Morning Headlines

McGowan resists push to spend as debt pile shrinks

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says his government will not waver from its commitment to lower the state’s debt pile, despite mounting pressure on the state to stimulate the underperforming sectors of its economy. The Aus

Key union on the brink of hard times

The Federal Government’s chief union regulator has told a major division of the CFMMEU’s WA branch it needs to get its books in order after four years of million-dollar deficits. The West

Porter flags big Westpac penalty

Attorney-General Christian Porter said the money laundering breaches levelled against Westpac are ‘‘off the charts’’ and indicated that the bank can expect a fine well over the $700 million slapped on Commonwealth Bank of Australia for similar offences. The Fin

Climate for change

Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor wants WA to play a bigger role in reducing global emissions and will seek to partner with the State Government to put money into projects that cut greenhouse gases. The West

Forget tax and spend, go for productivity: Albanese

The legislated increase in the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent will not only boost workers’ retirement funds but enable greater investment by super funds in productivity-boosting infrastructure, Anthony Albanese says. The Fin

Woodside embraces zero-carbon energy challenge

Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman is keen to get involved in solar-powered energy exports to Indonesia, as the oil and gas producer looks beyond its current suite of LNG projects to longer-term exports of clean energy. The Fin

'Complex' awards on IR agenda

The nation’s award system will be reviewed next year, with Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter to examine longstanding business concerns that workplace arrangements in the hospitality, retail and restaurant sectors are too complex and need to be simplified. The Aus

Keep the faith on lithium, investors told

Pilbara Minerals is looking for a pick-up in the lithium market next year but insists it can ride out “a reasonably lengthy” downturn after topping up its coffers two months ago. The West

Safety videos ‘not entertainment’

Entertainment-focused in-flight safety videos have been blamed for underplaying the importance of safety on airlines and giving rise to incidents like the one involving American rapper will.i.am. The Aus

Judges to get ‘mental health’ days

WA’s 69 magistrates are being given four days out of the courtroom each year on top of their normal annual leave so they can go and see a counsellor for an hour every three months. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Attorney-General Christian Porter said the money laundering breaches levelled against Westpac are ‘‘off the charts’’ and indicated that the bank can expect a fine well over the $700 million slapped on Commonwealth Bank of Australia for similar offences.

AustralianSuper members are being slugged with unnecessary fees after 250,000 inactive low-balance super accounts worth $506 million were transferred into an industry super-owned fund rather than being directed to the Australian Taxation Office, a parliamentary committee heard.

Page 3: The West Australian government is preparing to beef up its response to corruption scandals in the state’s public sector that include allegations a senior bureaucrat was involved in stealing tens of millions of dollars.

Page 4: The legislated increase in the superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent will not only boost workers’ retirement funds but enable greater investment by super funds in productivity-boosting infrastructure, Anthony Albanese says.

Page 11: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is looking to stamp his authority on the $90 billion naval shipbuilding program, with an advisory board dominated by highly paid Americans expected to be overhauled and more Australians appointed.

Page 14: Reform of the ailing World Trade Organisation and tensions between the United States and China are expected to dominate a meeting this weekend of the G20 foreign ministers.

Page 17: Veteran investor Howard Marks says the abandonment of the WeWork float, the poor performance of US IPOs in 2019 and the punishment of bad news in US debt markets are all early signs that discipline is starting to return to financial markets, and investors may no longer be rewarded for holding the riskiest assets.

Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman is keen to get involved in solar-powered energy exports to Indonesia, as the oil and gas producer looks beyond its current suite of LNG projects to longer-term exports of clean energy.

Page 20: BlueScope Steel says there’s been a ‘‘modest’’ pick-up in demand for steel products in the Australian construction sector and its United States operations are tracking solidly, but overall conditions are still being hampered by weaker commodity steel prices.

