Perth set to be next AFL hub
Talks between the AFL and WA Government about a Perth hub have resumed, with the next set of fixtures likely to include matches played at Optus Stadium. The West
Asset write-off extension to aid business
The Morrison government has extended the instant asset write-off by another six months to December at an expected cost of $300 million in an effort to prevent a further crash in business investment. The Fin
Protests and Kiwis push state limits
New Zealand’s immediate end to coronavirus restrictions and moves by tens of thousands of Australians to join Indigenous rights protests have ramped up pressure on the states to ease Australia’s lockdown rules and restart domestic travel. The Fin
Childcare to lose subsidy, JobKeeper
Free childcare will come to an end on July 12 when the system ‘‘snaps back’’ to the childcare subsidy scheme. The sector will lose access to JobKeeper a week later. The Fin
Posties bracing for 2000 job losses
Unions have warned the jobs of more than 2000 postal workers are under threat after Australia Post managers allegedly told workers a restructuring of delivery services could lead to the jobs of one in four posties being cut. The Aus
Senators to question JobKeeper privacy
Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy and Australian Taxation Office Commissioner Chris Jordan will be grilled at a Senate inquiry today on whether recipients of Australia’s biggest stimulus package – the $70 billion JobKeeper program – should be disclosed on a public register to improve transparency and accountability. The Fin
AGL bets on the cloud’s future with Microsoft
Energy producer and retailer AGL signed up with Microsoft in an ambitious push to get all of its business systems into the cloud by 2022 as a key part of a $300 million plan to improve its customer experience. The Fin
New hope for Tier 3 reopening
Hopes of reviving the Wheatbelt’s mothballed Tier 3 grain rail network has been reignited after the State Government said it would commission an engineering assessment on the cost of reinstating the lines. The West
Push for students to do STEM
Students now choosing their subjects for Years 11 and 12 are being urged to take at least two science, technology, engineering or maths courses to equip them for jobs of the future. The West
Reforms may stop investors
Legal experts and corporate advisers have warned of increased uncertainty for investors after the Federal Government’s decision to shake up the country’s foreign investment rules. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: New Zealand’s immediate end to coronavirus restrictions and moves by tens of thousands of Australians to join Indigenous rights protests have ramped up pressure on the states to ease Australia’s lockdown rules and restart domestic travel.
The Morrison government has extended the instant asset write-off by another six months to December at an expected cost of $300 million in an effort to prevent a further crash in business investment.
Page 3: Free childcare will come to an end on July 12 when the system ‘‘snaps back’’ to the childcare subsidy scheme. The sector will lose access to JobKeeper a week later.
Page 6: Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy and Australian Taxation Office Commissioner Chris Jordan will be grilled at a Senate inquiry today on whether recipients of Australia’s biggest stimulus package – the $70 billion JobKeeper program – should be disclosed on a public register to improve transparency and accountability.
The federal government is funding Qantas to the tune of about $800 million to keep staff on the books and domestic and international routes operating during COVID-19, government data reveals.
Page 9: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched an investigation into Facebook’s recent $US400 million ($612 million) acquisition of Giphy.
Page 13: Chinese travel agents have warned that Beijing could permanently hurt mass tourism to Australia by banning package tours to the country following a warning to its citizens to stay away due to racist attacks.
Page 15: Australia’s annual iron ore export revenue is poised to crack $100 billion – a record for any commodity – as prices of the steel-making ingredient surge on the back of mine shutdowns in Brazil and strong demand from a resurgent post-COVID-19 China.
Australian wine exporters are toughing out the epic COVID-19 lockdown in Britain, as consumers turn to the cheap supermarket bottle to help make it through their confinement.
Page 17: The country’s 185 Holden dealers will soon run out of vehicles to sell after faster-than-expected sales and logistics disruptions, as a dispute with General Motors Holden (GMH) over compensation packages heads to mediation on Wednesday.
Australian food and grocery suppliers are paying shoppers to check stock levels and prices in stores as the coronavirus crisis triggers a major shake-up on supermarket shelves.
