Former premier demands royal commission into Rio blunder
Former premier demands royal commission into Rio blunder
Former WA Premier Colin Barnett has sensationally called for a royal commission into the Juukan Gorge fiasco. The West
WA tunes up for one of the world’s first post-virus music festivals
Western Australia is set to host one of the world’s first music festivals of the COVID-19 era, with plans to split the crowd into four sections and put the acts on a revolving stage in the middle. The Fin
Easier work rules aid jobs boost
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has called for greater flexibility in the labour market to drive the jobs recovery, as 458,000 people going back to work in the past three months cut the jobless rate to 6.8 per cent despite Victoria’s strict lockdown. The Fin
Telehealth gets $2b Medicare top-up
The federal government has tipped another $2 billion into Medicare so people can continue to see their doctor over the internet for another six months. The Fin
Nothing to like about tech giants
The boss of Australia’s consumer watchdog says if Google and Facebook are allowed to continue to use their “tremendous market power” to damage Australian journalism “all of us will be the loser”. The West
Time to get back to work: PM
More than 1.35 million Australians receiving JobSeeker payments will need to actively look for up to eight jobs a month and accept offers of “suitable work”, under new responsibilities placed on dole recipients to encourage them off welfare and into the workforce. The Aus
Goyder urges WA to open sooner
Perth-based business leader Richard Goyder is urging Western Australia’s Labor government to rethink its border reopening policy after describing the current stand as unrealistic. The Fin
RBA pours cold water on digital cash
The Reserve Bank of Australia says the case for creating a digital version of its banknotes and coins for the retail market has not been made despite the shift away from cash during the pandemic. The Fin
Flagship stores the lure as Indian billionaire eyes DJs
The company of billionaire Mukesh Ambani has emerged as the mystery suitor out of India considering an acquisition of the iconic Australian department store David Jones. The Aus
Former Quintis boss eyes a fight
Former Quintis boss Frank Wilson is eyeing a constitutional challenge to the McGowan Government’s COVID-19 border as he fights a stalled Federal prosecution. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has called for greater flexibility in the labour market to drive the jobs recovery, as 458,000 people going back to work in the past three months cut the jobless rate to 6.8 per cent despite Victoria’s strict lockdown.
The head of the construction industry group has slammed the Business Council of Australia’s deal with the ACTU to fast-track union agreements as a return to the 1950s and a ‘‘serious affront’’ to freedom of association, saying she is baffled why the employer group backed the idea.
Page 3: Cleanaway Waste Management chairman Mark Chellew did not financially penalise Vik Bansal for inappropriate conduct despite investigating a 2019 whistleblower complaint alleging his chief executive engaged in widespread ‘‘bullying’’.
Page 4: The federal government has tipped another $2 billion into Medicare so people can continue to see their doctor over the internet for another six months.
The federal government needs to pivot from income support to jobs creation to pull the economy out of the coronavirus-induced recession, AustralianSuper’s Mark Delaney says.
Page 5: Western Australia is set to host one of the world’s first music festivals of the COVID-19 era, with plans to split the crowd into four sections and put the acts on a revolving stage in the middle.
Page 8: The federal government will consider economic modelling behind a $25 billion plan to create 1 million climate-friendly jobs to spur a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and make the nation a ‘‘renewable energy superpower’’.
Page 9: The Morrison government will put a further $50 million into carbon capture and storage technology, following more than $1 billion in taxpayer subsidies and investment from the fossil fuel sector since the early 2000s.
Page 10: While Adelaide and Perth are leading the way back to office work among the larger capitals, top business leaders have called for that momentum to build, warning CBD economies are suffering without the presence of city workers.
Perth-based business leader Richard Goyder is urging Western Australia’s Labor government to rethink its border reopening policy after describing the current stand as unrealistic.
Page 12: The Morrison government is set to increase fees for most foreign investment applications after having lowered to zero the dollar value threshold of every foreign bid that must be screened.
