Morning Headlines

PM’s big WA spend

A mammoth $5.4 billion “gamechanging” infrastructure package for WA will be announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Premier Mark McGowan today, as the Federal Government commits to a record spend for the State in next month’s Budget. The West

Bowen plan to jack up top rate to near 50 per cent

Labor is refusing to back away from its plan to jack up the top marginal income tax rate to almost 50 per cent even though the Coalition’s axing of an increase to the Medicare levy removes a key justification for the slug. The Fin

Rail deal a bonanza for Perth commuters

Perth commuters will be the big winners from a Metronet funding deal between the State and the Commonwealth, with almost $2 billion in Federal funds to flow to WA’s rail network. The West

APRA ends investor loan growth cap

The prudential regulator’s decision to remove its cap on investor loan growth will not stop the push for banks to tighten lending standards, and could see lenders forced to do even more to ensure they are selling loans responsibly. The Fin

‘Ship of shame’ skips load of 70,000 sheep

The sheep ship at the centre of controversy over mass animal deaths will pull out of carrying a load of 70,000 sheep to the Middle East after costly delays and some industry confusion that has forced it to reroute to Broome to pick up live cattle for the southeast Asian market. The Aus

Hard slog for troubled Telfer

Newcrest Mining’s marginal Telfer gold operation in the East Pilbara continued to bleed cash in the March quarter with falling production, sliding head grade and higher costs. The West

Wesfarmers CEO resists M&A pressure

Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott says he won’t be pressured into making acquisitions for the sake of diversifying the conglomerate’s portfolio following the demerger of Coles. The Fin

Warning for Labor on investor hit

Almost two-thirds of all investors who negatively geared property were on taxable incomes of less than $80,000 a year, according to new tax office data that suggests Labor’s policy to slash the widely used practice would hit more lower-income earners with only one investment property. The Aus

Dam project gets $140m top-up

Malcolm Turnbull has committed $140 million to reducing salinity in Wellington Dam, reversing a decision by his former deputy Barnaby Joyce to not fund the ambitious WA irrigation project. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Labor is refusing to back away from its plan to jack up the top marginal income tax rate to almost 50 per cent even though the Coalition’s axing of an increase to the Medicare levy removes a key justification for the slug.

Page 3: Westpac Group, the nation’s second largest mortgage lender, is tightening scrutiny of borrowers switching from investment to owner-occupier loans as APRA removes a loan cap on investors.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is splurging hundreds of millions of dollars on transport and health projects in Western Australian in an attempt to sandbag a swag of marginal seats, including that of the Attorney-General and potential future leader Christian Porter.

Page 4: The Financial Planning Association of Australia sought to keep the identity of a member facing disciplinary action, Sam Henderson, out of the banking royal commission to protect his reputation.

The head of one of the nation’s biggest financial planning networks conceded clients were asked to sign an ‘‘Orwellian’’ liability waiver that was possibly ‘‘unlawful’’, before he collapsed in the witness box at the Hayne royal commission.

Page 7: Oil giant ExxonMobil says it stands by the interest rates charged on intracompany loans to its Australian subsidiary, despite those loans being central to the Australian Tax Office’s claim that Exxon has not paid enough tax over the past decade.

Self-managed superannuation funds will be allowed to have six members rather than only four, Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer is expected to announce on Friday.

Page 9: Business Council of Australia boss Jennifer Westacott has revealed an investigation is under way into the leaking of a scrapped statement by members to pay tax and improve transparency, embarrassing the lobby group at the height of company tax cut negotiations.

Page 10: Car company Ford will pay a $10 million penalty for ‘‘unconscionable conduct’’ for the way it dealt with a flood of consumer complaints over transmission and clutch problems with three of its models.

Page 12: The Australian Council of Trade Unions is calling on Labor to give the Fair Work Commission wide-ranging powers to intervene in all aspects of workplace disputes, including to decide wage claims and make orders against third parties, such as head contractors or franchisors.

