Morning Headlines

Lib MP ‘has questions to answer’ over lobster tour

Liberal MP Ian Goodenough escorted a delegation of 250 Asian businesspeople to two lobster businesses that pay a commission to the backbencher’s company for securing export deals. The Aus

No mercy for ‘unethical banks’

Australia’s financial institutions are set to become political punching bags in the lead-up to the federal election, with Labor dismissing Coalition concerns about a credit squeeze as an excuse for more ‘‘unethical’’ bank behaviour. The Fin

TAB sell-off faces delay

Efforts by the McGowan Government to sell the TAB for up to half a billion dollars could be held up by the competition regulator, the boss of the betting agency has revealed. The West

Livestock exporter Wellard could lose CBA’s support

West Australian livestock exporter Wellard has suffered a string of woes since its unsuccessful sharemarket listing in 2015, and now one of its key lenders — the Commonwealth Bank — is about to withdraw support. The Aus

Kailis Bros rejects cray plan

The Chinese-controlled crayfishing company that helped Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly donate $40,000 of lobster to a charity Christmas lunch has opposed his plans to nationalise part of the industry. The West

Labor mulls NBN write-down ‘trigger’

Federal Labor is signalling it could support NBN Co slashing the value of the national broadband network in a potential multibillion-dollar commonwealth budget write-down that would boost telco retailers such as Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom and pave the way for cheaper internet prices. The Fin

Unions at loggerheads with BHP over foreign-crewed ships

Maritime unions have locked horns with BHP after the union carried out a country-wide audit of foreign-crewed ships and accused the company of locking out their inspectors. The Aus

Iron ore surge predicted to be temporary

While iron ore is expected to extend its rally, it’s also still expected by most analysts to plummet back to earth later this year as the focus returns to rising global supplies and falling Chinese demand for the steel-making material. The Fin

Frankly I don’t give a damn

Bill Shorten has invoked former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as he digs in on Labor's contentious negative gearing and franking credits policies, saying the party is "not for turning". The West

Refugee fix: PM calls in doctors

Scott Morrison has bowed to demands for an independent medical review panel to vet asylumseeker transfers from regional processing centres to Australian health facilities as the government faces the risk of a historic defeat on the floor of parliament next week over Kerryn Phelps’s medivac bill. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

P1: Australia’s financial institutions are set to become political punching bags in the lead-up to the federal election, with Labor dismissing Coalition concerns about a credit squeeze as an excuse for more ‘‘unethical’’ bank behaviour.

P1: Federal Labor is signalling it could support NBN Co slashing the value of the national broadband network in a potential multibillion-dollar commonwealth budget write-down that would boost telco retailers such as Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom and pave the way for cheaper internet prices.

P3: Federal Labor will launch its economic assault on the government on Monday by urging voters not to be fooled by headline claims about a strengthening economy.

P6: Residential property prices are falling too fast for the broader economy to absorb and could force the RBA to cut rates to prevent a consumer slowdown, job losses and weakening dollar, according to global investment bank Morgan Stanley.

P11: Canadian companies in China have lost major contracts, been tied up in more red tape and are complaining about late payments from Chinese clients since the arrest of a senior Huawei executive in Vancouver.

P15: Commonwealth Bank will kick off an expected subdued February earnings season, releasing half-year numbers on Wednesday as the market is still digesting the Hayne royal commission.

P16: ASX-listed satellite company Sky and Space Global is expected to seek to raise about $15 million with the help of stockbroker Taylor Collison.

P23: While iron ore is expected to extend its rally, it’s also still expected by most analysts to plummet back to earth later this year as the focus returns to rising global supplies and falling Chinese demand for the steel-making material.

P34: Rising commodity values and the lower Australian dollar will drive demand for rural properties in 2019 with those assets producing wool, lamb, wine, fruit and wheat having the strongest price growth prospects, market experts say.

The Australian

P1: Scott Morrison has bowed to demands for an independent medical review panel to vet asylum seeker transfers from regional processing centres to Australian health facilities as the government faces the risk of a historic defeat on the floor of parliament next week over Kerryn Phelps’s medivac bill.

P2: Liberal MP Ian Goodenough escorted a delegation of 250 Asian businesspeople to two lobster businesses that pay a commission to the backbencher’s company for securing export deals.

P2: Maritime unions have locked horns with BHP after the union carried out a country-wide audit of foreign-crewed ships and accused the company of locking out their inspectors.

P4: Chris Bowen will use “stagnant wages, shrinking consumer confidence and rising household debt” in a pre-election assault on the Coalition’s economic record.

P17: The nation’s regulators and big bank chiefs are bracing for the Hayne royal commission’s curtain call, which threatens sweeping changes across law enforcement and lending markets after delving into the sector’s failings and culture.

P17: The great surge in spending on infrastructure will hit a peak of $40 billion this year before starting to wane as major transport projects are completed.

P18: West Australian livestock exporter Wellard has suffered a string of woes since its unsuccessful sharemarket listing in 2015, and now one of its key lenders — the Commonwealth Bank — is about to withdraw support.

P19: IOOF suffered a $295 million net outflow of funds from its advice business in the December quarter, as the embattled wealth group and former senior executives and directors continue their battle with the prudential regulator.

The West Australian

P1: Bill Shorten has invoked former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as he digs in on Labor's contentious negative gearing and franking credits policies, saying the party is "not for turning".

P7: A magistrate has slammed taxpayer-funded lawyers who are being paid to represent some of the State’s most vulnerable people but aren’t showing up simply because the matters are outside the Perth area.

P8: New graduates about to enter WA’s primary school classrooms have claimed they are not being equipped with the skills they need to teach reading properly.

P18: Efforts by the McGowan Government to sell the TAB for up to half a billion dollars could be held up by the competition regulator, the boss of the betting agency has revealed.

P19:m The Chinese-controlled crayfishing company that helped Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly donate $40,000 of lobster to a charity Christmas lunch has opposed his plans to nationalise part of the industry.

Business: An indigenous-run pastoral company in the West Kimberley could become WA’s first commercial operation to create and power itself with biofuel derived from algae.

WA’s dairy farm businesses were hit with an average $150,000 in extra costs last year because of a difficult season and high feed prices.

Canadian music mogul Doug Putman has made an audacious swoop to seize control of troubled retailer HMV from under the nose of Newcastle United Football Club owner and billionaire Mike Ashley.

Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon received $US23 million in pay for 2018 after taking over as chief executive in October.