Morning Headlines

Telstra chief banks on tech-led revival

Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has pledged to scale up the hunt for top global technology talent as the telecommunications giant looks to fast track its growth in areas including software, data science, artificial intelligence and the future workplace as part of its post-NBN mission to become a tech titan. The Fin

WA’s tech metals sector ‘ready for mergers’

WA’s tech metals sector is ripe for consolidation, with a big pool of small and mid-cap players looking for scale and downstream processing companies keen to secure supply of battery commodities, according to UK research house Mergermarket. The West

Missions to reboot innovation nation

Two ‘‘national missions’’, to make Australia the world’s healthiest and save the Great Barrier Reef, are at the heart of a plan to reverse a poor innovation record and catch a larger share of the global digital economy by 2030. The Fin

Rio targeted by activist over MCA

The ethical investment group that pushed BHP to review its membership of the Minerals Council of Australia has set its sights on Rio Tinto’s involvement with the powerful lobby group. The Fin

No backlash to CBA’s inside job

Investors have quickly swallowed their surprise at Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s decision to appoint leading internal candidate Matt Comyn as its new CEO, and the man to restore the group’s damaged reputation. The Fin

Train cuts robbing Peter to pay Paul

Some trains will be stripped from suburban routes on Thursday to help service Optus Stadium, but it will still take cricket fans up to two hours to catch a train after the Big Bash League semi-final. The West

Rio’s driverless trucks reach one billion milestone

Rio Tinto’s driverless trucks have moved one billion tonnes of material in the Pilbara — enough rock and iron ore to fill the MCG. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Investors have quickly swallowed their surprise at Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s decision to appoint leading internal candidate Matt Comyn as its new CEO, and the man to restore the group’s damaged reputation.

Page 3: ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott has apologised for the bank’s role in causing customers hardship or emotional distress after reading the bank’s ‘‘confronting’’ submission to the banking royal commission.

Page 5: China and Russia do not pose a military threat to Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop have said as they moved to hose down comments by Defence Minister Marise Payne and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce over the weekend.

Page 6: The ethical investment group that pushed BHP to review its membership of the Minerals Council of Australia has set its sights on Rio Tinto’s involvement with the powerful lobby group.

Page 9: Two ‘‘national missions’’, to make Australia the world’s healthiest and save the Great Barrier Reef, are at the heart of a plan to reverse a poor innovation record and catch a larger share of the global digital economy by 2030.

Page 13: Takeover tensions around oil and gas play AWE Ltd have risen to fever pitch with the emergence of a potentially knockout $602 million all-cash offer from Japanese trader Mitsui and still some suggestions this third suitor may not be the last.

Private equity giant Blackstone may need to pay more to secure control of Australia’s biggest crash repair company AMA Group, whose share price climbed on Monday after it said it had received a $530 million indicative buyout proposal for its vehicle panels business from the United States firm.

Page 15: Linfox plans to be ‘‘the first mover’’ on electric trucks but will not shift its fleet away from fuel-powered vehicles until charging stations are installed on highways, says chairman Peter Fox.

US miner Cliffs says it is likely to shut its Australian iron ore business this year after it posted a loss-making result over the past six months.

Page 19: Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has pledged to scale up the hunt for top global technology talent as the telecommunications giant looks to fast track its growth in areas including software, data science, artificial intelligence and the future workplace as part of its post-NBN mission to become a tech titan.

The Australian

Page 2: A parliamentary review of laws stopping sensitive defence equipment from getting into the wrong hands will examine “dual-use” technologies research projects linked to China’s military at Australian universities.

Page 4: The vocational education and training system needs urgent reform to save Australia from becoming a backwater in the global innovation race, a new report says.

State and federal governments will fail to meet almost 90 per cent of promised road safety improvements, sparking fresh demands to axe the $5 billion car tariff that has slowed the replacement of older, unsafe vehicles.

Page 6: Battery plants will remain too expensive to meet long-term urban power storage needs, Nobel laureate and Obama administration energy secretary Steven Chu has warned.

Page 17: The Commonwealth Bank board’s decision to appoint retail head Matt Comyn to succeed Ian Narev will put chairman Catherine Livingstone under additional public scrutiny.

Page 19: Atlas Iron chief executive Cliff Lawrenson says the iron ore producer is back to making money after a difficult December quarter.

Page 25: Vodafone Australia boss Inaki Berroeta has opened fire on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, saying the regulator might talk a good game but it’s not helping consumers.

The West Australian

Page 1: About 50,000 children feel unsafe in WA schools because they are afraid of being hurt or bullied, a survey by the State’s Children’s Commissioner has revealed.

Page 5: Some trains will be stripped from suburban routes on Thursday to help service Optus Stadium, but it will still take cricket fans up to two hours to catch a train after the Big Bash League semi-final.

Page 9: Australians with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to suffer sudden cardiac death than the rest of the population, a study has found.

Page 11: Doctors and pharmacists are being advised to consider referring codeine addicts to methadone programs as the medicine becomes prescription-only this week.

Page 12: Mark McGowan has claimed political donations are outside his control, after revelations a property developer had joined Labor’s $25,000-a-head Leaders’ Forum.

Page 13: The price of justice in WA is the highest in Australia, apart from the sparsely populated Northern Territory — with the dollar cost per person of police services, criminal courts, civil courts and corrective services topping State spending charts released by the Productivity Commission.

Page 16: Western Australians who have common surgeries in WA’s public hospitals are more likely to have to be readmitted than patients in other States, according to a report.

Page 39: US President Donald Trump, who has garnered a massive following on social media, admits he sometimes tweets from bed, though he occasionally allows others to post his words.

Business: A confrontation is looming today between a breakaway group of sandalwood growers and the receivers of Quintis.

In the latest reminder that coal still dominates the world’s biggest energy consumer, Chinese power producers are warning of supply tightness while one northern province plans to pause switching homes and industries to natural gas to avoid further heating shortages.

Rio Tinto’s driverless trucks have moved one billion tonnes of material in the Pilbara — enough rock and iron ore to fill the MCG.

WA’s tech metals sector is ripe for consolidation, with a big pool of small and mid-cap players looking for scale and downstream processing companies keen to secure supply of battery commodities, according to UK research house Mergermarket.