Morning Headlines

Grylls quits as leader, Minister

The man behind Western Australia’s multibillion-dollar Royalties for Regions scheme, Brendon Grylls, has unexpectedly quit the Nationals WA leadership and his cabinet post. The Fin

Joyce blasts Virgin deal

Qantas has demanded the federal government halt a $350 million foreign capital injection into Virgin Australia Holdings, claiming it is the “final act” by “predatory” state-owned airlines to undercut the national carrier, cripple it domestically and internationally, and take over its routes. The Fin

Palmer denies potential conflict

The West Australian Liberal government has been accused of not standing up to Clive Palmer after it allowed the billionaire politicians’ private company Mineralogy to hold on to a potentially lucrative mineral tenement that appeared to be wrongfully obtained. The Fin

Wheat export red tape fears

Wheat exporters fear the deep rift inside the Abbott Government over the proposed sale of GrainCorp to a US company will lead to a red tape nightmare for the entire sector, including in WA.

ALP told to come clean on NBN

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on Labor to release all advice the former government received in relation to the National Broadband Network, amid revelations of secret warnings about the project’s financial viability. The Aus

Big funds to do battle over Perth Airport

Two of Australia’s biggest investment funds are set to appear in court in December after the Future Fund failed to comply fully with a request by AustralianSuper to hand over documents relating to the former purchase of a 29.7 per cent stake in Perth Airport. The Fin

Telstra targets millions with cheap broadband

Telstra’s new budget broadband brand Belong has set its sights on capturing two million of the nation’s most price-sensitive households as the telco giant seeks to differentiate itself in the saturated market. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Qantas has demanded the federal government halt a $350 million foreign capital injection into Virgin Australia Holdings, claiming it is the “final act” by “predatory” state-owned airlines to undercut the national carrier, cripple it domestically and internationally, and take over its routes.

Woolworths and Coles will be prohibited from using suppliers’ intellectual property to develop private label products and will not be able to retrospectively alter contract terms, under a voluntary code of conduct signed over the weekend.

An international tug-of-war involving Woodside Petroleum is playing out over Israel’s new-found gas resources, with several powerful interests keen to capture a share of the wealth.

Page 3: Commonwealth Bank has tried to shift the focus of a Senate inquiry into the handling of complaint against its financial planners to include debate on the regulation of the whole profession.

Page 5: Trade Minister Andrew Robb says Australia will oppose any move in the world’s biggest multilateral trade pact that forces consumers to pay more for subsidised drugs or imposes tougher penalties on internet providers.

Page 7: Labor has warned the government it will not be swayed on the debt ceiling this week when Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson appears before a Senate Estimates committee to make a case for a $500 billion limit.

The man behind Western Australia’s multibillion-dollar Royalties for Regions scheme, Brendon Grylls, has unexpectedly quit the Nationals WA leadership and his cabinet post.

Page 8: The West Australian Liberal government has been accused of not standing up to Clive Palmer after it allowed the billionaire politicians’ private company Mineralogy to hold on to a potentially lucrative mineral tenement that appeared to be wrongfully obtained.

Page 15: United States agri-giant Archer Daniels Midland has revealed it is prepared to offer a better deal for growers to help secure critical support for its $3 billion takeover bid for GrainCorp.

Murray Goulburn managing director Gary Helou is considering lifting his offer for Warnambool Cheese & Butter Factory, promising the dramatic bidding war to secure the nation’s fourth-biggest milk processor is far from over.

Page 17: Perpetual Investments head of equities Matthew Williams says it would be “strange” and “disappointing” if the Australian Securities Exchange intervenes in its fight to dissolve a long standing cross-shareholding between Washington H Soul Pattinson and Brickworks.

Page 25: Two influential vice-chancellors have renewed their push for “flexibility” in university fees to allow them to rise to boost funding for cash-strapped higher education institutions.

Page 29: A Perth start-up is poised to open the virtual doors of its online cash gambling casino, but founder Laurence Escalante believes exploiting a loophole in Facebook’s sweepstakes rules could be an even bigger money earner.

Page 30: Two of Australia’s biggest investment funds are set to appear in court in December after the Future Fund failed to comply fully with a request by AustralianSuper to hand over documents relating to the former purchase of a 29.7 per cent stake in Perth Airport.

The Australian

Page 1: The supermarket giants have agreed to tough restrictions on how they use their market power when dealing with suppliers, in an agreement with food producers that gives the competition watchdog greater oversight over harsh bargaining tactics.

Page 2: Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on Labor to release all advice the former government received in relation to the National Broadband Network, amid revelations of secret warnings about the project’s financial viability.

Bill Shorten will confirm the battlelines on the repeal of the carbon tax this week, using amendments to the government’s legislation to insist on the introduction of an emissions trading scheme by July 1 next year and the retention of the Climate Change Authority.

Page 3: Telstra’s new budget broadband brand Belong has set its sights on capturing two million of the nation’s most price-sensitive households as the telco giant seeks to differentiate itself in the saturated market.

Page 17: Bega Cheese will take its bid for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter directly to the company’s shareholders this week as it tries to neutralise a recommendation by the target’s board for a sweetened offer from Canada’s Saputo.

GrainCorp’s biggest individual shareholder, Don Seaton, has stepped up his opposition to the $3.4 billion takeover bid by Archer Daniels Midland of the US, accusing the competition regulator of mistakes in previous grain takeovers and warning Treasurer Joe Hockey of ‘‘disastrous consequences’’ if the deal is approved.

Page 19: Retail giant Myer is working with global consulting giant Bain and Co to review its strategy as it ramps up the search for a replacement for long-serving chief executive Bernie Brookes following the formal engagement of headhunting firm Egon Zehnder.

Page 23: The December advertising market has caught fire, with media companies experiencing the strongest demand they have seen for years — as advertisers return en masse and print shows signs that revenue declines are moderating.

Australian Associated Press, the no-frills media group best known for its wire service, says it will turn to new growth prospects for its news services operation Pagemasters to offset projected declines in its traditional publishing businesses.

The West Australian

Page 8: Brendon Grylls has downplayed the role of family in his shock decision to quit the Nationals leadership and Cabinet, saying he wanted to give his successor time to establish him or herself before the next election.

Donald Terrence “Terry” Redman wasted no time letting parliament know he was not simply there to make up the numbers, declaring his ministerial aspirations immediately after he was elected in February 2005.

Page 14: Wheat exporters fear the deep rift inside the Abbott Government over the proposed sale of GrainCorp to a US company will lead to a red tape nightmare for the entire sector, including in WA.

An independent commission would be set up to handle complaints against judges and magistrates under changes recommended by the State’s chief law reform body.

Business: A $17 million-plus rural property deal involving a son of iron ore billionaire Angela Bennett is in shred after financiers put receivers into a key intermediary company.

Thousands of WA public servants considering taking redundancies under the State Government’s Budget cuts have been urged to seek professional advice about how to best use their payouts.

Superannuation funds need to work harder to gain trust to meet rising expectations and needs of their members, the industry’s Australian peak body has told its annual conference in Perth.