Morning Headlines

Arrivals threaten to ground down WA

If international flight arrivals to Perth are not capped soon, the State Government will need to contract extra quarantine hotels that will put a “significant strain” on health staff and the ability of security to manage them. The West

School dropout homes in on billionaires club

Rich Lister Chris Ellison is closing in on the billionaire’s club as shares in his mining group Mineral Resources soar to a record, fuelled by strong iron ore prices that are also helping line the pockets of fellow West Australians Andrew Forrest and Kerry Stokes. The Fin

Forrest buys Fitzroy River station

Andrew Forrest is poised to join fellow billionaires Gina Rinehart and Kerry Stokes as big landholders along the Fitzroy River in Western Australia after winning the race to secure the Jubilee Downs cattle station. The Fin

PM vows to break Victoria’s fall

The Morrison government is preparing to extend the $70 billion JobKeeper program, provide further relief on insolvent trading and bring forward tax cuts to allay concerns the Melbourne coronavirus outbreak could derail the nation’s economic recovery. The Fin

Fantastic opportunity for Nick Scali expansion

Nick Scali Furniture has plans to capitalise on its strong share price trading performance in the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the group said to be considering an acquisition of Fantastic Furniture. The Aus

Virus slowdown: call to waive penalty rates

Richard Crookes Construction has backed calls to waive overtime and penalty rates to deal with the COVID-19 crisis after warning that virus-mitigation strategies have increased costs on building projects by slowing down work. The Fin

Australia among highest corporate tax collectors: OECD

Australia’s corporate tax take ranks alongside those of the highest collecting nations of the developed world, a new Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development snapshot shows. The Fin

Call to strip Rio of global ranking

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups have called for Rio Tinto to be stripped of its status as a global human rights leader, following the company’s blasting of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal sacred site in the Pilbara region. The Aus

Businesses warned on China alert

A China expert has warned WA businesses could again be caught in the “crossfire” of escalating tensions between Australia and the Asian giant, amid a Government alert locals should be wary of travelling to the economic powerhouse. The West

Millennials sacrifice lifestyle spending to lead property charge

Millennials are using the COVID-fuelled weakened housing market to increase their chances of owning a home, as they rethink spending to take on a mortgage. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Morrison government is preparing to extend the $70 billion JobKeeper program, provide further relief on insolvent trading and bring forward tax cuts to allay concerns the Melbourne coronavirus outbreak could derail the nation’s economic recovery.

AMP chairman David Murray says the board ‘‘in no way condones the behaviour’’ of the new AMP Capital boss, Boe Pahari, who it last month promoted to run the $192 billion asset management division.

Page 3: The Palaszczuk government’s $5 billion Queensland Future Fund will include the equity stake in rescued airline Virgin Australia as well as other assets to stop them being privatised.

Page 5: Business groups want border restrictions between NSW and Victoria lifted to speed up freight and transport, saying Melbourne’s growing lockdown has left a huge police presence unnecessary.

Page 6: The number of Australians allowed to return to the country from overseas will be slowed to ease pressure on the hotel quarantine system following complaints from states they are being overwhelmed.

Page 7: Richard Crookes Construction has backed calls to waive overtime and penalty rates to deal with the COVID-19 crisis after warning that virus-mitigation strategies have increased costs on building projects by slowing down work.

Australia’s corporate tax take ranks alongside those of the highest collecting nations of the developed world, a new Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development snapshot shows.

Page 8: Nearly half of students in China who want to study in Australia say they will take notice of Beijing’s warnings to be cautious about coming here, due to ‘‘discrimination’’ against Chinese people.

Page 11: The US coronavirus outbreak crossed a grim milestone of more than 3 million confirmed cases yesterday (AEST) as more states reported record numbers of new infections and Florida faced an impending shortage of intensive care unit hospital beds.

Page 13: Banks say customers who have taken advantage of the loan holiday but are not affected by COVID-19 will have to restart payments as soon as possible.

Rich Lister Chris Ellison is closing in on the billionaire’s club as shares in his mining group Mineral Resources soar to a record, fuelled by strong iron ore prices that are also helping line the pockets of fellow West Australians Andrew Forrest and Kerry Stokes.

