Morning Headlines

GST changes backed, Morrison reaches out

Scott Morrison will begin consulting state treasurers about changes to the GST carve-up within days after the Productivity Commission yesterday handed him its final report on the issue, as new polling suggests there is national support for a new distribution system. The Aus

New WA boss for SWM

Seven West Media has appointed Maryna Fewster as acting chief executive of its WA business, replacing John Driscoll. The West

City backs West Perth housing diversity

City of Perth has recommended Local Development Assessment Panel approval for a $25 million, 60-dwelling, 17-level West Perth residential tower planned for Colin Street because it will add to the diversity of residential living options in West Perth. The West

Retirees to fund Labor cash spree

Bill Shorten’s tax hit on self-funded retirees will underwrite a spending spree that includes cash handouts for low-income earners, with the scrapping of franking credit refunds forming the biggest revenue raiser in Labor’s $30 billion short-term tax measures. The Aus

Forrest joins Bishop in China media attack

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has fired a broadside at the Australian media’s coverage of China while celebrating the 10th anniversary of the company loading its first ore for export to the nation’s biggest trading partner. The Fin

24-hr WA airport on the agenda

The State should start planning for a second city that is not Bunbury, as well as a second international airport, according to the West Australian Planning Commission. The West

Woodside’s Pilbara plan for hydrogen ambitions

Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman has outlined ambitions to crack the emerging Japanese market for hydrogen, using the plentiful Pilbara sunshine to fuel the energy-intensive conversion of methane into ammonia and then hydrogen, a clean transport fuel. The Fin

Inquiry may hurt housing: Reserve

Australia’s central bank has joined a chorus of economists warning that the banking royal commission could spark a real estate downturn if lenders are forced to dramatically overhaul their standards. The Aus

Minimum wage workers could hit 32.5pc bracket

Up to 200,000 of Australia’s lowest paid employees will be bumped into the middle income tax bracket and lose more than one-third of every extra dollar they earn if the Fair Work Commission grants even a fraction of the ACTU’s annual pay claim. The Fin

Owner-occupier loans and credit fall at fastest rate in over two years

Home loans for owner-occupiers fell at their fastest rate in 2 1/2 years in March and other categories of credit also declined, suggesting the economy is shifting to a lower level of overall consumption as the housing market comes off its recent highs. The Fin

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Up to 200,000 of Australia’s lowest paid employees will be bumped into the middle income tax bracket and lose more than one-third of every extra dollar they earn if the Fair Work Commission grants even a fraction of the ACTU’s annual pay claim.

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has fired a broadside at the Australian media’s coverage of China while celebrating the 10th anniversary of the company loading its first ore for export to the nation’s biggest trading partner.

Page 3: Labor will pledge to use the majority of the potential $220 billion in extra taxes it plans to raise over the next decade to pay down debt when shadow treasurer Chris Bowen responds to the federal budget today.

Australia’s pre-eminent ragtraders, the Lew family, have cut formal ties with global fast-fashion juggernaut Inditex, quitting its 10 per cent stake in Zara Australia.

Labor has accused the federal government of swindling the elderly in last week’s budget by taking $1.6 billion from nursing homes, using it to fund 14,000 places for home care and badging it as new money.

Page 5: Malcolm Turnbull has dismissed calls by a former Australian ambassador for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to be sacked over poor relations with China, saying she was a formidable chief diplomat.

Page 6: Business Council president Grant King has backed calls by BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie that the government should save the $24.5 billion announced in the budget for infrastructure projects for spending on hospitals and schools.

Page 8: International students – who make up Australia’s third-biggest export income earner – say what they want from universities is high-level teachers with real-world experience.

A key crossbench senator is demanding the Turnbull government delay the start of the $35 billion future frigate project after a scathing Auditor-General’s report warned the Coalition’s naval shipbuilding program carried ‘‘extreme risk’’ and threatens to blow out costs for taxpayers because of the rush to get projects under way.

Page 10: The Reserve Bank of Australia has ramped up warnings that US President Donald Trump’s debt-funded fiscal stimulus may have parallels to the late 1960s era that presaged nearly two decades of rampant inflation and skyrocketing interest rates.

Home loans for owner-occupiers fell at their fastest rate in 2 1/2 years in March and other categories of credit also declined, suggesting the economy is shifting to a lower level of overall consumption as the housing market comes off its recent highs.

Page 13: Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher has broken ranks with most of his peers, telling the APPEA oil and gas conference in Adelaide that the industry should be open to gas reservation in the Northern Territory as it explores more radical avenues to win broader public support.

Page 14: The dogs continue to bark around New Hope Coal and Wesfarmers’ stake in the Bengalla coal mine in NSW.

Page 16: Industry superannuation funds will expand to become more diversified financial services businesses while retail funds will move in the opposite direction as banks shed their wealth businesses, KPMG says.

Page 18: Chevron’s head in Australia has called for a multi-user gas pipeline off the north-west coast to improve the efficiency of gasfield development in a move that has been warmly supported by Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman.

