Morning Headlines

CBA ‘had no ulterior motive for loan default’

The financial services royal commission has dismissed theories that the Commonwealth Bank had “ulterior motives” to put people into loan default after its takeover of Bankwest during the global financial crisis. The Aus

Hanson sinks PM’s tax plan

Pauline Hanson has dealt what appears to be a fatal blow to the government’s company tax cuts by withdrawing support for the package and producing a list of near impossible demands, declaring that Malcolm Turnbull has failed to sell the reform’s benefits. The Aus

Liberals build support to phase out live sheep trade

Rebel Liberal backbenchers will attempt to build a groundswell of support within the Coalition party room to ban live sheep exports rather than embarrass Malcolm Turnbull by crossing the floor to bring on a vote on a private member’s bill. The Fin

Labor open to middle-income tax cuts

Labor looks increasingly likely to support the Coalition’s second wave of tax cuts while firming its opposition to easing the burden on the one-in-five Australians who generate almost 80 per cent of income tax revenue. The Fin

Councils consider dumping bad banks

Perth councils are set to consider pulling hundreds of millions of dollars invested in banks found by the royal commission to have acted badly. The West

Digital giants tax gets key backing

Key crossbench Senator Stirling Griff says his party would support a 3 per cent tax on digital giants, like that which applies in the European Union, as the government continues to seek backing for its company tax cuts. The Fin

Labor by-election pick

Regional Development Australia Perth chief executive Colleen Yates was preselected by the Labor State executive last night. The West

Telco heavyweight Russell takes the reins at Vocus

Ailing telco Vocus has recruited industry heavyweight Kevin Russell as its new CEO, with the telco’s chairman Bob Mansfield confident that his latest recruit has the ability to turn things around at the telco. The Aus

Toys ‘R’ Us Australia in administration

Toys ‘R’ Us Australia and its baby goods offshoot Babies ‘R’ Us have fallen into voluntary administration, two months after their US parent warned the Australian businesses were heading into liquidation. The Fin

Property tax on foreigners ‘to hit sales’

Real estate agents and the Liberal Opposition have warned that the State Government’s increased foreign property buyers’ tax could drive down prices in Perth’s soft housing market. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The big four banks, Suncorp and BOQ have been cowed by the Hayne royal commission into confessing fresh examples of poor behaviour including fraud, incorrectly taking the homes of customers, overcharging and hounding customers over debts on the first day of hearings into small business lending.

Page 3: Toys ‘R’ Us Australia and its baby goods offshoot Babies ‘R’ Us have fallen into voluntary administration, two months after their US parent warned the Australian businesses were heading into liquidation.

Key crossbench Senator Stirling Griff says his party would support a 3 per cent tax on digital giants, like that which applies in the European Union, as the government continues to seek backing for its company tax cuts.

Page 6: The Energy Security Board has asked business, industry groups and energy companies to provide staff to their organisation to help deliver the Turnbull government’s National Energy Guarantee by August.

Page 7: Labor looks increasingly likely to support the Coalition’s second wave of tax cuts while firming its opposition to easing the burden on the one-in-five Australians who generate almost 80 per cent of income tax revenue.

Page 8: Rebel Liberal backbenchers will attempt to build a groundswell of support within the Coalition party room to ban live sheep exports rather than embarrass Malcolm Turnbull by crossing the floor to bring on a vote on a private member’s bill.

Page 9: A potential US-China trade war is ‘‘on hold’’ as the Trump administration suspends a threat to impose tariffs on $US150 billion ($200 billion) of Chinese goods, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

Page 11: Santos is under pressure to consider lowering its exposure to rising oil prices after Harbour Energy said it would pay as much as $7 a share if the company hedged nearly a third of its production in 2020.

Big Un Limited shareholders and staff are bracing for financial losses after the company’s financier FC Capital offloaded its exposure in the online video business to an insolvency expert.

Page 13: Shareholders in beauty products BWX say the owner of the Sukin skin-care brand is in play following an $860 million private-equity backed management buyout proposal.

Page 34: Former JLL head of valuations and institutional markets WA, David Ivey, has joined boutique Perth commercial property firm Alliance Commercial as commercial sales and leasing executive.

The city councils of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide are all limited to the CBD and unable to exert a co-ordinating influence across their metropolitan areas, putting development at the mercy of state governments that have a poor record, says the Creating Great Australian Cities report, to be released Tuesday.

The Australian

Page 1: Pauline Hanson has dealt what appears to be a fatal blow to the government’s company tax cuts by withdrawing support for the package and producing a list of near impossible demands, declaring that Malcolm Turnbull has failed to sell the reform’s benefits.

Tony Abbott, a leading member of the Coalition’s pro-coal Monash Forum, has lashed out at Malcolm Turnbull’s energy mandarins, accusing top bureaucrats of being “biased against coal” and exposing the government as “pretending” to be technology-neutral in its approach to energy.

Telstra cannot explain why millions of customers were left stranded without a mobile service after its 4G services were knocked out of action and its back-up system again failed to handle the impact of a large service disruption.

Page 2: Australia’s cities are “not well equipped” to face the remainder of the century, with their clean, green and prosperous brands not living up to the reality, says University College London professor Greg Clark.

Australia has accused Beijing of attempting to shake up the UN Human Rights Council, issuing a strong statement rejecting a Chinese government view of human rights that lacked “accountability and transparency”.

Page 5: A $700 million annual fund that would allow people with profound disabilities to live in the community is the subject of price caps and new conditions, in another sign the agency delivering the National Disability Insurance Scheme is moving to ration support.

Page 8: Farmers may soon be able to dispense with internal fences as invisible “virtual fencing” — using GPS technology, tiny solar panels and smart collars on livestock — becomes a reality.

Page 17: Electricity retailers are on notice to pass on sharp falls in the wholesale price of electricity after AGL Energy rejected the federal government’s preferred plan to inject more competition into the market by selling its Liddell power station to rival Alinta.

The battle for Here, There and Everywhere’s outdoor advertising division Adshel has taken a twist, with its listed spin-off APN Outdoor emerging to vie for the assets by quietly lobbing an offer of close to $500 million.

Page 20: Ailing telco Vocus has recruited industry heavyweight Kevin Russell as its new CEO, with the telco’s chairman Bob Mansfield confident that his latest recruit has the ability to turn things around at the telco.

Page 21: The financial services royal commission has dismissed theories that the Commonwealth Bank had “ulterior motives” to put people into loan default after its takeover of Bankwest during the global financial crisis.

The West Australian

Page 3: Australia’s biggest live sheep customer has confirmed it has started looking elsewhere for supply, amid suggestions Australia could stop the trade.

Page 4: Perth councils are set to consider pulling hundreds of millions of dollars invested in banks found by the royal commission to have acted badly.

Page 7: Real estate agents and the Liberal Opposition have warned that the State Government’s increased foreign property buyers’ tax could drive down prices in Perth’s soft housing market.

Regional Development Australia Perth chief executive Colleen Yates was preselected by the Labor State executive last night.

Business: Elon Musk’s Model 3, once touted as Tesla’s $US35,000 ($47,000) car for the masses, can now set a buyer back almost $US80,000.

The 99-year-old co-founder of Godfreys is closer to finalising his takeover of the vacuum cleaner retailer with his near-$14 million control bid declared unconditional yesterday.