Page 13: Most temporary migrant workers and international students are now unlikely to recommend Australia as a place to study or go on a working holiday due to the lack of support they received during the pandemic, a new report has found.
Page 17: BHP was aware that traditional owners had concerns about the future of dozens of heritage sites before it went ahead and gained approval to destroy them, according to the company’s own evidence to a powerful parliamentary inquiry.
South African retailer Woolworths has ruled out selling David Jones even though the upmarket department store chain crashed to a $33 million loss in 2020 and is heavily in debt.
Page 20: The consumer watchdog has warned of the specific anti-competitive conduct it will monitor for over the next three years as part of its enhanced oversight of domestic airlines.
Page 23: The Reserve Bank of Australia says the case for creating a digital version of its banknotes and coins for the retail market has not been made despite the shift away from cash during the pandemic.
The Australian
Page 1: More than 1.35 million Australians receiving JobSeeker payments will need to actively look for up to eight jobs a month and accept offers of “suitable work”, under new responsibilities placed on dole recipients to encourage them off welfare and into the workforce.
Page 4: The COVID-19 recession is accelerating job destruction, with workers in routine occupations that were already under assault from technological and industrial change facing the most threats.
Booming jobs growth in NSW and Western Australia triggered an unexpected surge in national employment last month, even as the stage-four lockdown in Melbourne threw tens of thousands of Victorians out of work.
Page 6: Western Australia’s two largest land councils say proposed changes to the state’s Aboriginal cultural heritage laws are “pointless” and they will seek to block the legislation.
Page 8: The Trump administration is poised to make a $US7bn ($9.6bn) arms deal with Taiwan, part of an effort to draw closer to Taipei as the administration ratchets up the political and military pressure against China.
Page 15: Big investors have raised concerns over Scott Morrison’s reset of the electricity and renewable energy sectors, questioning an expanded remit for two green government bodies and warning private industry may not hit a looming deadline to commit funds for new generation amid a backdrop of low power prices.
Page 16: The company of billionaire Mukesh Ambani has emerged as the mystery suitor out of India considering an acquisition of the iconic Australian department store David Jones.
Page 17: The two companies that own the local and international Westfield shopping centre empires have laid out plans to raise close to $19bn via massive injections of debt and equity alongside asset sales as the coronavirus pandemic rips through the industry.
Page 18: Qantas will look at scheduling more scenic flights over Australia after a seven-hour service from Sydney sold out in ten minutes.
The West Australian
Page 6: Julian Ambrose, the stepson of construction tycoon Len Buckeridge, has decided he won’t seek to fill the Senate vacancy created by the retirement of Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
Page 10: Mark McGowan says doubling the number of Australians returning from overseas amounts to a Federal Government threat to fly people from COVID-19-riddled countries into Perth and “dump” them at the airport.
The State Government will next month start testing sewage for COVID-19, one week after it emerged WA was one of the only States in Australia without such testing.
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder says the State Government cannot keep relying on “extreme health advice” to justify the closure of interstate borders, warning that WA will suffer economically and socially the longer the policy stayed in place.
Page 18: Mental health patients have been held for as long as five days in hospital emergency departments in the past year, a situation doctors describe as “abhorrent”.
Page 20: Kids in today’s classrooms are more likely to have been bullied than a decade ago, while respect for teachers has declined, a study reveals.
Page 26: The boss of Australia’s consumer watchdog says if Google and Facebook are allowed to continue to use their “tremendous market power” to damage Australian journalism “all of us will be the loser”.
Business: Former WA Premier Colin Barnett has sensationally called for a royal commission into the Juukan Gorge fiasco.
A long-awaited refinancing deal has breathed new life into Pioneer Credit after a tough year marked by an acrimonious falling-out with private equity bidder Carlyle Group.
Former Quintis boss Frank Wilson is eyeing a constitutional challenge to the McGowan Government’s COVID-19 border as he fights a stalled Federal prosecution.
Shares in Perth-based mineral processing technology company TNG have surged after it announced plans to partner with German firm SMS to develop new clean hydrogen production technology.
