. The Fin
Bid to cut leader out of the mining loop
A former candidate for Clive Palmer’s political party says the newly elected federal MP should not be treated like a traditional owner of Aboriginal tribal land over a $7 billion iron-ore-processing project in the Pilbara. The Aus
Cruising boom a big benefit for WA ports
Fremantle is on track for one of its biggest cruise ship seasons in 40 years. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Treasurer Joe Hockey has threatened to cut spending even harder in the May budget if Labor and the Greens do not allow him to increase the debt ceiling from $300 billion to $500 billion.
Murray Goulburn’s sweetened $9 a share bid for Warnambool Cheese & Butter may be far higher than any other offer in the three-way fight for the Victorian dairy company. But in this remarkable $505 million takeover battle it is not just about the money.
Page 3: Farmers groups are persisting with lobbying efforts to stop a $3.4 billion takeover of GrainCorp by the US food giant Archer Daniels Midland.
Page 5: The Abbott government will crack down on union finances and governance through a new agency with powers modelled on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
The federal government has asked the Productivity Commission to look at new ways to help the private sector invest in public infrastructure projects.
Page 7: Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes says Google Australia should “pay its share” of tax to the Australian government amid concerns multinational digital companies are avoiding reasonable taxation.
Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner has fired another shot in the TV battle for the west, after Nine Entertainment Co broadcast the Melbourne Cup in Perth.
Page 8: Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel says there may be merit in breaking up the regulator he used to run.
Jon Fogarty, the controlling shareholder of a controversial healthcare company, was the successful bidder for a $7.25 million house that triggered speculation and gossip across Perth’s wealthy western suburbs.
Hopes of a bumper Christmas retail season have taken a blow with reports showing wages growth crashed in the September quarter to the equal slowest pace in 13 years, and consumers are again looking to pare back spending.
Page 17: New NBN Co director Simon Hackett has invested almost $1 million in an Australian-made iPad app that aims to replace the thousands of pages pilots use to plan and navigate flights.
Page 27: Leighton Holdings signalled it was still struggling to recover unpaid bills in the Middle East and other parts of its business as it reported a $200 million rise in net debt for the third quarter.
Page 28: Aurizon received a first strike on its remuneration report at its annual general meeting with 28 per cent of proxy votes cast against, as investors criticised the rail group’s executive pay packages.
Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has raised the prospect the company could wipe another big chunk off its debt by the end of the year, putting efforts to deleverage its balance sheet further ahead of schedule.
The Australian
Page 2: Clive Palmer’s Queensland dinosaur park and tourism resort are at the centre of a probe by the Fair Work Ombudsman after serving and former staff complained of severe bullying, abuse, false claims of theft, intimidation and the stripping of entitlements.
A former candidate for Clive Palmer’s political party says the newly elected federal MP should not be treated like a traditional owner of Aboriginal tribal land over a $7 billion iron-ore-processing project in the Pilbara.
Hopes of a consumer-led recovery have been dented by the smallest wage rises since the economic downturn 13 years ago. Wage growth has been slowing in the past year in response to rising unemployment and weak company profits, with average increases of only 2.7 per cent in the year to September.
Page 3: A digital news start-up describing itself as ‘‘Australia’s best source of news and information’’ is sourcing content from the ABC and discouraging advertising from companies that compete with its superannuation fund owners.
Page 5: The convicted Health Services Union boss Michael Williamson was on the board of an expanding Sydney-based radiology firm that sold millions of dollars of services to public and private hospitals where he represented workers as their union leader.
Page 6: The Senate has set up the potential for a first vote on the carbon tax before Christmas, giving Tony Abbott the opportunity for a double-dissolution trigger by June as some of Australia’s biggest companies increase pressure for an immediate repeal of the levy.
Bill Shorten has praised Kevin Rudd’s special relationship with the Australian public, saying he could leave politics with his head held high after casting ‘‘a large presence across the national political stage’’.
Page 8: Unions and employers risk heavy financial penalties if they seek to hinder investigations by the Abbott Coalition government’s new registered organisations commission.
Page 19: A high-powered policy group has urged the federal government to consider splitting the competition watchdog by removing consumer protection and has called for steps to get the stalled national competition agenda back into action full time.
Search giant Google has come under attack from Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes, who has called for overseas media companies to pay their ‘‘fair share of tax’’.
Page 20: Mining giant Rio Tinto has warned that a new planning application for its Warkworth coalmine in NSW is a ‘‘litmus test’’ for the ability of governments to deliver regulatory results to match their economic aspirations.
Fortescue Metals Group is riding a wave of bullishness amid a buoyant iron ore market and a rising share price as chief executive Nev Power declared the miner had reached a ‘‘historic turning point’’ through the fast-tracked repayment of $US2.04 billion ($2.19bn) in debt.
Page 21: Aurizon shareholders have sent management a strong message that they do not support the company’s pay methods after the rail group was hit with its first strike against executive salaries.
Page 31: The Australian branch of US oil giant Chevron is planning one of Perth’s largest skyscrapers at the Elizabeth Quay development, with market pundits predicting it could develop a tower worth up to $1 billion.
The West Australian
Page 1: The State Government has warned it may freeze council rates immediately after amalgamations to ensure opportunistic local governments do not slug residents unfairly.
Page 3: Thousands of WA households are likely to get bigger water bills with many old inaccurate meters that caused under-charging about to be upgraded.
Page 4: An emotional Kevin Rudd has bowed out of politics and will quit Parliament this week.
Page 6: Tony Abbott looks unlikely to deliver on his plan to get rid of the carbon tax by Christmas despite the Opposition and Greens clashing on tactics to block the Federal Government.
Page 11: Tony Abbott appears to have confirmed that Australia spies on Indonesia but last night insisted that any intelligence gathered by agencies was used for “good”.
Page 18: A supercomputer capable of one million-billion calculations every second is helping WA cement its place as a world leader in research.
Perth public hospitals have faced more shortages of disposables such as needles and swabs, after a computer crash this week.
Page 27: Fremantle is on track for one of its biggest cruise ship seasons in 40 years.
Business: Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes believes a slump in free-to-air TV advertising has more to do with economic conditions than sweeping changes in home viewing habits brought about the digital revolution.
The Ausdrill board has thrown its weight behind besieged managing director Ron Sayers despite him facing a potential retrial next year on a tax fraud charge related to his secret stake in another contractor.
Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has told shareholders to expect more debt repayments over the coming months, as the company continues to benefit from a buoyant iron ore price and diminishing capital expenditure.
Mount Gibson Iron chairman Geoffrey Hill says the company is still undecided what to do with its $420 million war chest.
The State Government will go back to the drawing board after a major back down on the terms of new pastoral leases covering 90 million hectares of WA.