Super funds wrangle over Perth Airport
AustralianSuper has launched legal proceedings against the $92 billion Future Fund over the latter’s acquisition of a stake in Perth Airport in an unprecedented move that will pit off the country’s biggest investment funds against each other. The Fin
Chevron’s Gorgon LNG costs climb to $US54bn
US energy major Chevron has raised the cost estimate for its huge Gorgon liquefied natural gas plant in Western Australia by a further $US2 billion ($2.2 billion), but worries remain in the market that a further increase beyond the revised $US54 billion is still possible. The Fin
Slower NBN $11bn cost blowout
The Coalition has dumped its broadband election pledge to deliver a cheaper network to all Australians by 2016 after a review of NBN Co recommended a complete redesign of the network and revealed an $11.5 billion blowout in the cost of the government’s multi-technology model. The Fin
City Beach restaurant strip to become reality
City Beach will get an $18 million facelift, with a new surf club and restaurant strip planned at the popular beachfront. The West
General Motors wanted extra $80m a year
General Motors Holden’s decision to leave Australia was made after the federal government baulked at an extra $80 million a year for seven years. The Fin
Abbott urges central bank intervention on the dollar
Tony Abbott has encouraged the Reserve Bank to consider a ‘‘prudent’’ intervention to drive down the dollar as manufacturers blame the currency for forcing them to cut jobs. The Aus
$1.2bn asylum-seeker blowout
The cost of processing asylum seekers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea has blown out $1.2 billion since Labor’s pre-election economic statement in August. The Aus
States want bailout to fill Holden gap
The Federal Government is looking at a multibillion-dollar bailout for the Victorian and South Australian economies that would dwarf the extra money sought by Holden to keep making cars in the two States. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Coalition has dumped its broadband election pledge to deliver a cheaper network to all Australians by 2016 after a review of NBN Co recommended a complete redesign of the network and revealed an $11.5 billion blowout in the cost of the government’s multi-technology model.
General Motors Holden’s decision to leave Australia was made after the federal government baulked at an extra $80 million a year for seven years.
Page 3: One of the key players in the Australian Workers Union slush fund scandal, Julia Gillard’s former boyfriend Bruce Wilson, says he does not fear a Royal Commission at which he could be a key witness.
Page 5: Toyota Australia is considering appealing a Federal Court decision blocking its employees voting on a plan to reduce labour costs and help save the company’s factories from closure.
Page 7: The man who shut down Mitsubishi Motors’ local manufacturing operations in 2008 just three months after it was originally announced says a short and sharp closure worked best for that company and its workforce.
Page 8: Tony Abbott has told his MPs to prepare for “trench warfare” in the new year, as Parliament rose for 2013, leaving unresolved the Coalition’s plans to abolish the carbon tax and mining tax.
Page 11: Incoming NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow says the national broadband network will be one of his biggest challenges, as he defended his experience in rolling out major telecommunications projects.
Page 13: Aldi managing director Tom Daunt is reluctant to sign the grocery code of conduct until he is confident it will not increase industry costs and push up prices for consumers.
Page 15: AustralianSuper has launched legal proceedings against the $92 billion Future Fund over the latter’s acquisition of a stake in Perth Airport in an unprecedented move that will pit off the country’s biggest investment funds against each other.
US energy major Chevron has raised the cost estimate for its huge Gorgon liquefied natural gas plant in Western Australia by a further $US2 billion ($2.2 billion), but worries remain in the market that a further increase beyond the revised $US54 billion is still possible.
Page 16: Rio Tinto chief executive of energy Harry Kenyon-Slaney said it remains on track to deliver its target of $US1 billion ($1.1billion) of ongoing cost savings by the end of next year amid a flat outlook for the coal market.
Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways have boosted their combined stakes in Virgin Australia Holdings to 67 per cent after only one quarter of retail shareholders took up entitlements as part of a $350 million capital raising.