Prime chairman John Hartigan has urged the regional broadcaster’s shareholders to vote in favour of a merger with Seven West Media as a matter of survival for both the company and journalism outside metropolitan cities.

Page 21: DHL’s plan to halve its carbon emissions by 2025 has received a boost from Qantas Airways signing a three-year deal to offset the courier’s output.

The Australian

Page 1: The nation’s award system will be reviewed next year, with Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter to examine longstanding business concerns that workplace arrangements in the hospitality, retail and restaurant sectors are too complex and need to be simplified.

Page 2: The Electrical Trades Union will no longer provide donations or logistic support to the federal Labor Party and has criticised Anthony Albanese over a “lack of leadership” after the federal opposition voted for three free-trade agreements.

Page 4: West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says his government will not waver from its commitment to lower the state’s debt pile, despite mounting pressure on the state to stimulate the underperforming sectors of its economy.

Page 5: New research shows children learn best when explicitly taught new academic content before venturing into problem-solving tasks, challenging the merits of a growing trend towards inquiry-based learning in classrooms.

Page 8: Attorney-General Christian Porter has hit out at ABC chair Ita Buttrose for criticising his control over the prosecution of journalists.

Page 17: Local infrastructure investors including Australian Super, IFM Investors, Unisuper and Macquarie are said to be lining up to buy the assets Shell is selling at the Queensland Curtis Island LNG plant.

Page 20: Telstra will contact almost 180,000 customers who upgraded to high-speed NBN plans after failing to comply with a court-enforceable undertaking it signed in 2017.

Page 21: The head of the nation’s biggest superannuation fund has invoked Josh Frydenberg’s warning that the ageing population is an “economic time bomb” to press the case for lifting compulsory super to 12 per cent.

Page 23: Entertainment-focused in-flight safety videos have been blamed for underplaying the importance of safety on airlines and giving rise to incidents like the one involving American rapper will.i.am.

The West Australian

Page 3: The Federal Government’s chief union regulator has told a major division of the CFMMEU’s WA branch it needs to get its books in order after four years of million-dollar deficits.

Page 4: Australian children are among the least physically active in the world, with nine out of 10 boys and girls failing to be active for at least an hour a day.

Page 7: Jade McNaught, WA horse racing’s fastest rising star, has revealed the vile online trolling that has injected a dark undercurrent to her wave of success in the saddle.

Page 8: A furious Mark McGowan has lashed the Liberals for what he says are the “shameful and undemocratic” antics of its MPs standing in the way of voluntary assisted dying laws.

The City of Fremantle will shell out half a million in back pay to underpaid staff but won’t pursue an estimated $180,000 in over payments it made to other employees.

Page 14: WA’s 69 magistrates are being given four days out of the courtroom each year on top of their normal annual leave so they can go and see a counsellor for an hour every three months.

Page 22: The City of Subiaco has been slammed by Rokeby Road businesses over the timing of resurfacing works for two busy carparks in Subiaco’s CBD in the lead-up to Christmas.

Page 24: Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor wants WA to play a bigger role in reducing global emissions and will seek to partner with the State Government to put money into projects that cut greenhouse gases.

Business: Westpac chief Brian Hartzer’s future at the bank is looking increasingly in doubt after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on the troubled bank’s board to consider his tenure.

The Federal Government is playing down fears of a looming truck driver shortfall, which has sparked “grave concerns” in WA.

Spud king Tony Galati plans to tap the export market but will need to mechanise some farming and packing systems, because he says high labour costs make Australia globally uncompetitive.

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has raised at least $US11 billion in a share offering in Hong Kong, netting the city’s biggest offering since 2010 despite recent political turmoil.

Pilbara Minerals is looking for a pick-up in the lithium market next year but insists it can ride out “a reasonably lengthy” downturn after topping up its coffers two months ago.

Climate change will expose Australians to just about every type of extreme weather, from floods and cyclones to devastating bushfires, according to a report by one of Australia’s biggest insurers.