Morning Headlines

Labor to trump low-income tax cuts

Bill Shorten will trump the government’s tax cuts for 2.9 million of the nation’s lowest paid but has ruled out adopting other cuts that would result in a flat rate of 30 per cent for 94 per cent of workers and benefit the highest paid. The Fin

We’ll work with either party: Woodside boss

Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says neither a United States-China trade deal that favours American commodities nor a Labor carbon policy will undermine demand in liquefied natural gas or investor interest in its huge LNG projects in Western Australia. The Fin

Miners braced for wave of cultural-loss claims 

More than 100 mining companies could be drawn into a single test case seeking compensation payments for the Tjiwarl people of the West Australian desert following the High Court’s historic Timber Creek ruling. The Aus

Shorten’s bid to woo working mums

Bill Shorten will tonight attempt to recast the election contest as a fight over healthcare, using his

Budget reply speech to revive his controversial “Mediscare” campaign that helped him almost topple Malcolm Turnbull in 2016. The West

ACCC ends Labor-backed cartel probe against big four

The competition regulator has chosen not to pursue a Labor-backed probe into possible illegal collusion between the big four consulting firms Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, saying that ‘‘conflicts alone’’ were not enough to be considered a breach of competition law. The Fin

Curtin tops tax winners

Residents of the safe Liberal seat of Curtin will be the biggest beneficiaries in WA of the Morrison Government’s plan to introduce billions of dollars in new tax cuts if it wins the Federal election next month. The West

Retailers hope $7bn sugar hit jolts shoppers

The nation’s retail sector is set to get a shot in the arm from Tuesday’s budget with a $7.3 billion boost to households through a tax offset, with the bulk of the funds expected to be quickly spent on clothing, footwear and food. The Aus

$18m to help repair schools

Education Minister Sue Ellery said the State Government would hand out $18 million to schools in need of immediate maintenance, including $1.23 million for Hedland Senior High School. The West

Milk price ‘slap in face’

The end of $1-a-litre milk by the three leading supermarket operators has in the case of Aldi failed to improve the lot of contracted dairy farmers in the State’s South West. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Bill Shorten will trump the government’s tax cuts for 2.9 million of the nation’s lowest paid but has ruled out adopting other cuts that would result in a flat rate of 30 per cent for 94 per cent of workers and benefit the highest paid.

Page 2: The competition regulator has chosen not to pursue a Labor-backed probe into possible illegal collusion between the big four consulting firms Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, saying that ‘‘conflicts alone’’ were not enough to be considered a breach of competition law.

Page 4: The Labor Party has backflipped on part of its ‘‘cleaner transport’’ policy after 48 hours of anger from car dealers that would have been forced to meet an emissions quota effectively restricting the sale of too many higher-polluting vehicles.

Page 5: Australia’s power grid is only coping with the rapid influx of intermittent wind and solar power with the help of costly daily intervention by the energy market operator to keep the lights on, an assessment of the electricity system has found, ramping up pressure for a long-term federal framework that integrates climate and energy policy.

Page 10: Claims that the Coalition’s $302 billion worth of tax cuts could be built on overly optimistic surpluses have not prevented global ratings agencies from backing Australia’s ‘AAA’ credit rating – one of only 11 countries in the world.

Page 17: Small businesses and their advisers said the $30,000 tax write-off, which Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hopes will be spent on ‘‘fridges, grills and vans’’, should be made permanent.

Page 23: Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says neither a United States-China trade deal that favours American commodities nor a Labor carbon policy will undermine demand in liquefied natural gas or investor interest in its huge LNG projects in Western Australia.

Regulators in Hong Kong, Singapore and China are working with ANZ Banking Group to digitise trade finance through blockchain technology, a move that will enable banks to make faster lending decisions and regulators to better monitor international capital flows.

Page 25: The a2 Milk Company has warned high dairy prices are likely to hit its profitability, with international markets tightening due to reduced supply from New Zealand and Europe.

Page 29: Shell has come under fire in Australia for sticking with three domestic lobby groups despite deciding to quit a leading US refining association because of differences over climate-change policy.

The Australian

Page 1: Australians living in marginal electorates are the big winners from the Morrison government’s “congestion busting” budget infrastructure package, with road upgrades, rail projects and commuter carparks sprinkled over battleground seats.

Page 2: A high-powered national corruption watchdog with powers that dwarf those of existing state bodies has been proposed as part of an overhaul of integrity agencies that includes a new regulator to track down and sanction misleading and deceptive conduct by the media.

More than 100 mining companies could be drawn into a single test case seeking compensation payments for the Tjiwarl people of the West Australian desert following the High Court’s historic Timber Creek ruling.

Page 5: Millions of Australians remain ignorant of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax for property investors, with only a third of voters saying they understand the measures.

Page 8: Labor says drivers of electric vehicles will be able to use roads free of charge for the foreseeable future under its blueprint to lift EV sales to 50 per of new cars sold by 2030, as new figures reveal owners of petrol-driven cars pay more than $650 a year in fuel excise to maintain the road network.

Page 19: The nation’s retail sector is set to get a shot in the arm from Tuesday’s budget with a $7.3 billion boost to households through a tax offset, with the bulk of the funds expected to be quickly spent on clothing, footwear and food.

Page 22: BHP’s innovation boss has defended the company’s push to automate its Australian mines, saying the drive is not “a one-way conversation about fewer jobs”.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman has stepped up calls for a global price on carbon in a speech at the LNG 2019 conference in Shanghai yesterday.

The West Australian

Page 1: Bill Shorten will tonight attempt to recast the election contest as a fight over healthcare, using his Budget reply speech to revive his controversial “Mediscare” campaign that helped him almost topple Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.

Page 3: Dozens of surgical procedures had to be called off at Fiona Stanley Hospital — including for patients under anaesthetic — after a power blackout yesterday.

Page 4: Residents of the safe Liberal seat of Curtin will be the biggest beneficiaries in WA of the Morrison Government’s plan to introduce billions of dollars in new tax cuts if it wins the Federal election next month.

Page 9: An immunisation social media site has been hijacked by anti-vaccination trolls who told the mother of a baby who died from whooping cough to “go have a miscarriage”.

Page 10: Perth’s biggest local council is losing its battle to retain big leafy trees as it considers pushing back by a decade a green target to cover the city with canopy.

Millions of Australians suffering chronic pain are becoming addicted to opioid drugs while they wait up to four years for specialist care — and the bill is $140 billion a year.

Page 11: WA’s economic watchdog has accused State-owned power provider Synergy of gouging customers up to $100 million by charging prices that were higher than reasonable for more than a year.

Page 12: Education Minister Sue Ellery said the State Government would hand out $18 million to schools in need of immediate maintenance, including $1.23 million for Hedland Senior High School.

Business: The end of $1-a-litre milk by the three leading supermarket operators has in the case of Aldi failed to improve the lot of contracted dairy farmers in the State’s South West.

Flinders Mines has had to call an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to vote on a motion that has already been decided.

The Finance Sector Union has lashed the RAC as a “dinosaur”, accusing it of failing female staff by seeking to pull paid parental leave from a new pay deal.

Mining entrepreneur Andrew Forrest has made more than $4 billion in paper profits since the beginning of the year owing to his 35 per cent stake in the iron ore miner he founded 16 years ago, Fortescue Metals Group.