Morning Headlines

$30b in WA projects rest on tax

Up to $30 billion in new investment in WA could hinge on whether Federal Parliament passes company tax cuts, with one of the State’s biggest employers urging the Senate crossbench to ensure Australia remains “globally competitive”. The West

New economy cannot be tax free: Morrison

Treasurer Scott Morrison has indicated that Australia, like other G20 nations, might go it alone with measures to tax digital economy companies like Uber because efforts to agree on a multilateral process were moving too slowly. The Fin

Secretive Perth broker demands share of luxury jet sales

Secretive Perth billionaire Tim Roberts — a scion of the late Multiplex founder John Roberts — has brokered the sale of $3 billion worth of luxury jets for Canadian manufacturer Bombardier since 2009, the West Australian Supreme Court has been told. The Aus

Woolies hits out at grog laws

One of Australia’s biggest retailers has threatened to shelve $85 million of investment in new liquor stores in WA if the State Government’s alcohol reforms are introduced. The West

Tax cut will lift wages: CEOs’ pitch

The nation’s biggest employers, including Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Qantas and BHP, have formally pledged to invest in creating Australian jobs and delivering stronger wage growth if the Senate crossbench backs Malcolm Turnbull’s $35.6 billion company tax cuts. The Aus

Roy Hill shaky on meeting production

Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore project has had a disrupted start to 2018 and has exported less than its full capacity over the past five months, raising doubts over its ability to satisfy lenders completion tests. The Fin

Asia growth to drive demand for iron ore

China’s growth will moderate but the need for steel from other emerging Asian economies will keep demand for high-quality WA iron ore strong, says BHP iron ore boss Edgar Basto. The West

WorleyParsons joins the war on waste

WorleyParsons has become an active participant in the war on waste by helping design Western Australia’s first plastics recycling plant after staff were ‘‘surprised and disappointed’’ to learn the state was sending used plastic abroad. The Fin

WA in line for 700 sub jobs

WA’s defence industry could win another 700 submarine jobs if a plan to move major maintenance work to Henderson is fulfilled. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: Treasurer Scott Morrison has indicated that Australia, like other G20 nations, might go it alone with measures to tax digital economy companies like Uber because efforts to agree on a multilateral process were moving too slowly.

Page 5: Problems with ANZ’s administrative systems that led the bank to charge customers the wrong interest rate are still being found almost 10 years after they were first discovered.

Page 6: Claims by ACTU secretary Sally McManus that businesses are denying workers their ‘‘fair share’’ of company profits aren’t supported by official data, say economists.

Page 7: Turnbull government assistant minister David Gillespie won’t face the High Court over his ownership of a property leased to Australia Post, after the full bench ruled his former Labor opponent could not bring the challenge.

Page 10: Labor says it will work to block the Turnbull government’s proposed management plan for Australia’s 3.3 million square hectares of protected marine parks, saying the changes will see the largest downgrading of marine conservation areas anywhere in the world.

Indonesia and Australia are pushing to get a free trade deal done by August, leveraging off the strong relationship between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and President Joko Widodo, who gave their support for a swift conclusion to the agreement in their bilateral meeting last week.

Page 15: Investors say Rio Tinto should move quickly to return cash to shareholders following Tuesday’s $US1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) coal divestment, but the miner’s chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques says there will be no special payout before the company’s half-year results in August.

Page 17: Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott says a demerger of Coles was the only way to protect shareholders from capital gains tax bills.

Page 19: Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore project has had a disrupted start to 2018 and has exported less than its full capacity over the past five months, raising doubts over its ability to satisfy lenders completion tests.

The iron ore grade boost BHP expects from its multibillion dollar South Flank project is unlikely to be the start of a broader grade improvement campaign in Western Australia, according to the company’s iron ore asset president Edgar Basto.

Page 28: WorleyParsons has become an active participant in the war on waste by helping design Western Australia’s first plastics recycling plant after staff were ‘‘surprised and disappointed’’ to learn the state was sending used plastic abroad.

The Australian

Page 1: The nation’s biggest employers, including Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Qantas and BHP, have formally pledged to invest in creating Australian jobs and delivering stronger wage growth if the Senate crossbench backs Malcolm Turnbull’s $35.6 billion company tax cuts.

Page 2: A prominent critic of Beijing and leading figure behind the launch of a book alleging widespread Chinese interference in Australia has been refused entry to China and returned to Australia in what experts say is a sign of Beijing’s growing intolerance of overseas dissent.

Australian competition tsar Rod Sims is concerned Facebook could be exploiting consumers’ lack of knowledge of the way the social network uses personal data and allows companies to access the information without their knowledge or consent.

Page 7: Secretive Perth billionaire Tim Roberts — a scion of the late Multiplex founder John Roberts — has brokered the sale of $3 billion worth of luxury jets for Canadian manufacturer Bombardier since 2009, the West Australian Supreme Court has been told.

Page 17: Myer executive chairman Garry Hounsell, who will pay himself $83,333 a month until a new chief executive can be found, is asking shareholders to back his gambit of slashing prices and investing in customer service, after unveiling the steepest loss in the department store’s more than 100-year history.

Crown Resorts executive chairman and James Packer confidant John Alexander will be left to run the $9 billion casino empire without his major shareholder on the board after Mr Packer’s shock departure to recover from mental health issues.

President Donald Trump’s tax cuts risk fuelling stagflation amid growing fears imminent US tariffs on China could prompt a damaging global trade war, a top visiting US economist says.

Page 19: TPG Telecom may be forced to raise more capital to make sure it gets a piece of the valuable 5G spectrum, say Citi analysts, especially if the coming auction is keenly contested.

Westpac has made no move to stop paying car dealers huge commissions they set for themselves, despite last year telling the corporate regulator they should be prohibited, the financial services royal commission has heard.

Page 20: Mongolia’s Anti-Corruption Authority says it has teamed up with Swiss prosecutors in a bribery and money-laundering probe related to Swiss bank accounts linked to a former Mongolian finance minister and in which Rio Tinto is reportedly “an element”.

The West Australian

Page 7: One of Australia’s biggest retailers has threatened to shelve $85 million of investment in new liquor stores in WA if the State Government’s alcohol reforms are introduced.

A $20 million plan to set Albany up as a wave energy hub is looming as an expensive dud, with the WA Nationals accusing the State Government of wasting taxpayers’ money on a frolic.

Page 10: Up to $30 billion in new investment in WA could hinge on whether Federal Parliament passes company tax cuts, with one of the State’s biggest employers urging the Senate crossbench to ensure Australia remains “globally competitive”.

WA’s defence industry could win another 700 submarine jobs if a plan to move major maintenance work to Henderson is fulfilled.

Page 12: A truly West Australian homegrown event designed to attract a flood of tourists to Perth will seek the backing and contributions of locals, the State Government has announced.

Page 16: West Australians in de facto relationships will finally be able to split their super nest egg in the event of a break-up after the State and Federal governments agreed to end a decade-old stalemate over the issue.

Business: The junior mining lobby wants the State and Federal governments to boost support for WA’s lithium sector to take advantage of a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to build a downstream processing industry in the State.

China’s growth will moderate but the need for steel from other emerging Asian economies will keep demand for high-quality WA iron ore strong, says BHP iron ore boss Edgar Basto.

The collapse of one-time float prospect Aurigen Group last year has been blamed on a trio of subsidiaries which ate through $23 million in just three years.

Climate Friendly is one of the contenders jostling for position to take a stake in WA’s outback carbon farming market after the McGowan Government showed signs of clearing existing roadblocks to enable a local industry to be established.