Morning Headlines

Cheap gas to power recovery

A gas pipeline from Western Australia, boosted production in the eastern states, and even shifting energy intensive manufacturing west, are all options under consideration by the expert committee advising the government on how cheap gas will play a key role in Australia’s economic recovery. The Fin

News key for tech titans: ‘so pay up’

Rod Sims has made it clear Google and Facebook profit from original journalism, dismissing the tech titans’ claims they struggle to make money from media content, as he outlined details of a new compulsory code. The Aus

Gas juniors keen to pounce after Woodside’s delay

Western Australia’s junior gasfield developers are striving to pounce on opportunities arising in the state’s gas market after the delay in Woodside Petroleum’s LNG projects, which has shifted sentiment among domestic energy buyers. The Fin

ALP plans to build on popularity by eyeing Lib seats

Labor has set its sights on using Mark McGowan’s unprecedented approval rating to pick up seats at the State election that were considered unwinnable before COVID-19. The West

Fundies join barristers on JobKeeper

Investment fund managers, barristers, doctors and pensioners who reported a temporary dip in income are among the growing list of people being paid the federal government’s JobKeeper subsidy. The Fin

China knew barley dumping claims were false

Chinese officials admitted there was no evidence Australian farmers had dumped barley in China but they still proceeded with an investigation that has resulted in punitive tariffs, killing off a $600 million-a-year export market for grain growers. The Fin

Free childcare saved majority of providers

Australia’s largest childcare provider has called on the government not to switch off its early childhood relief package or JobKeeper ‘‘prematurely’’. The Fin

BHP safety closure

Ongoing safety concerns prompted BHP to suspend several operations at its Jimblebar mine in the Pilbara this week in what one worker described as “a line-in-the-sand moment”. The West

WA grains group behind India barley exports

India could soon open its doors to Australian-grown malt barley, largely thanks to work being done behind the scenes by a WA-based organisation. The West

HBF’s market recovery plan

The coronavirus could cost HBF up to $80 million this year, but WA’s biggest private health insurer is looking to the stockmarket recovery and the Quokka to help offset the impact. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: A gas pipeline from Western Australia, boosted production in the eastern states, and even shifting energy intensive manufacturing west, are all options under consideration by the expert committee advising the government on how cheap gas will play a key role in Australia’s economic recovery.

Chinese officials admitted there was no evidence Australian farmers had dumped barley in China but they still proceeded with an investigation that has resulted in punitive tariffs, killing off a $600 million-a-year export market for grain growers.

Investment fund managers, barristers, doctors and pensioners who reported a temporary dip in income are among the growing list of people being paid the federal government’s JobKeeper subsidy.

Page 2: Australia needs to spend up to $30 billion installing fast-charging stations to prepare for a rapid influx of electric vehicles predicted to hit in the next five years, according to new analysis by consultancy firm EY.

Page 3: Employers and the federal government warned premiers not to further damage the $80 billion domestic tourism sector, as travellers face ongoing confusion over the lifting of state border restrictions.

Page 4: The Morrison government believes a groundswell of consumer sentiment will help drive a return to domestic manufacturing in the post-coronavirus world.

Page 5: A wave of cases accusing employers of excluding workers from JobKeeper has hit the workplace tribunal, with claims businesses are denying staff the wage subsidy for performance reasons, cashflow issues or disputes over eligibility.

Page 7: First State Super lost close to $400 million on its blockbuster $1.1 billion takeover of financial adviser StatePlus, before stripping its assets and saddling members with a $725 million promissory note after a series of unusual related-party transactions last year.

Page 8: The Reserve Bank is monitoring how property prices may change if more people move back home or form larger households because of financial stress, board meeting minutes reveal.

Page 9: Law firms are already handling mental health claims stemming from remote work and expect to see discrimination claims from employees who have been told they must return to the office, leading employment lawyers have warned.

