Morning Headlines

Bid unleashes nickel frenzy

Nickel is poised to roar back into fashion as Independence Group’s $312m bid for Panoramic Resources unleashes a corporate freefor-all with mid-tier miners scrambling for scale amid predictions of a looming nickel supply shortage. The Aus

Degrading ore body adds to Citic’s woes

China’s Citic faces a fresh set of challenges at its $16bn Sino Iron mine in the Pilbara as the company looks to a rejig of its massive processing plant to cope with a degrading ore body. The Aus

An economic argument for extending preschool by a year

The Morrison government could save $15.2 billion off the budget bottom line if it was prepared to outlay more on early childhood including an extra year of pre-school, according to a group of organisations and companies which includes Woodside Energy and Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation. The Fin

Maxsted puts Hartzer on notice

Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted has put his chief executive, Brian Hartzer, on notice that he could be sacked if the AUSTRAC scandal continues to destabilise the reputation of the bank and enough shareholders demand his scalp. The Fin

China will eclipse US economy by 2030, experts say

Australia should prepare for China to overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy by 2030, according to a group of influential Australian foreign policy figures. The Fin

Carbonate in the box seat as LME embraces lithium

The London Metals Exchange is most likely to embrace lithium carbonate when it pushes into trading of the battery mineral next year, but chief executive Matthew Chamberlain has not ruled out pricing other lithium products as well. The Fin

Hanson not sold on union bill

Pauline Hanson is refusing to deliver the government the Senate numbers likely needed to pass the Ensuring Integrity Bill, declaring she will hold more talks with unions before deciding if One Nation will vote for the proposed union-restricting laws. The Aus

Kalgoorlie mayor wants homegrown miners

The McGowan Government has been called on to follow Queensland’s lead and ban flyin, fly-out workers on resources projects close to regional towns to breathe life back into remote areas. The West

WA lagging in learning

WA has the highest proportion of childcare centres and preschools that are failing to meet national quality standards, according to a report card from the peak early childhood advocacy group. The West

RMT to predict disasters

West Perth-headquartered Risk Management Technologies is accelerating its application of artificial intelligence, enhancing its well-regarded First Priority platform with “augmented predictive incident capability”. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted has put his chief executive, Brian Hartzer, on notice that he could be sacked if the AUSTRAC scandal continues to destabilise the reputation of the bank and enough shareholders demand his scalp.

BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie says company directors and executives must avoid a defensive mindset when challenged by an activist investor, in a rare insight into the lessons from BHP’s tussle with US hedge fund Elliott Management.

Page 3: Analysis by Chant West points to a ‘‘significant failure rate’’ among retail and industry default superannuation funds as the prudential regulator prepares to release heatmaps early next month.

Page 6: The labour movement has invoked the scandal consuming Westpac as it mounts a last-ditch effort to persuade the Senate crossbench to oppose new laws making it easier to deregister supposedly rogue unions and officials.

Page 9: Australia should prepare for China to overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy by 2030, according to a group of influential Australian foreign policy figures.

Page 12: Fintech company Edstart is the first of Australia’s emerging payment startups to tap into the deep pockets of fee-paying education with its $11 billion spending base of financially committed school parents.

The Morrison government could save $15.2 billion off the budget bottom line if it was prepared to outlay more on early childhood including an extra year of pre-school, according to a group of organisations and companies which includes Woodside Energy and Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation.

Page 13: Galaxy Resources’ Argentinian project will initially sell its product for 25 per cent less than the benchmark price for battery grade lithium, but chief executive Simon Hay believes lower margins are a temporary compromise worth accepting amid the global slump in prices to revive the stalled project .

Page 15: Governments are being urged to give construction workers back their weekends and drop penalties for late delivery to lower ‘‘horrific’’ suicide rates by easing financial pressures on contractors struggling to complete billions of dollars of new infrastructure.

Page 17: KFC managing director Nikki Lawson would never describe the fast-food retailer as a technology company – unlike Domino’s chief executive Don Meij – but the restaurant chain is nipping at Domino’s heels in the race to conquer the Internet of Food.

Page 18: The London Metals Exchange is most likely to embrace lithium carbonate when it pushes into trading of the battery mineral next year, but chief executive Matthew Chamberlain has not ruled out pricing other lithium products as well.

Page 19: Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has enlisted dozens of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence in what he says is an attempt to ensure the technology does good, not harm.

Page 20: Tesla chief executive Elon Musk says the company has amassed 146,000 orders for its Cybertruck, less than 48 hours after the polarising vehicle was first shown amid shattered glass.

The Australian

Page 1: Westpac’s top executives are still in line for millions of dollars in long-term bonuses, undermining the bank’s efforts to shut down a child-sex payments scandal.

Page 2: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand assistant governor has reiterated a commitment to do whatever it takes to achieve its inflation mandate as bankers on both sides of the Tasman consider potential unconventional measures to boost their economies.

Page 4: Pauline Hanson is refusing to deliver the government the Senate numbers likely needed to pass the Ensuring Integrity Bill, declaring she will hold more talks with unions before deciding if One Nation will vote for the proposed union-restricting laws.

Page 17: The banking regulator has confirmed Westpac is being investigated over governance issues and faces potential penalties after action was launched against the bank alleging 23 million legal breaches, including links to child exploitation.

Australia’s most successful boutique fund and asset managers have suffered big profit falls and falling dividends as a volatile market took its toll on their financial results.

Nickel is poised to roar back into fashion as Independence Group’s $312m bid for Panoramic Resources unleashes a corporate free-for-all with mid-tier miners scrambling for scale amid predictions of a looming nickel supply shortage.

Page 19: China’s Citic faces a fresh set of challenges at its $16bn Sino Iron mine in the Pilbara as the company looks to a rejig of its massive processing plant to cope with a degrading ore body.

Rio Tinto will invest $10m to help kick-start an education program targeted at school-age learners to boost development of skills needed for a digital economy, including automation, systems design, and data analytics.

The West Australian

Page 4: The McGowan Government has been called on to follow Queensland’s lead and ban fly-in, fly-out workers on resources projects close to regional towns to breathe life back into remote areas.

Page 7: Scott Morrison has suffered a fall in his personal popularity despite the Coalition pushing in front of Labor on a two-party preferred basis, according to the latest Newspoll.

Page 11: WA has the highest proportion of childcare centres and preschools that are failing to meet national quality standards, according to a report card from the peak early childhood advocacy group.

Page 16: Violent and out of control meth-affected patients are flooding emergency departments across the State, with presentations surging more than 20 per cent at some of WA’s busiest hospitals in the past year.

Business: Andrew Forrest is pushing for global policy settings to ensure artificial intelligence is not just for the “haves” in society, warning there are no controls around this profound technological change.

Millennials have been painted as a challenge in the workplace, characterised as narcissistic, lazy, job-hoppers.

West Perth-headquartered Risk Management Technologies is accelerating its application of artificial intelligence, enhancing its well-regarded First Priority platform with “augmented predictive incident capability”.