Morning Headlines

ABC axes flagship roles for digital

The ABC will slash the amount of original reporting conducted by some of its leading current affairs programs and axe about 70 positions across its news divisions as it shifts its focus from traditional broadcasts to its digital platforms and on-demand services. The Aus

Perth AFL hub confirmed

West Coast and Fremantle could get a golden run of at least seven straight games at home, starting with the round seven western derby on Sunday, July 19. The West

High Court starts new sex probe

The High Court of Australia has begun a fresh inquiry into the extent of sexual harassment in its ranks, after an initial independent investigation found former justice Dyson Heydon harassed six female associates. The Fin

Miners step up plans to sell off coal and nickel assets

Dealmaking activity in the coal and nickel mining arenas is thought to be gathering pace, with Peabody Energy, BHP and possibly South32 all ramping up asset sale plans. The Aus

Unit to investigate ‘profiteering’ unis

A new integrity unit in the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency will investigate universities that recruit large numbers of students into profitable $14,500-a-year courses — such as law, commerce, communications and humanities degrees — under the Morrison government’s new university funding plan. The Aus

Media Super poised for $62b Cbus link

The superannuation fund aligned with Australia’s most militant union is poised to merge with the fund traditionally joined by journalists, The Australian Financial Review can reveal. The Fin

Australia stars as IMF paints bleak picture

The global pandemic recession is far deeper than feared but Australia is a standout performer as the only advanced economy to have its economic outlook upgraded by the International Monetary Fund. The Fin

Herding cats inside the ‘goat rodeo’ of North West Shelf gas

Former key executives at the heart of the troubled North West Shelf LNG venture in Western Australia have revealed the extent of the inter-partner tensions that have paralysed the joint venture for more than a decade and probably played into Chevron’s decision to exit. The Fin

Oldest kids in class top NAPLAN

Researchers have found the month in which WA children are born has a significant effect on their NAPLAN results. The West

Business invites return to centre

Perth business owners have joined forces to front a new campaign urging West Australians to return to the city and support those hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The High Court of Australia has begun a fresh inquiry into the extent of sexual harassment in its ranks, after an initial independent investigation found former justice Dyson Heydon harassed six female associates.

Amazon is plotting a major expansion of its Australian business with plans to build the largest pure-play e-commerce fulfilment centre in Australia in western Sydney and a search is under way for another giant facility in Melbourne.

Page 2: Major companies warn that a failure to curb class actions will hurt the economy, stymie job creation and deter directors from joining ASX boards.

Page 3: The superannuation fund aligned with Australia’s most militant union is poised to merge with the fund traditionally joined by journalists, The Australian Financial Review can reveal.

Nearly 70 per cent of Australians who died from COVID-19 had chronic health conditions, including hypertension, dementia and diabetes, data shows.

Page 6: Almost one in three businesses say their cash on hand would allow them to survive less than three months.

Page 8: The global pandemic recession is far deeper than feared but Australia is a standout performer as the only advanced economy to have its economic outlook upgraded by the International Monetary Fund.

Page 12: The nation’s energy wars will continue, after senior ministers spurned Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s offer to strike a deal on a bipartisan policy approach.

Page 15: Tens of thousands of Australians in the US are scrambling to stay ahead of Donald Trump’s hardline crackdown on business visas, which this week stunned tech, legal and other industries already struggling with the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

Page 17: Broad Peak, a hedge fund backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek, is among the 30 institutions leading the bondholders’ recapitalisation proposal for Virgin Australia.

Former key executives at the heart of the troubled North West Shelf LNG venture in Western Australia have revealed the extent of the inter-partner tensions that have paralysed the joint venture for more than a decade and probably played into Chevron’s decision to exit.

The $300 billion retail and consumer sector will recover faster from the pandemic if private enterprise, rather than government, does the heavy lifting, consumer experts say.

Page 21: Embattled renewable energy investment company New Energy Solar has secured a buyer to divest part of its solar assets amid a broader shake-up in the renewables market, with Infigen Energy rejecting UAC Energy’s takeover offer in favour of the bid from Spanish power giant Iberdrola.

The Australian

Page 1: A family Eid celebration that broke public health restrictions has emerged as the cause of one of Victoria’s biggest family clusters, as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews calls in the army to help contain the state’s escalating coronavirus crisis.

Page 2: A new integrity unit in the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency will investigate universities that recruit large numbers of students into profitable $14,500-a-year courses — such as law, commerce, communications and humanities degrees — under the Morrison government’s new university funding plan.

The nation’s top psychologists’ group has urged the Morrison government to scrap its overhaul of university fees, as students may have to pay up to $25,000 more for psychology degrees, despite the field being singled out as a post-pandemic job creator.

Anthony Albanese has ruled out including emission reduction targets in his proposal for a “bipartisan” energy policy, with Labor moving to go to the next election arguing for more ambitious climate change action than the Coalition.

Page 5: Scott Morrison will use a $250m arts package to revive Australia’s entertainment scene and work with national cabinet leaders to further ease COVID-19 restrictions and unlock music festivals, theatres, and live venues.

Page 7: The ABC will slash the amount of original reporting conducted by some of its leading current affairs programs and axe about 70 positions across its news divisions as it shifts its focus from traditional broadcasts to its digital platforms and on-demand services.

Page 8: Russians will begin voting on Thursday on constitutional changes that could allow President Vladimir Putin to cement his hold on power until 2036.

Page 13: The coronavirus pandemic is taking a heavy toll on shopping centre landlords as some of the world’s largest companies refuse to pay rent or demand cuts, forcing landlords to lower the value of their retail property holdings.

Page 14: Dealmaking activity in the coal and nickel mining arenas is thought to be gathering pace, with Peabody Energy, BHP and possibly South32 all ramping up asset sale plans.

The West Australian

Page 1: West Coast and Fremantle could get a golden run of at least seven straight games at home, starting with the round seven western derby on Sunday, July 19.

Page 3: Researchers have found the month in which WA children are born has a significant effect on their NAPLAN results.

Page 5: Global public debt will reach the highest levels ever recorded this year and Australia’s gross debt will balloon to 64 per cent of the entire national output — or $1.3 trillion — in 2021, according to one of the world’s peak economic bodies.

Page 18: A mullet is an “extreme” hairstyle that should be “rectified” by the start of next term, according to a hair-raising note sent to parents of children at a Perth Catholic high school.

Page 22: Anthony Albanese has declared he is “pro-WA and pro-jobs” as he trumpeted his push for a bipartisan energy policy.

Business: Former Woodside Petroleum boss Don Voelte and former Shell Australia chairwoman Ann Pickard were upbeat yesterday while speaking as part of a webcast panel discussion at the Annual Credit Suisse Australian Energy Conference.

Perth business owners have joined forces to front a new campaign urging West Australians to return to the city and support those hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Almost 70 per cent of Australian business owners do not believe their operations can survive the next three months on their current cash balance, a new survey has revealed.

China’s Goldsea Group says it will let a takeover bid by its local unit for WA gold miner Alto Metals lapse after Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board sought extra time to consider the deal.

State-owned utility Synergy has lost a multimillion-dollar legal battle with generator NewGen Power Kwinana over standby capacity for the South West grid.

High-value development proposals will have access to a fast-tracked approval process after Parliament yesterday rubber-stamped a sweeping overhaul of WA’s planning system.