Morning Headlines

Rio back on track after cost cutting

Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh confirmed the resources giant will be well placed to deliver strong returns to shareholders in the coming years after exceeding its cost-cutting targets and confirming capital spending will nearly halve in two years to about $US8 billion ($8.8billion). The Fin

Abbott gets frustrated over Senate

The Coalition is on the brink of a breakthrough over the debt ceiling but Tony Abbott is threatening to make the Senate sit through Christmas until he also gets his way on the carbon tax, the mining tax and temporary protection visas for boat arrivals. The Fin

Conservatives gang up on ABC

The federal government has joined the conservative media campaign being waged against the ABC with Prime Minister Tony Abbott , Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Speaker Bronwyn Bishop among those upbraiding the national broadcaster on Tuesday. The Fin

Billions fail to stop slide in schools

Australian teenagers have slipped further behind their peers overseas in international tests assessing skills in reading, maths and science, now ranking behind students in Vietnam, Poland and Estonia. The Aus

Fortescue eyes Port Hedland harbour

Port Hedland may yet get a new outer harbour, with Fortescue Metals Group considering such a development for its new magnetite joint venture with Baosteel and Formosa. The Fin

Partners spar over gas JV

The first public cracks have emerged in one of of WA’s most successful resources partnerships, with US giant Apache taking Santos to court over development of the Spar gas project off the Pilbara. The West

Rio plans to ramp up copper output

Rio Tinto has signalled copper will be the clear focus for growth outside its dominant West Australian iron ore business, unveiling a long-term plan to help fill a copper supply gap expected to grow to half of global production. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Coalition is on the brink of a breakthrough over the debt ceiling but Tony Abbott is threatening to make the Senate sit through Christmas until he also gets his way on the carbon tax, the mining tax and temporary protection visas for boat arrivals.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has warned companies about to list on the sharemarket not to mislead investors after finding problems with nearly a third of float prospectuses.

Page 3: Labor has done its own backflip on education funding, saying it will deny the Abbott government the Senate votes it needs to bank $2.3 billion in cuts to higher education.

Page 5: The federal government has joined the conservative media campaign being waged against the ABC with Prime Minister Tony Abbott , Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Speaker Bronwyn Bishop among those upbraiding the national broadcaster on Tuesday.

Page 6: Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox has accused unions of “preying” on a “vulnerable” car industry by seeking wage increases that put their members far ahead of rival car making nations.

Page 7: The head of American oil giant Exxon-Mobil’s business in Australia, Richard Owen , has warned the rising cost of labour is putting oil and gas developments at risk and urged action on labour market reform to tackle costs to avoid losing investment.

Page 9: Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said the sale of the $60 billion export hub Port of Gladstone and the Port of Townsville, as well as the state-owned electricity generation companies, will be on the Liberal National Party agenda to take to voters at the 2015 state election.

Gina Rinehart’s flagship company Hancock Prospecting , worth an estimated $22 billion, could be left to foot legal bills racked up by her two estranged children if it turns out her daughter Hope Welker signed an agreement suggested by her mother in December 2012.

Page 11: Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh confirmed the resources giant will be well placed to deliver strong returns to shareholders in the coming years after exceeding its cost-cutting targets and confirming capital spending will nearly halve in two years to about $US8 billion ($8.8billion).

Page 13: Qantas Airways could sell a stake in its frequent flyer division or Jetstar’s Asian arm to stave off the need for an equity raising if the government does not help bolster its credit rating.

Page 14: Farmer lobby groups are calling on GrainCorp to share the benefits of shutting various grain silos with growers, amid concerns the closures will drive up farmers’ freight costs and pressure marginal growing regions.

Page 23: Port Hedland may yet get a new outer harbour, with Fortescue Metals Group considering such a development for its new magnetite joint venture with Baosteel and Formosa.

The Australian

Page 1: Australian teenagers have slipped further behind their peers overseas in international tests assessing skills in reading, maths and science, now ranking behind students in Vietnam, Poland and Estonia.

Page 4: Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has recruited his Labor predecessor Greg Combet to negotiate a rewrite of work practices at troubled food producer SPC Ardmona, including the future of the 35-hour week, as the government examines an assistance package.

Grain growers are on track to deliver a bumper harvest of wheat, despite crops in NSW and Queensland being damaged by frosts and dry conditions.

Page 5: Labor has deepened the political row over education by reversing one of its own policies one day after accusing Tony Abbott of a backflip, adding to fears of a hit to the budget from the government’s $1.2 billion increase in school funding.

Page 19: The world’s two biggest iron ore producers, Rio Tinto and Vale, have issued a strong outlook for Australia’s biggest export, saying China’s demand continues to beat expectations at the same time the Asian powerhouse’s domestic mines are struggling.

Graincorp has confirmed it will begin closing grain collection sites before the next harvest. But it has denied claims that it warned federal politicians that more than 100 of its 280 grain collection points would have to be closed next year if the Archer Daniels Midland bid was blocked.

Page 20: Rio Tinto has signalled copper will be the clear focus for growth outside its dominant West Australian iron ore business, unveiling a long-term plan to help fill a copper supply gap expected to grow to half of global production.

The Queensland government has continued the sell-down of its stake in railways carrier Aurizon and now holds less than 5 per cent of the stock, well down from the 34 per cent it owned when the company was privatised as QR National three years ago.

Page 21: The book build for Nine Entertainment’s $2 billion float has generated orders from fund managers at the lower end of the indicative price range, with many baulking at shares priced at the top end.

The West Australian

Page 4: The Abbott Government has stopped issuing all permanent visas to asylum seekers to crank up pressure on Labor and the Greens to allow the reintroduction of temporary protection visas.

The Abbott Government is facing claims its offer to WA on schools funding short-changes the State by almost $60 million.

Tony Abbott says he has no plans to change the ABC’s charter even though he has chastised it for being an “advertising agent for a left-wing British newspaper”.

Mortgage holders are increasingly unlikely to see another interest rate cut as signs grow consumers have got their spending mojo back.

Page 7: Margaret River and Broome have been named Australia’s top tourist destinations on the rise.

Page 9: WA teenagers did better in international maths, reading and science tests than students in most other States – but Australia’s overall performance declined over the past decade compared with other nations.

Business: The first public cracks have emerged in one of of WA’s most successful resources partnerships, with US giant Apache taking Santos to court over development of the Spar gas project off the Pilbara.

Fortescue Metals Group is becoming increasingly confident it can sweat its existing Port Hedland infrastructure to a 175 million-tonne-a-year export rate by adding a fifth berth to the inner harbour.

Farmers are providing a valuable community service by maintaining native vegetation on their land and the State Government should look at innovative ways to reward them, according to the Conservation Council of WA.