WA gets $31 million as Pyne backs new model
WA has secured $31 million in schools funding for next year but the Abbott government has walked away from a $600 million sweetener offered to Premier Colin Barnett by Labor to accept school funding reform. The West
Palmers mulls get out clause with Citic
Mining magnate Clive Palmer is considering forgoing more than $500 million in royalties to break his contract with Chinese-owned company Citic Pacific over the $7 billion Sino Iron project in the Pilbara. The Fin
Rio upbeat as Simandou set to clear crucial hurdle
Rio Tinto says it is set to secure an investment framework with Guinea to allow the $US18.3 billion ($19.9bn) Simandou iron ore project to go ahead, but may not reach a 2013 target to conclude a framework. The Aus
Indonesia adds $1.4bn wheat sales to its potential retaliation targets
Indonesia’s retaliation over a bitter spy row could engulf Australia’s $1.4 billion-a-year wheat sales to Indonesia, after its Trade Minister, Gita Wirjawan said the country is looking for alternatives to Australian food imports. The Fin
Unions cry foul over bid to trim ACTU executive
The ACTU has been attacked from within over plans to slash membership of its key executive body, with small unions expressing anger they will be excluded from key decisions. The Aus
New broom pledges Empire clean sweep
Empire Oil & Gas’ new chairman Tony Iannello has promised a comprehensive review of the embattled $88 million company’s operations and finances and has not ruled out taking action against former directors if there is evidence of “untoward” corporate governance practices. The West.
Nine bulks up to get IPO-ready
Nine Entertainment is investing more money in its newly acquired Perth and Adelaide television stations to grow their revenues as it gets closer to floating on the Australian stockmarket. The Aus
Nationals pick female deputy
Mia Davies has become the first female deputy in 100-year history of the WA Nationals, prevailing in a party-room secret ballot over Wendy Duncan to replace Brendon Grylls in the Barnett ministry. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Abbott government has walked away from a key election pledge that it would match Labor’s plan for generous schools funding, provoking a row with Liberal premiers and setting the Coalition up for a battle in the Senate.
Australia’s big banks and retailers will have to work out successful Asian expansion strategies to continue to grow their businesses and create more jobs, according to Michael Rennie, the outgoing managing partner of McKinsey & Co in Australia and New Zealand.
Page 5: Clean Energy Finance Corporation chairman Jillian Broadbent has urged the Abbott government to spare her organisation, saying it is making money for taxpayers and if allowed to continue, will account for 50 per cent of Australia’s 2020 emissions reduction target at no cost.
Page 6: The Northern Territory and federal governments are facing pressure to put together a rescue package for the loss-making Gove alumina refinery in Arnhem Land after owner Rio Tinto dumped plans to switch the site’s fuel source to gas, increasing the likelihood it will be closed with the loss of up to 1,500 jobs.
More resources projects that would cost billions of dollars could be dumped because of deteriorating market conditions, the mining industry has warned on the eve of new government forecasts on the viability of planned resources investment.
Page 7: Options to extend the goods and services tax to low-cost overseas online purchases will go before treasurers on Wednesday.
Indonesia’s retaliation over a bitter spy row could engulf Australia’s $1.4 billion-a-year wheat sales to Indonesia, after its Trade Minister, Gita Wirjawan said the country is looking for alternatives to Australian food imports.
Page 8: Mining magnate Clive Palmer is considering forgoing more than $500 million in royalties to break his contract with Chinese-owned company Citic Pacific over the $7 billion Sino Iron project in the Pilbara.
Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Philip Lowe has called for the increased use of tolls and other forms of user charging to spur a productivity-boosting surge in infrastructure investment as the mining boom ends.
Page 13: Woolworths chief executive Grant O’Brien has joined forces with Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder in urging rivals Aldi, Costco and IGA to sign a landmark grocery code of conduct with suppliers.
Page 17: Rio Tinto is expected to update investors on its multibillion-dollar iron ore expansion plans next week amid predictions with global resource company will take a conservative approach to its development strategy.
Brickworks has narrowly avoided a first strike on its remuneration report after its biggest shareholders, Perpertual Investments, voted down the pay resolution amid its attempt to break-up the cross shareholding structure.