The Australian
Page 1: Toyota has warned that uncompetitive work practices could scuttle its chances of survival as Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said Holden’s decision to cease making cars in Australia should be a wake-up call to all manufacturers to lift productivity.
Changing the culture at the NBN Co will be crucial to turning around the nation’s biggest infrastructure project, Ziggy Switkowski has declared after releasing a damning review revealing the project would have cost $73 billion and missed its deadline by three years under Labor’s plan.
Page 2: Tony Abbott has encouraged the Reserve Bank to consider a ‘‘prudent’’ intervention to drive down the dollar as manufacturers blame the currency for forcing them to cut jobs.
Page 3: The cost of processing asylum seekers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea has blown out $1.2 billion since Labor’s pre-election economic statement in August.
Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer has accused Labor of being ‘‘hypocrites’’ on the issue of women in power, as a scrappy battle against Speaker Bronwyn Bishop reached its zenith this week.
Page 4: The Abbott government has taken the extraordinary step of referring Labor’s $300 million Early Years Quality Fund — designed to lift some childcare wages — to the Auditor-General, arguing that it needs to be investigated over ‘‘concerns’’, particularly around ‘‘probity issues’’.
Page 6: Toyota Australia’s cost-cutting strategy has received a major setback after a Federal Court judge blocked the company from holding a meeting of employees today to consider changes to their workplace agreement.
Page 18: Sandfire Resources managing director Karl Simich says he is ‘‘frustrated’’ that the difficulties at copper miner and major shareholder OZ Minerals are weighing on his company’s share price.
Page 19: A $US2 billion ($2.2bn) blowout at the Chevron-led Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia is a reminder that the LNG sector is still susceptible to cost pressures, despite the easing Australian dollar and increased labour market capacity.
Page 25: Qantas is expected to renew its push for a federal government review of the Foreign Investment Review Board in the wake of the successful completion of Virgin Australia’s capital raising.
The West Australian
Page 4: A shipment of 80,000 sheep to the Middle East remained in limbo yesterday as a Perth-based company under investigation over the treatment of cattle in Gaza battled for an export permit.
Australia’s new Senate could sit before legal challenges to the election result in WA are determined, a High Court justice says.
Labor left the Abbott Government with a $1.2 billion budget black hole in unfunded offshore detention costs.
Page 9: A damning Auditor-General’s report has backed warnings from peak farming groups and unions about the growing risk of a biosecurity disaster in WA.
Page 10: Millions of Australians paid substantially more for some favourite detergents under a cartel among its three biggest players, the competition watchdog has alleged.
Page 11: The Barnett Government has the worst electricity market reform record of any State, according to the industry body representing Australia’s energy utilities.
Page 12: The Federal Government is looking at a multibillion-dollar bailout for the Victorian and South Australian economies that would dwarf the extra money sought by Holden to keep making cars in the two States.
Page 13: It is more than four years since a WA liquor store was fined for selling alcohol to a minor, though it is believed most sell to underage customers.
Page 14: The group behind the State’s first shark barrier says it could walk away from WA without State Government support.
Page 15: A Perth law firm has introduced a US-style money-back guarantee, saying it is a much-needed service that would improve the image of lawyers and the “old fashioned, out dated” legal sector.
Page 16: City Beach will get an $18 million facelift, with a new surf club and restaurant strip planned at the popular beachfront.
Business: Contractor AusGroup has attempted to hose down fears it may be flirting with insolvency as it seeks fresh sources of working capital before its banks withdraw lines of credit.
The Collie coalfield woes have spread, with Chinese-owned Premier Coal also thought to be teetering on the edge of financial ruin amid claims it has been unable to secure millions of dollars in much-needed capital.
Investors in nickel hopeful Classic Minerals received an early Christmas present yesterday, with shares in the Perth explorer jumping 85 per cent on the back of a discovery near Sirius Resources’ Nova deposit.