Australia’s lack of high-speed intercity rail and the reality that road transport cannot compete with aircraft between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne was a key reason Bain Capital set out to rescue Virgin Australia, says the co-managing partner of the US investment giant.

Page 15: Brokers heaped praise on Afterpay after its ‘‘opportunistic’’ $800 million capital raising and $250 million founder sell-down, speculating the fintech juggernaut would expand into Europe and south-east Asia.

Page 16: The virus crisis will bring outperforming Australian banks back into line with international peers, according to KPMG partner and bank strategy lead Hessel Verbeek, forcing the big four to up their game on costs and search harder for efficiencies.

Page 19: US aluminium giant Alcoa is set for a legal battle with the Australian Taxation Office after its local operations were hit with a $921 million bill over transfer pricing allegations.

Gold miner Northern Star Resources emerged in much better shape than it feared when executive chairman Bill Beament made dire predictions about the potential impact of COVID-19.

Page 20: Andrew Forrest is poised to join fellow billionaires Gina Rinehart and Kerry Stokes as big landholders along the Fitzroy River in Western Australia after winning the race to secure the Jubilee Downs cattle station.

The Australian

Page 1: A shortage of public health professionals in the Victorian bureaucracy is being blamed for the second wave of COVID-19 cases sweeping Melbourne, with a lack of contact tracers and an inability to train them at scale leaving the state more vulnerable than if the transmissions had occurred in NSW.

Page 4: Scott Morrison says older Australians will have “greater choices” in how they live after funding more than 6000 new in-home aged-care places.

Page 5: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups have called for Rio Tinto to be stripped of its status as a global human rights leader, following the company’s blasting of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal sacred site in the Pilbara region.

Page 6: Five of Equestrian Australia’s state branches have called for the national body’s directors to be removed and have questioned its decision to enter voluntary administration after Sport Australia took the unprecedented step of withdrawing funding after years of infighting.

Page 7: ABC managing director David Anderson says the public broadcaster should be paid by Google and Facebook for the content those companies use on their platforms.

Page 13: Wirecard’s Australian and New Zealand entities are quietly kicking off a sales process with documentation expected to land next week, as its scandal-plagued German parent navigates a fraud and insolvency process.

Page 14: BHP is understood to have tapped investment bank Goldman Sachs to assess options for its oil and gas joint venture in the Gippsland Basin, estimated to be worth at least $US2bn ($2.9bn).

Nick Scali Furniture has plans to capitalise on its strong share price trading performance in the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the group said to be considering an acquisition of Fantastic Furniture.

Page 17: Afterpay says it secured $650m through its fully underwritten institutional placement, as part of its $800m capital raising, with Chinese tech giant Tencent understood to have sought to retain its cornerstone holding through the issue.

The West Australian

Page 6: If international flight arrivals to Perth are not capped soon, the State Government will need to contract extra quarantine hotels that will put a “significant strain” on health staff and the ability of security to manage them.

Questions remain over how the Victorian outbreak will affect ministers and MPs needing to travel from the virus-ridden State to Canberra for parliamentary business.

Page 7: While coronavirus restrictions tighten in Victoria, WA may be moving even closer to normality with plans for the beloved Bunnings sausage sizzle to return this month.

Page 11: More booby-trapped fruit has been reportedly found in Adelaide, with a shopper finding a needle in a mandarin yesterday.

Mums and dads who worry their smartphone use is damaging their relationship with their children can give themselves a break, with research suggesting sensible phone use could actually make them better parents.

Business: A China expert has warned WA businesses could again be caught in the “crossfire” of escalating tensions between Australia and the Asian giant, amid a Government alert locals should be wary of travelling to the economic powerhouse.

Boeing said it has settled 90 per cent of the wrongful death claims filed in a US court over the 2018 crash of a 737 Max jet operated by Lion Air.

Millennials are using the COVID-fuelled weakened housing market to increase their chances of owning a home, as they rethink spending to take on a mortgage.

The coronavirus pandemic has increased concerns about job security and money, with more than one-fifth of Australians worried daily about finances.