The Australian
Page 1: The pace and unpredictability of Labor’s defence reforms have left the military in a perilous position, with deteriorating bases, fixed personnel numbers and an inflexible budget threatening its ability to deliver the projects deemed necessary to keep Australia safe.
The Abbott government is deadlocked with a strengthening alliance of conservative and Labor states over its plans to rewrite Gonski education funding deals, as legal experts reject claims the agreements are binding.
Page 4: Health services are being targeted as the federal government’s spending review searches for cuts to benefits because of concern about the increasing pressure they will put on the budget as the population ages.
Treasury has cast further doubt on plans to apply the GST to more overseas internet purchases despite calls from retailers and the states to close a ‘‘loophole’’ that allows shoppers to avoid the consumption tax.
Page 5: Rio Tinto’s decision not to switch its alumina refinery at Gove to cheaper gas supplies has sealed the fate of the plant, which employs 1500 and keeps the Northern Territory’s fourth-largest town of Nulunbuy alive.
Page 6: The Coalition was last night staring down warnings by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation — the $10 billion green bank that the government has vowed to scrap — that its closure will come at a cost to the budget rather than save money.
Page 7: Internet and phone companies face the prospect of enforcement action, including fines, for failing to ensure that consumers understand the implications of turning down a back-up battery when connecting to the National Broadband Network.
The ACTU has been attacked from within over plans to slash membership of its key executive body, with small unions expressing anger they will be excluded from key decisions.
Page 17: The federal government wants to see more international corporate success stories based on innovation, such as bionic ear company Cochlear, blood products company CSL and sleep apnea company Resmed, according to Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos.
Discontented shareholders of the hotly contested Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Company have written to the Australian Securities & Investment Commission complaining about the conduct of its board of directors.
Woolworths chairman Ralph Waters has admonished shareholders for their impatience over the retail giant’s loss-making Masters hardware chain, and says the company has no regrets over selling Dick Smith at a knockdown price.
Page 18: Rio Tinto says it is set to secure an investment framework with Guinea to allow the $US18.3 billion ($19.9bn) Simandou iron ore project to go ahead, but may not reach a 2013 target to conclude a framework.
Page 19: The local managing partner of global service provider Ernst & Young has called on the federal government to broaden the base of the goods and services tax, scrap its parental leave scheme and has questioned why there is only one female member in the federal cabinet.
Page 23: Nine Entertainment is investing more money in its newly acquired Perth and Adelaide television stations to grow their revenues as it gets closer to floating on the Australian stockmarket.
The West Australian
Page 4: WA has secured $31 million in schools funding for next year but the Abbott government has walked away from a $600 million sweetener offered to Premier Colin Barnett by Labor to accept school funding reform.
Page 6: Plans by the Abbott Government to scrap a multibillion-dollar fund set up to encourage renewable energy projects would cost the Federal Budget’s bottom line $200 million a year, it was claimed yesterday.
Indonesia has sought a code of conduct with Australia that include guarantees about spying activities, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono insists an agreement must be signed before relations can normalise.
Page 12: WA’s residential building market has been ranked the strongest in the country for the first time in more than five years, having been boosted by strong population growth and mining investment, according to a new report.
Page 13: Perth will overtake Brisbane to become Australia’s third biggest city in 15 years, population projections reveal.
Page 14: Mia Davies has become the first female deputy in 100-year history of the WA Nationals, prevailing in a party-room secret ballot over Wendy Duncan to replace Brendon Grylls in the Barnett ministry.
Page 28: Maverick MP Bob Katter was yesterday the second eccentric Queensland conspiracy theorist in a week to jet into Perth to court WA Senate votes on the basis the country was being run by incompetent fools.
Business: Empire Oil & Gas’ new chairman Tony Iannello has promised a comprehensive review of the embattled $88 million company’s operations and finances and has not ruled out taking action against former directors if there is evidence of “untoward” corporate governance practices.
Alan Tribe’s IKEA franchise has again defied the general retail malaise, recording a 6.4 per cent lift in full-year sales and an even bigger jump in annual profit, to almost $22 million.
The Australian Securities Exchange’s reputation around the world as a hub for resources companies is well documented.
Resolute Mining has taken control of Noble Mineral Resources’ Bibiani gold mine after the collapsed company’s creditors yesterday approved Resolute’s proposed deed of company arrangement.