Page 10: Australia’s largest childcare provider has called on the government not to switch off its early childhood relief package or JobKeeper ‘‘prematurely’’.

Page 13: Westpac has elected to dump EY for a review of its risk management processes three years after its last review found ‘‘known and ongoing risks’’ within the bank’s anti-money laundering systems including ‘‘poor data quality’’, ‘‘manual workarounds’’ and ‘‘historical underinvestment’’.

Page 15: Surging iron ore prices are breathing life back into marginal Australian iron ore projects as expectations grow that Brazilian exports could be weaker for longer.

Virgin Australia’s administrators are expected to turn to the federal government for a loan to fund the rest of the failed airline’s sale process.

Page 16: Online foreign exchange provider OFX says transaction numbers rose by 17 per cent in March as funds were shifted across borders during the COVID-19 panic.

Page 18: Western Australia’s junior gas field developers are striving to pounce on opportunities arising in the state’s gas market after the delay in Woodside Petroleum’s LNG projects, which has shifted sentiment among domestic energy buyers.

The Australian

Page 1: Australia’s relationship with China is headed towards crisis point amid a fresh war of words with Beijing’s top diplomat in Canberra, and fears of further reprisals from the nation’s biggest trading partner.

Volunteers in Brisbane and Melbourne are set to be injected with a potential coronavirus vaccine in the first human clinical trials to take place in Australia, as hopes rise that a COVID-19 vaccine could be available within a year.

Page 2: Rod Sims has made it clear Google and Facebook profit from original journalism, dismissing the tech titans’ claims they struggle to make money from media content, as he outlined details of a new compulsory code.

Page 4: Scott Morrison and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, will cement new agreements to develop reliable supply chains in key strategic sectors, including medical goods, technology and critical minerals, amid heightened tensions with China.

Page 5: Industry and Science Minister Karen Andrews has issued a call to arms to the states and territories to cut red tape and encourage project approvals or upgrades to help Australia recover from the coronavirus crisis.

Page 13: Global giants Google and Facebook have “no chance” at catching up to Zoom when it comes to video conferencing, according to one of Zoom’s top global executives who says competition is welcome.

The hard-hit property industry is calling for a return to pre-coronavirus levels of immigration to support the growth of major cities as it looks to ensure that the employment-generating housing sector does not fall into a deep recession.

Page 15: Boral has been sued for $US450m ($687m) in a US court by the former owner of a windows business it acquired, adding further strain after it disclosed an accounting scandal in the division in December.

The West Australian

Page 1: Major developments would be fast-tracked and council red tape for things such as building an extension or patio abolished in a new plan to kickstart WA’s economic recovery.

Page 3: Nine Entertainment yesterday swung the axe on another group of Perth employees in its ongoing attempts to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from its bottom line.

Page 9: Simmering tensions between the McGowan Government and WA’s police and ambulance officers are boiling over as the State holds its breath for a second wave of COVID-19 infections on the back of this week’s easing of restrictions.

Page 16: Labor has set its sights on using Mark McGowan’s unprecedented approval rating to pick up seats at the State election that were considered unwinnable before COVID-19.

Business: Ongoing safety concerns prompted BHP to suspend several operations at its Jimblebar mine in the Pilbara this week in what one worker described as “a line-in-the-sand moment”.

The number of WA jobs lost during the coronavirus crisis has grown to more than 80,000 with young people bearing the brunt.

A vessel laden with Australian barley has veered away from China after the Asian country slapped heavy tariffs on imports of the grain for five years amid escalating bilateral diplomatic tensions.

India could soon open its doors to Australian-grown malt barley, largely thanks to work being done behind the scenes by a WA-based organisation.

The coronavirus could cost HBF up to $80 million this year, but WA’s biggest private health insurer is looking to the stockmarket recovery and the Quokka to help offset the impact.

The Australian dollar’s turnaround signals the start of a recovery that may see it rally to US70¢ by year-end, according to Insight Investment.