PM eyes health, education for ‘slower’ spending plan
Health and education are being targeted for reform as Tony Abbott vows to slow the rate of growth in both spending areas to meet his promise to put the budget back on track for a surplus. The Aus
NBN Co declares debt funding too risky for $41bn rollout
NBN Co executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski has ruled out plans to seek debt funding for the national broadband network rollout within the next two years, saying current spending rates on the $41 billion project are too risky for private funding. The Fin
Qantas speeds up fleet overhaul
Qantas is tipped to accelerate the retirement of its older planes as part of $2 billion in cost cuts expected to touch every area of the company. The Aus
Poseidon shelves US plans to focus on offtake
Poseidon Nickel has given up on its $250 million US debt raising, with US-based former Fortescue director Budd Scruggs stepping down from the board. The West
BCA wants to rein in welfare for the well-off
The Business Council of Australia – whose chairman heads the government’s audit commission – has thrown its support behind calls to wind back welfare to high-income families and wealthy pensioners. The Fin
Rising sea level fears for freeway
A major report into the future of the Kwinana Freeway is under way amid fears more than 11km of it could be under water within 17 years because of rising sea levels. The West
Look out for Panoramic
Panoramic Resources (PAN) has done a commendable job in coping with the pressures caused by the protracted slump in US dollar prices for the devil’s metal nickel, and the strong dollar.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Prime Minister Tony Abbott will go to the next election promising spending cuts to health and education as part of the government’s long-term strategy to balance the budget.
Australia’s construction workers receive more days off, shorter standard working weeks and more generous over time than other similar economies.
Page 3: Women leaders have urged the Abbott government not to change rules requiring companies to provide extensive reports on gender diversity and pay equality.
Flush with funds from its $1.2 billion broadcast deal, rugby league will invest $200 million over the next four years, including $80 million in a “sustainability” fund.
Page 4: The Business Council of Australia – whose chairman heads the government’s audit commission – has thrown its support behind calls to wind back welfare to high-income families and wealthy pensioners.
Page 8: Countries will continue to act in isolation to combat tax avoidance by companies such as Apple and Google, according to tax advisers, who fear the G20’s tax-avoidance fighting plan may be difficult to implement.
Page 15: BlueScope Steel managing director Paul O’Malley has lashed out at the cost burden facing Australian manufacturers, describing rising costs as “a cancer” as he called for low-cost energy policy and industrial relations reform.
Qantas Airways faces challenges with “strong parallels” to those that led to a brutal restructure of British Airways more than a decade ago, says former BA chief executive Sir Rod Eddington.
Page 17: The Cootes trucking brand may be scrapped by the McAleese Group almost 50 years after it was founded as the transport group tries to restore its reputation following last year’s fatal fuel tanker crash in Sydney.
Caltex Australia chief executive Julian Segal has dismissed concerns that tough new rivals in fuels retailing will eat into the company’s market share and margins, despite pointing to a likely step-up in competition in specific areas.
Origin Energy has fended off competition from a number of rivals, striking a deal to join Senex Energy in a major $252 million unconventional gas exploration program in the Cooper Basin.
Page 23: Inviting comparisons with the similarly named device from its biggest rival, Samsung has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, revealing it will have a fingerprint scanner for added convenience and security, just like Apple’s iPhone 5s.
NBN Co executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski has ruled out plans to seek debt funding for the national broadband network rollout within the next two years, saying current spending rates on the $41 billion project are too risky for private funding.
Page 38: Northam Boulevard Shopping Centre in Western Australia has changed hands to a private investor in an off-market deal for $14.05 million.
The Australian
Page 1: Foreign investors face a new hurdle as Joe Hockey declares he will take their tax affairs into account when considering their Australian deals amid a global crackdown on corporate tax avoidance.
Page 2: Health and education are being targeted for reform as Tony Abbott vows to slow the rate of growth in both spending areas to meet his promise to put the budget back on track for a surplus.
Page 4: Employers will gain a new chance to scale back Labor’s controversial limits on skilled worker visas when the Abbott government moves today to reignite a political row over the 457 visa program.
Page 6: The Abbott government has moved to limit pay rises being sought by childcare workers, warning the granting of their unions’ equal pay claim could flow to industries unable to afford wage increases significantly above the award rate.
Page 17: Qantas is tipped to accelerate the retirement of its older planes as part of $2 billion in cost cuts expected to touch every area of the company.
Page 19: Health insurer NIB has grown its half-year profit by 9 per cent, as it attracts more policy holders and increases premium revenue.
Page 21: Panoramic Resources (PAN) has done a commendable job in coping with the pressures caused by the protracted slump in US dollar prices for the devil’s metal nickel, and the strong dollar.
Page 27: This year smartphones and tablets sales will swamp the traditional PC but also bring on a swathe of security problems, while jobs for data engineers and scientists and those who can exploit social networking for business advantage will be in high demand.
The West Australian
Page 4: The troubled immigration detention camps on Manus Island and Nauru will deliver their new manager a $1.2 billion bonanza from taxpayers.
Family payments should be cut and the assets test on the age pension tightened in a bid to balance the Federal Budget, the nation’s peak business group has urged.
WA Liberals have been put on notice they will be expected to throw their resources and manpower into defending the party’s three Senate seats in the re-run election.
Page 6: Health groups have welcomed a national review of alcohol advertising which calls for tighter curbs, including a ban on alcohol promotion on television during sports telecasts.
Page 9: The Qantas Group is set to wave the white flag in its market-share battle with Virgin Australia, ending fare wars on domestic routes as it scrambles to turn around record losses.
Page 12: A major report into the future of the Kwinana Freeway is under way amid fears more than 11km of it could be under water within 17 years because of rising sea levels.
Business: It took the global financial crisis to interrupt the Australian dollar’s rise and rise from half the value of the US currency a decade ago to better than parity by 2011.
GR Engineering shares have soared to their highest level in almost a year after management delivered on a promise of diligent contract and cost control.
Sitting quietly in Malaga’s plain industrial estate, data company NEXTDC officially opened its $80 million high-tech data centre last night.
Poseidon Nickel has given up on its $250 million US debt raising, with US-based former Fortescue director Budd Scruggs stepping down from the board.
Boart Longyear boss Richard O’Brien will not provide an outlook for this year because of the ongoing market uncertainty, as he yesterday revealed Goldman Sachs had been appointed to come up with solutions to ensure the embattled drilling contractor remains a going concern.
Shares in Beach Energy have jumped after higher oil prices and sales helped the producer more than treble its half-year profit.