Morning Headlines

ATO warns on ‘systemic abuse’

The Tax Office will prepare advice to Treasury on areas of systemic rorting of work-related expenses after a record $21.2 billion was claimed at tax time 2017, approximately $3 billion of which was probably dodgy. The Fin

Perth City Chaos

Council gets third CEO in weeks as minister considers suspension. The West

WA to cop slowest NBN connections

West Australians will be dudded under the NBN rollout, condemned to remain connected to the old copper network, according to figures released by the broadband network. The West

Chinese investment tumbles by 60pc

Chinese investment in Australian commercial property tumbled by 60 per cent to just $2.83 billion last year, according to real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield, and there are warnings it could come under pressure as mainland regulators crack down on insurance companies. The Aus

Caravan maker eyes trip east

High manufacturing costs have Fleetwood Corp thinking about moving most of its remaining caravan factory to the east coast, five years after it quit Melbourne to consolidate in Perth. The West

Energy mess deters US investors

Top US-based executive Andrew Liveris has told America’s corporate bosses and Australian political leaders that paralysis over energy policy was a key deterrent to foreign investment in Australia. The Fin

Tax blitz to hit Bitcoin investors

Tax-dodging Bitcoin investors will be confronted by the full investigative powers of the tax office, which has revealed it will use anti-money laundering legislation due to come into force next month as the basis for a longawaited blitz on cryptocurrencies.

PM attacks Labor’s $8800 WA tax hit

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will today ramp up his tax attack on Bill Shorten, claiming the Opposition Leader will slug WA workers an extra $8800 in taxes over the coming decade. The West

Seven not seeking legal costs from Harrison

Seven West Media is not seeking to have Amber Harrison punished for allegedly breaching a court-issued gag order and will not push for its legal costs to be paid by the former employee and lover of chief executive Tim Worner. The Fin

Border treaty revives hope for Woodside’s stalled Sunrise venture

A deal struck between the Australian and Timor-Leste governments has opened the door for progress on Woodside Petroleum’s long-stalled $US13 billion ($16.5 billion) Sunrise LNG project but any development still looks years away amid ongoing disagreement on how to develop the large offshore field. The Fin

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Top US-based executive Andrew Liveris has told America’s corporate bosses and Australian political leaders that paralysis over energy policy was a key deterrent to foreign investment in Australia.

Page 3: The Tax Office will prepare advice to Treasury on areas of systemic rorting of work-related expenses after a record $21.2 billion was claimed at tax time 2017, approximately $3 billion of which was probably dodgy.

Seven West Media is not seeking to have Amber Harrison punished for allegedly breaching a court-issued gag order and will not push for its legal costs to be paid by the former employee and lover of chief executive Tim Worner.

Page 4: Darren Chester, the Nationals MP who was controversially dumped from cabinet last year by Barnaby Joyce, appears set for a frontbench return, possibly as a junior minster.

Page 8: Drillers have never been harder to find as mining exploration in Australia picks up, but entry level jobs paying more than $90,000 a year are going begging because of failed drug tests.

Page 12: Ernst & Young’s South Australian managing partner has been suspended amid allegations of sexual harassment made by a junior female staff member, sparking a warning from the CEO to the firm’s 540 partners about their behaviour in the workplace.

Page 13: Caltex will spend up to $120 million to take control of the remaining franchise sites in its network and is nearing a decision on a potential spin-off of infrastructure in the continuing overhaul of the fuels supplier under chief executive Julian Segal.

Newly listed $1.6 billion platform provider Netwealth says it will be able to divert investment funds away from the big banks as it capitalises on the exodus of financial planners from institutions.

Page 14: Manganese miner Jupiter Mines’ second run at the ASX boards is finally underway and word is trickling in from Asia about the likely offer structure.

Page 15: A deal struck between the Australian and Timor-Leste governments has opened the door for progress on Woodside Petroleum’s long-stalled $US13 billion ($16.5 billion) Sunrise LNG project but any development still looks years away amid ongoing disagreement on how to develop the large offshore field.

Page 16: Royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne will examine some settled legal cases when the hearings on bank mortgage fraud and irresponsible lending kick off next month.

Page 17: A lack of transparency around fintech borrowing costs for small businesses has prompted the industry committing to adopt a code of conduct and standardised interest rate and fee disclosures.

The Australian

Page 1: Tax-dodging Bitcoin investors will be confronted by the full investigative powers of the tax office, which has revealed it will use anti-money laundering legislation due to come into force next month as the basis for a longawaited blitz on cryptocurrencies.

Page 5: Canberra has announced an independent inquiry into the performance and governance of Australia’s key wool marketing body after its chairman admitted last October to breaching its own code of conduct and damaging the organisation’s standing.

Page 6: Scandal-plagued City of Perth has fallen further into chaos after two chief executives went on stress leave in a week, both citing an unsafe work environment for being unable to serve in the $360,000-a-year role.

Appalled by revelations British aid workers from Oxfam’s UK branch systematically engaged prostitutes in Haiti, possibly including some underage, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has asked Oxfam Australia to suspend funding to overseas operations of its UK counterpart.

Page 17: A $5 billion transcontinental gas pipeline could get off the ground with little or no taxpayer funding if government is able to strike the right policy settings, according to former West Australian premier Colin Barnett.

Advertising executive Nicola Lewis has become the local media industry’s $3 billion woman with her appointment to a senior position at GroupM, Australia’s biggest media buyer.

Page 19: Qantas and American Airlines are threatening to cut services if US regulators do not approve their proposed joint venture.

Shipbuilder Austal has foreshadowed a double whammy jump in profitability from its US operations, as improving margins on new contracts combine with sharp falls in corporate tax rates and plans for a major increase in military spending.

Page 21: Australia’s mortgage insurance industry is facing growing pressures as revenue drops and claims continue to increase, raising concerns about the financial strength of the two major companies responsible for protecting banks from home loan defaults.

Page 23: Chinese investment in Australian commercial property tumbled by 60 per cent to just $2.83 billion last year, according to real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield, and there are warnings it could come under pressure as mainland regulators crack down on insurance companies.

The West Australian

Page 3: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will today ramp up his tax attack on Bill Shorten, claiming the Opposition Leader will slug WA workers an extra $8800 in taxes over the coming decade.

Page 6: A review of the WA health system has taken aim at highly paid doctors, arguing there is a “cosy” dominance by the medical profession at the expense of other workers.

Page 7: Most West Australians will be dudded under the NBN rollout, condemned to remain connected to the old copper network, according to figures released by the broadband network.

Page 10: Fixing the GST system is almost “politically impossible”, a WA Labor MP has declared, as he doubled down on the Federal Opposition’s policy to provide a top-up fund to WA rather than pushing for a change to the GST distribution formula.

Page 16: A new tax battle is looming between the State Government and the Opposition, with Treasurer Ben Wyatt to introduce changes that were previously pursued by the Liberal Party.

Business: High manufacturing costs have Fleetwood Corp thinking about moving most of its remaining caravan factory to the east coast, five years after it quit Melbourne to consolidate in Perth.

WA’s grains industry is set to become even more profitable, after a $14.5 million cash injection aimed at improving soils and boosting crop nutrition.

Investors piled into Iluka Resources yesterday after the mineral sands miner predicted continued demand growth and tight supply in its key zircon and rutile markets this year.

Property: GDI Property Group has signed Lendlease up for what has the potential to be a multimillion urban regeneration of its $321 million Mill Green Complex in the centre of Perth.

Perth and Brisbane are expected to benefit from a rebound in commodity prices, with the property industry hopeful this will flow on to white-collar employment growth and office leasing.