Morning Headlines

WA Treasurer says traditional owners value mining

Traditional land owners understand that wealth creation through mining can play a role in their economic and social future, according to West Australian Treasurer and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt. The Fin

Perth Mint and the convicted killer

The Perth Mint, owned by the West Australian government, is buying up to $200 million of ‘‘conflict gold’’ annually from a convicted killer in Papua New Guinea, a breach of its global accreditation and internal policies. The Fin

Billions tied up by Section 18

A swag of WA mining projects worth billions are still waiting for ministerial consent under the controversial Section 18 of the State’s ageing Aboriginal Heritage Act. The West

Tradies’ pay under threat as trust law weakened

Subcontractors working on projects that go bust will remain exposed to crippling losses after the McGowan Government backed off plans to protect payments intended for tradies. The West

China significant as international education market in doubt

A cut to the number of international Chinese students studying in WA would leave a $315 million black hole in the State’s economy, according to industry experts. The West

Australia to lead world recovery

Australia is leading the developed world out of the pandemic-induced recession but governments must reform labour markets, tax, regulation and competition for a sustained recovery, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says. The Fin

Forrest project blocked by act that led to blast

The expansion of an existing irrigation project on a Pilbara pastoral station was blocked under the same Aboriginal heritage act that allowed the destruction of the ancient Juukan rock shelters, where 7000 artefacts including bone tools were discovered. The Aus

Banks flatten risk curve on loan deferrals

The number of bank loans deferred due to the pandemic is peaking near 780,000, and expected to fall over the coming month as lenders liaise with customers to encourage as many as possible to resume repayments. The Fin

Open borders to quell revolt: PM

Scott Morrison is calling for all state borders to reopen to avoid a breach of public trust and quell a popular revolt against coronavirus health restrictions because of the mass Black Lives Matter protests last weekend. The Aus

Charter Hall prepares knockout bid for Caltex sites

Charter Hall is expected to defy perceptions that the COVID-19-affected market is gun-shy when it comes to transactions, with the $4.8bn real estate manager said to be shaping up to offer a knockout price to Caltex for its petrol station property portfolio. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Australia is leading the developed world out of the pandemic-induced recession but governments must reform labour markets, tax, regulation and competition for a sustained recovery, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says.

The Perth Mint, owned by the West Australian government, is buying up to $200 million of ‘‘conflict gold’’ annually from a convicted killer in Papua New Guinea, a breach of its global accreditation and internal policies.

Page 3: Global demand for gas in 2020 is set to fall twice as much as it did after the GFC because of the pandemic and a warmer northern hemisphere winter.

Page 4: Scott Morrison has drawn a line under extending the JobKeeper and JobSeeker support programs beyond their legislated time frame, saying the economy was on the road back.

Traditional land owners understand that wealth creation through mining can play a role in their economic and social future, according to West Australian Treasurer and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt.

Page 5: The ACTU has argued that businesses that have survived the pandemic recession will face less competition and so be better placed to digest a 4 per cent pay rise for workers on award wages.

Page 8: Spending on fashion has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels as the economy returns to life, although deserted city centres mean transport expenditure is still down 40 per cent.

Page 11: The Morrison government has protested to Chinese officials over Beijing’s warning to students and tourists that they rethink visiting Australia because of alleged racism, saying they would be welcome to come when borders are reopened.

Page 15: The number of bank loans deferred due to the pandemic is peaking near 780,000, and expected to fall over the coming month as lenders liaise with customers to encourage as many as possible to resume repayments.

The combined stake of Kogan.com cofounders Ruslan Kogan and David Shafer will drop below 30 per cent after the online retailer took advantage of a three-fold increase in its share price to raise $115 million.

Page 17: Harvey Norman’s decision to keep its Australian stores open during lockdown has paid off in spades, with franchisee sales soaring more than 17 per cent, prompting the retailer to declare a special dividend to compensate for scrapping its interim payout.

The Australian

Page 1: Scott Morrison is calling for all state borders to reopen to avoid a breach of public trust and quell a popular revolt against coronavirus health restrictions because of the mass Black Lives Matter protests last weekend.

Page 4: A second wave of COVID-19 infections in Australia would carve another $25bn from the economy and flatten the vaunted recovery in 2021, “resulting in substantial and rising bankruptcies and job losses”, a new report from the OECD has warned.

Page 7: The expansion of an existing irrigation project on a Pilbara pastoral station was blocked under the same Aboriginal heritage act that allowed the destruction of the ancient Juukan rock shelters, where 7000 artefacts including bone tools were discovered.

Page 8: NATO’s chief has called on the military alliance to stand up to China’s “bullying and coercion”, saying Beijing is a threat to open societies and individual freedoms.

Page 13: BlueScope Steel boss Mark Vassella says Australia should sharpen the focus on its anti-dumping regime if it wants to keep a domestic manufacturing sector as the nation recovers from the coronavirus, despite rumblings of tit-for-tat trade measures from China.

Page 14: Charter Hall is expected to defy perceptions that the COVID-19-affected market is gun-shy when it comes to transactions, with the $4.8bn real estate manager said to be shaping up to offer a knockout price to Caltex for its petrol station property portfolio.

China’s Tianqi Lithium could be looking to sell only the West Australian refinery operations within its Talison Lithium holdings, according to some suggestions in the market.

Page 16: Australia will be overtaken by the US as the world’s biggest LNG producer in 2025, with the nation’s export volumes to plateau as demand recovers from the COVID-19 slowdown.

The West Australian

Page 1: WA needs to open its border next month, Scott Morrison declared as he ramped up pressure on Mark McGowan to put a date on when interstate travel would restart.

Page 4: Just 19 per cent of West Australians approve of Liza Harvey’s performance and 37 per cent are dissatisfied, according to a poll conducted ahead of her first anniversary as WA Liberal leader.

Page 10: More than 1000 protesters converged on a college at Oxford University in England, chanting “take it down” and “shame on you” to demand the removal of a statue of 19th-century British colonialist Cecil Rhodes.

Page 14: Frustrated Kmart customers have hit out at the chain for empty shelves caused by a reliance on foreign-made stock, as the retailer revealed when stores will finally be replenished.

The controversial Aussie Farms map remains online more than a year after the Federal Government listed it under the Privacy Act — prompting the nation’s peak farm advocacy group and a WA politician to vent frustrations.

Page 20: Legislative Council president Kate Doust has accused Labor colleague and Attorney-General John Quigley of making “certain false and misleading claims” in Parliament that revealed a covert police investigation.

Business: Subcontractors working on projects that go bust will remain exposed to crippling losses after the McGowan Government backed off plans to protect payments intended for tradies.

Liquefied natural gas giant Royal Dutch Shell expects buying and selling of the world’s fastest-growing fuel to recover to levels seen before the pandemic.

Law firm Slater and Gordon is launching a class action against Commonwealth Bank, alleging that it sold customers worthless credit card and personal loan insurance.

A swag of WA mining projects worth billions are still waiting for ministerial consent under the controversial Section 18 of the State’s ageing Aboriginal Heritage Act.

WA suffered some of the nation’s most brutal falls in home loan activity during the COVID-19 crisis as potential new owners retreated from the market.

A cut to the number of international Chinese students studying in WA would leave a $315 million black hole in the State’s economy, according to industry experts.

Wesfarmers added $2 billion in value yesterday as analysts upgraded its expected annual profit on the back of Tuesday’s buoyant trading update.

A mixed-metals explorer that stumbled across an ultra-rare element near Norseman is eyeing a second round of mining at the project.