Qantas wants workers to sacrifice pay rises to meet wages freeze
Qantas has told workers it wants them to surrender two previously agreed and legally binding wage increases as part of its strategy to impose a pay freeze across the workforce. The Aus
BHP chief says coal still the future
BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie, who believes in human-induced climate change, has predicted that coal will remain the world’s central energy source and help lift more than a billion people out of poverty. The Fin
Court backs Coles in driver award case
Coles Group has enjoyed a significant win after the Federal Court ruled delivery drivers at the retailer’s online business should be employed under its retail agreement rather than the more generous transport award. The Fin
Glencore mulls Nickel West
Glencore Xstrata has flagged an interest in BHP Billiton’s beaten down Nickel West operations, saying their proximity to its Murrin Murrin mine meant an acquisition would “make sense”. The West
Telstra to bet millions on digital
Telstra has unveiled new plans to invest "several hundred million dollars" in digital technology over the next three years as it develops online tools to better interact with its customers and improve its sales channels. The Aus
Rudd’s Russian peace dash
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has dispatched himself on a one-man peace mission to Moscow as all-out war looms between Russia and Ukraine. The West
Cashed-up Chinese make a move on property
Chinese buyers now account for 12 per cent of Australia’s new housing supply and are tipped to increase their buying power as China becomes wealthier. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government rejected Qantas Airways’ bid for direct assistance based on advice from two investment banks, the federal Treasury, the Department of Infrastructure and accounting firm PwC, sources said.
BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie, who believes in human-induced climate change, has predicted that coal will remain the world’s central energy source and help lift more than a billion people out of poverty.
Page 3: The commercial free-to-air television industry has told the Abbott government it deserves special status because of competitive, structural and economic pressures.
Page 4: Interest rates stand to be left on hold for months as the Reserve Bank of Australia moves to break an ongoing business investment strike and cushion the economy against looming federal budget spending cuts.
Page 9: A defiant Prime Minister Tony Abbott has stepped up advocacy for his paid parental leave scheme, using a speech ahead of International Women’s Day to ask the left to support the policy, which is unpopular with business.
Page 10: The Grattan Institute claims to have identified $1 billion of wasteful spending in public hospitals, which it argues can be avoided if state governments give more power to hospital managers.
Direct Action legislation should be split into two separate tranches so that mining companies have more time to prepare for the policy’s most complex element, the Minerals Council of Australia said.
Page 15: AGL Energy is expected to seriously consider a legal challenge to the competition watchdog’s ruling preventing it buying NSW power producer Macquarie Generation in a $1.5 billion deal that was expected to boost earnings about 3 per cent next year.
Page 17: Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure, controlled by Asia’s richest man, has emerged as a major obstacle to APA’s long-held ambitions to take over Envestra, after two CKI directors on Envestra’s board were revealed as opposing the $2.1 billion deal.
Page 20: Aurizon has not ruled out abandoning plans to participate in the Queensland government’s AP-X coal terminal project at Abbot Point after consortium partner Lend Lease dropped out.
Page 21: Coles Group has enjoyed a significant win after the Federal Court ruled delivery drivers at the retailer’s online business should be employed under its retail agreement rather than the more generous transport award.
Page 39: For the first time in four years, Sydney surpassed Perth as the most expensive capital city to get a hotel room, according to the 2013 hotel price index compiled by booking website Hotels.com.
The Australian
Qantas has told workers it wants them to surrender two previously agreed and legally binding wage increases as part of its strategy to impose a pay freeze across the workforce.
Surging exports and a big lift in new building approvals are fuelling hopes that economic growth this year will be stronger than forecast, defying Treasury’s predictions of an ongoing slowdown.
The severe drought that has pushed farms in northern Australia to the brink of financial disaster in the past two years is now biting into the national export earnings of the rural sector.
Telstra has unveiled new plans to invest "several hundred million dollars" in digital technology over the next three years as it develops online tools to better interact with its customers and improve its sales channels.
Real estate company REA Group has appointed an interim chief executive to replace the outgoing Greg Ellis as the search for a successor continues.
Former West Australian Liberal leader Bill Hassell hopes the unpopularity of the Barnett government does not play on voters’ minds in the Senate rerun election next month.
Aboriginal doctor Ngiare Brown has vowed to use her new role as deputy head of Tony Abbott’s indigenous council to argue that cuts to indigenous health or education would be detrimental to efforts to close the disadvantage gap.
The West Australian
Page 1: Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has dispatched himself on a one-man peace mission to Moscow as all-out war looms between Russia and Ukraine.
Page 3: Parents will be urged to keep their children out of WA public schools next month when teachers and school support staff again walk off the job to protest against cuts to jobs and school resources.
Page 4: WA public hospitals are wasting almost $100 million a year because of inefficient treatment of patients, a report claims.
Page 5: Shark drum lines were regarded by the State Government as an important public safety program and legal proceedings would not be allowed to interfere with the policy, the Supreme Court was told yesterday.
Page 9: Perth’s new children’s hospital will not have enough beds because the State Government has significantly underestimated birth rates and the number of children with chronic conditions, according to an independent review.
Page 12: State Government funding into transport infrastructure needs to be turned on its head if Perth is to avoid congestion mayhem in the coming years, experts have warned.
Micro-parties have lodged last minute name changes with the Australian Electoral Commission to re-brand themselves ahead of the WA Senate election.
Page 19: Northcliffe-based Bannister Downs dairy — the only fully vertically integrated family dairy business in Australia — has announced the start of design and planning for what will be the most modern robot dairy in the country.
Business: Glencore Xstrata has flagged an interest in BHP Billiton’s beaten down Nickel West operations, saying their proximity to its Murrin Murrin mine meant an acquisition would “make sense”.
LandCorp, the State Government agency responsible for ensuring land supply around WA, has a new chief executive.
Mineral Resources has added another $44 million to its war chest after settling a long-running dispute with manganese miner Consolidated Minerals over access to tailings at the Woodie Woodie mine in the Pilbara.
Navitas is back in uncharted waters after its latest offshore enrolment numbers reinforced the company’s optimistic mood.
A stockbroking firm began aggressively buying AdultShop.com shares for billionaire Kerry Packer shortly before the pornography company publicly unveiled bumper financial forecasts, a District Court jury has been told.
Chinese buyers now account for 12 per cent of Australia’s new housing supply and are tipped to increase their buying power as China becomes wealthier.