Page 18: Telstra says its carbon ‘‘net zero’’ pledge will extend across the entire business and include scope 3 emissions such as those embedded in its mobile towers and SIM cards, in a move that would create a new standard for corporate decarbonisation efforts.
Page 19: The financial intelligence regulator has accepted Westpac’s admission it broke the law 23 million times but will keep pursuing the bank for a series of unquantifiable breaches as the parties head for a costly courtroom battle.
Page 20: Travellers are finding themselves sandwiched when seeking refunds for trips cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with confusion about who has their money.
Page 22: Job losses across Australia’s tech startup sector have not hit the dizzying heights feared at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, with some of the biggest investors praising government support for preventing a bloodbath, but worries remain about a second wave of turmoil when JobKeeper payments end.
Energy producer and retailer AGL signed up with Microsoft in an ambitious push to get all of its business systems into the cloud by 2022 as a key part of a $300 million plan to improve its customer experience.
Page 23: As the world locked down for COVID-19, it stood to reason that the band of video gamers who were already making good money from staying at home and playing would be on to a good thing with a house-bound audience.
The Australian
Page 1: More ambitious targets to reduce the number of Aboriginal Australians in jail will be put to state and territory governments as part of an overhaul of the Closing the Gap program to reduce indigenous disadvantage.
Chinese investment in Australia plummeted by more than 60 per cent last year to $3.4bn, as Beijing shifted capital towards developing nations that have signed up to Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative.
Page 2: ASIO chief Mike Burgess has warned of a spike in online threats during the COVID-19 pandemic, confirming “increased chatter” in the spread of “extremist ideology attempting to radicalise people”, a rise in cybercrime and spies ramping-up espionage activity.
Page 3: Unions have warned the jobs of more than 2000 postal workers are under threat after Australia Post managers allegedly told workers a restructuring of delivery services could lead to the jobs of one in four posties being cut.
Page 5: Some of the country’s greenest municipalities have put much-vaunted climate-related projects on the backburner as the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic forces them to reprioritise spending.
Page 8: China has insisted there has been “no delay or cover-up whatsoever” in its coronavirus response as it released a detailed report into the pandemic.
Page 13: Thousands of retail investors in Virgin Australia bonds, including mums and dads and retirees, are becoming “increasingly anxious” about their investment in the airline, according to stockbroker Morgans.
Treasury Wine Estates, owner of the Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Wynns brands, has lost another key executive with the unexplained departure of its highly regarded boss of Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Fred Harrison, chief executive of one of the nation’s biggest independent supermarket chains, Ritchies, believes the grocer is enjoying a renaissance among shoppers who normally would turn to the majors Woolworths and Coles but are now shopping locally in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Page 14: Speculation has been mounting that David Jones is looking to offload its food operations to the Australian listed grocer Woolworths.
The West Australian
Page 1: Talks between the AFL and WA Government about a Perth hub have resumed, with the next set of fixtures likely to include matches played at Optus Stadium.
Page 7: The Federal Government is under fire after announcing there will be no more free child care from July 13 in a move that has been slammed as “a slap in the face to working parents”.
Page 9: Businesses will be able to instantly deduct assets of up to $150,000 from their tax for another six months in an extension of the write-off scheme to help keep companies afloat.
Page 11: Students now choosing their subjects for Years 11 and 12 are being urged to take at least two science, technology, engineering or maths courses to equip them for jobs of the future.
Business: Legal experts and corporate advisers have warned of increased uncertainty for investors after the Federal Government’s decision to shake up the country’s foreign investment rules.
The only “risk” associated with Aboriginal-owned companies — which business leaders say are still being seen as “bit players” — lies in not engaging them.
Junior explorers are backing a proposal by the WA Nationals to boost a State Government scheme that aims to encourage greenfields drilling.
Hopes of reviving the Wheatbelt’s mothballed Tier 3 grain rail network has been reignited after the State Government said it would commission an engineering assessment on the cost of reinstating the lines.
The Chinese behemoth that makes electric car batteries for Tesla and Volkswagen has developed a power pack that lasts more than a million miles — an industry landmark and a potential boon for carmakers trying to sway drivers to their EV models.