Morning Headlines

Port jobs fear as mine closes

Cleveland-Cliffs will make the last shipment of iron ore from its Koolyanobbing operations near Southern Cross by the end of June with the potential loss of hundreds of jobs. The West

Company tax cuts legislation is lineball

The government’s chances of securing Senate support for its company tax cuts are lineball with two of the 11-member Senate crossbench absolutely ruling out doing a deal and the other nine being prepared to talk. The Fin

Subbies fear four more builders could go bust

The State’s building industry is in upheaval after the collapse of more than 20 construction companies in five years, owing subcontractors tens of millions of dollars. The West

Renewables a threat to power security: report

The rise of renewables-based power is making the national electricity grid unstable and less secure, driving a near trebling of outages in the past three years, a report has found. The Aus

Private equity giant eyes Quadrant Energy

Asia-focused private equity giant Affinity Equity Partners is considering buying a stake in WA’s biggest natural gas supplier and the country’s fourth-largest oil producer Quadrant Energy. The Fin

AFD creditors miss out

Administrators do not expect to recover enough from the carcass of Aussie Farmers Direct to pay trade suppliers and franchisees owed more than $4 million. The West

US and China lithium giants in Australian tax probe

US giant Albemarle and Chinese company Tianqi may have to pay more for lithium they purchased from the Greenbushes mine in Western Australia in 2015 and 2016 if the ATO audit goes against them. The Fin

Rio ponders $1.3bn plant to power its giant Mongolia mine

Rio Tinto is studying a $US1 billion ($1.3bn) power plant for its giant Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia, where Rio says the government last month triggered a four-year deadline for domestically sourced power. The Aus

CBA’s royal commission strategy in tatters

Commonwealth Bank’s strategy to steer the bank safely through the royal commission is in tatters after a bruising day of public hearings that revealed the bank kept information from ASIC, tried to spin the closure of an uneconomic product and contacted a customer who was asked to give evidence before the inquiry. The Fin

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Commonwealth Bank’s strategy to steer the bank safely through the royal commission is in tatters after a bruising day of public hearings that revealed the bank kept information from ASIC, tried to spin the closure of an uneconomic product and contacted a customer who was asked to give evidence before the inquiry.

A widening ‘‘trust deficit’’ poses catastrophic risks to the financial system, the new chairman of the corporate regulator, James Shipton, has warned, as he urged the banks to adopt stronger ethical standards to avoid more intrusive regulation.

Asia-focused private equity giant Affinity Equity Partners is considering buying a stake in WA’s biggest natural gas supplier and the country’s fourth-largest oil producer Quadrant Energy.

Page 3: The government’s chances of securing Senate support for its company tax cuts are lineball with two of the 11-member Senate crossbench absolutely ruling out doing a deal and the other nine being prepared to talk.

Page 4: ANZ has been forced to defend its home-lending policies after the royal commission argued the bank was flouting its regulatory obligations by failing to take reasonable steps to assess the personal situations of the majority of its home loan customers.

Page 6: Australia’s aggressive use of antidumping duties on imported steel and aluminium in an effort to protect local producers will be tested in a landmark case before the World Trade Organisation.

The Australian government will lead a delegation of business leaders to China in November as it seeks to downplay fears that political tensions between the two countries are a threat to the bilateral trade relationship.

Page 8: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has warned the Turnbull government’s National Energy Guarantee could stifle competition in the energy sector or push up prices for businesses and consumers if it was not properly designed.

Page 11: The $59 billion revenue boost that Labor claims will flow from its plan to abolish franking credit refunds looks to be a ‘‘gross overestimate’’, selfmanaged superannuation fund advisers say.

Page 12: The technology sector has tentatively welcomed a new visa stream for highly skilled foreign workers but has called for further changes that would lift hiring caps for start-ups.

Page 17: Australia’s petrol supply sector looks set for another major shake-up, with plans emerging for a potential $2 billion-plus initial public offering of Viva Energy, which acquired Shell’s oil refining and marketing business in 2014 and has since embarked on a journey of expansion and upgrades.

US giant Albemarle and Chinese company Tianqi may have to pay more for lithium they purchased from the Greenbushes mine in Western Australia in 2015 and 2016 if the ATO audit goes against them.

The demerger of Coles is unanimously good for Wesfarmers but new chief executive Rob Scott is under pressure to reassure investors the split will be good for Coles.

Page 25: Telstra has taken a step forward in its plans to combine its telecommunications heritage with a future in the technology industry, launching a worldfirst partnership with tech giant Microsoft to offer voice calling services from within its Office 365 programs.

The Australian

Page 4: The Greens have launched a witch-hunt for those accused of derailing the party’s Batman campaign, as senior party members urge leader Richard Di Natale to resign and warn the party may lose official status within six years.

Page 6: The rise of renewables-based power is making the national electricity grid unstable and less secure, driving a near trebling of outages in the past three years, a report has found.

Page 7: Victorian farmers are counting the cost of devastating grassfires that swept across large parts of the state’s southwest at the weekend, destroying 18 farmhouses, dozens of shearing sheds, haystacks and outbuildings, and killing hundreds of cattle and sheep.

Page 17: New Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman James Shipton intends to push the federal government to toughen up penalties for companies breaching the law.

Page 19: Rio Tinto is studying a $US1 billion ($1.3bn) power plant for its giant Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia, where Rio says the government last month triggered a four-year deadline for domestically sourced power.

National Australia Bank has cut rates on its principal-and-interest base variable rate home loan for new owner-occupiers, amid intense focus on the sector from the banking royal commission.

Page 20: Energy company Woodside Petroleum has announced an overhaul of its executive incentive structure, which will lower the proportion of bonuses paid to executives in cash and limit the maximum incentive of fixed annual reward that chief executive Peter Coleman can receive.

The West Australian

Page 3: The Armadale and Rockingham Han’s Cafe franchises have been hit with big fines after underpaying staff $100,000 over a year.

Page 5: A union representing workers at the Water Corporation has accused the Liberal Party of cheap political point-scoring over claims that some staff at the utility are rorting the system to more than double their pay.

Page 9: The Federal Government will release figures today showing more than half of the 100,000 West Australians set to lose money under Labor’s new tax policy are on taxable incomes of less than $18,200, as the major parties continue to spar over who will be hardest hit by the crackdown.

Page 14: The State’s building industry is in upheaval after the collapse of more than 20 construction companies in five years, owing subcontractors tens of millions of dollars.

Page 16: The State Government would have the power to veto payments to child sex abuse victims if they have a serious criminal history under further changes to the national redress scheme expected to be signed off by Canberra.

The number of days cruise ships berth in WA will double after the State Government announced a “superliner” would call Fremantle its home port from next year.

Page 18: Transport Minister Rita Saffioti has warned taxi and ride-sharing companies the State Government will be on guard for price gouging if a proposed new industry levy goes ahead.

Business: Cleveland-Cliffs will make the last shipment of iron ore from its Koolyanobbing operations near Southern Cross by the end of June with the potential loss of hundreds of jobs.

WA dairy farmers who supply to Brownes are being given the opportunity to produce about 10 per cent more milk within the next 12-18 months as part of the company’s new growth strategy.

Investors taking a punt on capital raisings launched by junior explorers will again be able to access tax incentives after legislation enabling the latest scheme passed the Senate yesterday.

Administrators do not expect to recover enough from the carcass of Aussie Farmers Direct to pay trade suppliers and franchisees owed more than $4 million.

Australis Oil & Gas is chasing up to $40 million from an equity placement to fund a proposed $US100 million ($130 million) drilling program over its emerging oil shale play in the US.