Page 19: Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman has outlined ambitions to crack the emerging Japanese market for hydrogen, using the plentiful Pilbara sunshine to fuel the energy-intensive conversion of methane into ammonia and then hydrogen, a clean transport fuel.

Page 31: The near-doubling of a new tax on foreign residential property investors in Western Australia has been criticised by development and property experts, who claim it will slow economic recovery.

The Australian

Page 1: Bill Shorten’s tax hit on self-funded retirees will underwrite a spending spree that includes cash handouts for low-income earners, with the scrapping of franking credit refunds forming the biggest revenue raiser in Labor’s $30 billion short-term tax measures.

The Turnbull government’s planned crackdown on foreign influence is so sweeping and poorly drafted it would force thousands of people — including academics, authors and book publishers — to register as agents of other countries, according to analysis of the scheme by legal academic Anne Twomey.

Federal Labor has proposed new powers to crack down on tree-clearing across the country, in a move that could transform Queensland’s heated debate over land management into a nationwide row.

Page 2: The ship at the centre of Australia’s latest live export scandal visited Australia on 27 occasions and was inspected 39 times in the past five years before horrific footage of 2400 dying sheep uncovered its failure to comply with basic airflow requirements.

British defence giant BAE Systems has delivered its final pitch to win Australia’s $35 billion future frigate tender, promising “the world’s most formidable anti-submarine warfare capability” if the government chooses its Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

Page 4: More than 500 allegations of potentially fraudulent payments and “financial anomalies” are being assessed by managers of the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme, with Social Services Minister Dan Tehan conceding yesterday that checking every invoice for rorts would leave bureaucrats “tied up in red tape”.

The Reserve Bank is concerned wage growth may remain stuck at about 2 per cent, rather than leap towards 3 per cent as Treasury’s budget forecasts assume.

Scott Morrison will begin consulting state treasurers about changes to the GST carve-up within days after the Productivity Commission yesterday handed him its final report on the issue, as new polling suggests there is national support for a new distribution system.

Page 6: Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James has declared she wants to be reappointed for a further five years as the government considers rival candidates for her $426,160-ayear job.

Page 7: The consumer watchdog will today launch a renewed bid to prosecute health fund Medibank over changes to its coverage of in hospital pathology and radiology services, amid an ongoing debate over the value of insurance.

Page 17: Australia’s central bank has joined a chorus of economists warning that the banking royal commission could spark a real estate downturn if lenders are forced to dramatically overhaul their standards.

Telstra shares have fallen below $3 to trade at their lowest level in seven years, with analysts warning the telco is going to struggle to maintain its promise of a dividend of 22c a share for shareholders.

Page 20: The John Mullen-chaired Toll Holdings has delivered a rebound in profit for its owner Japan Post after last year’s writedown-marred loss.

The West Australian

Page 1: Tensions between Canberra and WA over the shark threat have erupted into open warfare, with Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg accusing the State of fabricating excuses for its lack of action.

Page 3: The cost of prosecuting Bradley Robert Edwards — the man accused of being the Claremont serial killer — is about to top $3 million, even though he has yet to enter a plea to allegations he murdered three women.

Page 14: Conservative voters in the marginal seat of Perth will be left without a potential voice in the upcoming by-election, with One Nation and Cory Bernardi’s Australian Conservatives ruling out a tilt at the contest left open by the Liberals.

Business: David Flanagan’s Battery Minerals is seeking to raise at least $15 million via a share placement to help fund development of its Montepuez graphite project in Mozambique.

The State’s building regulator was alerted to payment concerns about WA home and apartment builder Archiapps Pty Ltd in February but did not issue an official warning until this month.

Shares in Auris Minerals surged 63 per cent to 9.3¢ yesterday after drilling at the company’s Morck’s Well East Project near Meekatharra detected copper that could ultimately feed Sandfire Resources’ nearby DeGrussa plant.

A key mining lobby group has called on State and Federal governments to take lead roles in securing WA’s stake in the looming global electric vehicle revolution.

Seven West Media has appointed Maryna Fewster as acting chief executive of its WA business, replacing John Driscoll.

Property: City of Perth has recommended Local Development Assessment Panel approval for a $25 million, 60-dwelling, 17-level West Perth residential tower planned for Colin Street because it will add to the diversity of residential living options in West Perth.

The State should start planning for a second city that is not Bunbury, as well as a second international airport, according to the West Australian Planning Commission.

Singapore-based Meadpoint has forked out $8.3 million for the Sunmoon Boutique Resort in Scarborough and plans to transform it into a build-to-rent project — an Australian first.

City of Busselton councillors are under pressure from local protesters to obstruct the development of a Puma convenience store-petrol station despite a WA Supreme Court ruling, effectively in its favour, last week.

A lower-than-expected yield for a historic property at 45 Phillimore Street, sold for $2.7 million, has prompted selling agents CBRE to declare Fremantle back on track as a desirable investment destination.

A 17,870sqm mixed-use space on Erindale Road, Balcatta, is for sale for the first time in more than 30 years.