Page 15: Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott says he won’t be pressured into making acquisitions for the sake of diversifying the conglomerate’s portfolio following the demerger of Coles.

The prudential regulator’s decision to remove its cap on investor loan growth will not stop the push for banks to tighten lending standards, and could see lenders forced to do even more to ensure they are selling loans responsibly.

Page 17: Consumer watchdog boss Rod Sims is putting the telecommunications industry on notice over third-party charges for games, apps and videos after the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay a $10 million fine for misleading customers.

Page 22: Australian vitamins group Blackmores and New Zealand dairy group Fonterra have started selling goods to China via a new supply chain network, using blockchain technology designed to stamp out the sale of fake products.

The Australian

Page 1: Almost two-thirds of all investors who negatively geared property were on taxable incomes of less than $80,000 a year, according to new tax office data that suggests Labor’s policy to slash the widely used practice would hit more lower-income earners with only one investment property.

A rescue package for the Great Barrier Reef worth more than $400 million will feature as the key environmental centrepiece in next month’s federal budget, as Malcolm Turnbull seeks to sandbag a band of marginal seats along the Queensland coast.

Page 2: Australian academic Clive Hamilton has told a US congressional committee in Washington that Australian universities are so financially beholden to China that they have abandoned their principles of academic freedom.

The sheep ship at the centre of controversy over mass animal deaths will pull out of carrying a load of 70,000 sheep to the Middle East after costly delays and some industry confusion that has forced it to reroute to Broome to pick up live cattle for the southeast Asian market.

Page 3: Outgoing NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow has blamed poor customer experiences with the network on the Turnbull government’s multi-technology approach to building the $49 billion project.

Page 4: National law firm Clayton Utz believes the real story about its independent report into AMP’s wrongdoing is about to come to light.

Page 6: Maximum compensation awarded to unfairly sacked workers would be halved and small businesses would be able to more easily dismiss employees they deem a “bad fit” under controversial changes proposed by Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell.

Lower-income Australian parents are among the most heavily taxed in the world, with family tax benefit cuts by successive governments and bracket creep raising their tax rate as much as 7 per cent.

Page 17: Westpac shares yesterday suffered their single biggest one-day loss since the Brexit market rout two years ago, as an influential market analyst raised doubts about the quality of the banking giant’s $400 billion home lending book following a review of a cache of documents submitted to the financial services royal commission.

Page 20: The Takeovers Panel has ordered Taurus Funds Management to hold on to its shares in copper miner Finders Resources, effectively blocking Finders’ suitor, Eastern Field Developments, from taking full control of the group.

The West Australian

Page 1: A mammoth $5.4 billion “gamechanging” infrastructure package for WA will be announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Premier Mark McGowan today, as the Federal Government commits to a record spend for the State in next month’s Budget.

Page 6: Perth commuters will be the big winners from a Metronet funding deal between the State and the Commonwealth, with almost $2 billion in Federal funds to flow to WA’s rail network.

Millions of dollars for WA hospitals is not a “cash splash”, according to Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

Page 7: Malcolm Turnbull has committed $140 million to reducing salinity in Wellington Dam, reversing a decision by his former deputy Barnaby Joyce to not fund the ambitious WA irrigation project.

Page 8: Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has declared the Medicare levy reversal by both major parties a “win for all”, despite anger from disability groups that vulnerable people will be “subject to the whims of the financial weather”.

Page 9: Treasurer Scott Morrison says low and middle-income families will “come first” for income tax relief in next month’s Budget, as he argues higher-income earners should be quarantined from any further tax increases.

Page 20: The WA business community has made a plea to Treasurer Ben Wyatt to slash payroll tax in next month’s Budget while also keeping a lid on public sector wages and health spending.

Business: Newcrest Mining’s marginal Telfer gold operation in the East Pilbara continued to bleed cash in the March quarter with falling production, sliding head grade and higher costs.

Civmec Construction and Engineering has suffered a blow to its burgeoning shipbuilding business, with top executive Mike Deeks tapped by the McGowan Government to bolster WA’s defence industry credentials in Europe.