Morning Headlines

Tianqi 0-2 in $32m battle

Troubled Chinese lithium group Tianqi has lost another court case against the Perth contracting company chasing more than $30 million for work undertaken on a landmark processing plant at Kwinana. The West

Great housing dream lives on

A revival of the great Australian dream is under way, as take-up of $1bn worth of COVID-19 Home-Builder grants surges well ahead of initial forecasts and new home loan approvals hit record levels. The Aus

New China wine hope

China’s hefty tariffs on Australian wine should come to an end next year, according to a spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry. The West

Inefficient tax system ‘stuck in the ’70s’

In a finding sure to reignite calls for tax reform, new analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggests Australia is overly dependent on personal and corporate income taxes and does not make enough use of the more efficient GST. The Fin

Jabs a quicker path back than bubbles: Joyce

The widespread distribution of COVID-19 vaccines may provide a quicker path to reopening international borders than fragile travel bubbles between nations, Qantas boss Alan Joyce has said.

Woodside adds to Sangomar project

Woodside Petroleum yesterday gazumped Indian group ONGC Videsh by taking another stake in the Sangomar oil project in West Africa off cash-strapped Australian explorer FAR. The West

Black Friday a US boom for Afterpay

Afterpay co-chief executive Nick Molnar says record Black Friday and Cyber Monday numbers point to online sales remaining popular even as physical stores reopen. The Fin

Overseas education in charm offensive

A campaign to sell the benefits of having foreign students in Australia and the provision of digital “vaccination passports” to help them travel here were the focus of discussions between six cabinet ministers and the international education sector on Thursday. The Aus

Miners surge as exports hit record

Records were shattered by iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto shares traded at a 12-year high on an incredible rally in the iron ore commodity price that puts it back at levels unseen since the end of the super-cycle. The Fin

State push for rural relief with JobSeeker

More than 300 Vanuatu workers should arrive in Perth by early January to help the State’s embattled fruit and vegetable growers harvest their crops. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Morrison government is set to upgrade employment, economic growth and its budget position in its mid-year update this month after record growth figures were bolstered by the biggest month of iron ore exports, record home-loan borrowing and the first jump in new car sales for 2 1 /2 years.

Records were shattered by iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group and Rio Tinto shares traded at a 12-year high on an incredible rally in the iron ore commodity price that puts it back at levels unseen since the end of the super-cycle.

Page 3: Australians look set to have access to game-changing COVID-19 vaccines by March, but health regulators will not follow UK moves to issue an emergency authorisation of the newly developed jab.

ANZ and Commonwealth Bank have signed on to the Morrison government’s plans to help kick-start Australia’s arts sector after the COVID-19 crisis, set to include $90 million in new loans.

Page 4: In a finding sure to reignite calls for tax reform, new analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggests Australia is overly dependent on personal and corporate income taxes and does not make enough use of the more efficient GST.

Page 5: Labor must embrace middle Australia through a productivity-boosting innovation agenda that does not ‘‘pit jobs against profits’’, the party’s deputy leader Richard Marles says.

Page 8: A COVID-19-induced dip in Australia’s carbon emissions has improved the chances of meeting 2030 emissions reduction targets without the controversial use of Kyoto credits.

Page 10: NSW is avoiding any knee-jerk reactions to its latest coronavirus case after a hotel quarantine worker tested positive for COVID-19.

Page 13: Scott Morrison has accused Anthony Albanese of having an each-way bet on national security over the breakdown in relations with Beijing, as a top official in the incoming US administration expressed backing for Australia amid the current tensions.

Page 15: The head of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Wednesday (yesterday AEDT) the COVID-19 pandemic, raging with unprecedented fury nationwide, will pose the country’s grimmest health crisis yet over the next few months, before vaccines become widely available.

Page 17: The widespread distribution of COVID-19 vaccines may provide a quicker path to reopening international borders than fragile travel bubbles between nations, Qantas boss Alan Joyce has said.

Liquor store retailers say prices of bottled Australian wine are likely to fall over time, as about 800 wine producers who had been exporting a combined $1.3 billion in wine to China scramble to redirect a large chunk back into the local market.

Page 19: Afterpay co-chief executive Nick Molnar says record Black Friday and Cyber Monday numbers point to online sales remaining popular even as physical stores reopen.

Kogan.com has made its largest acquisition since listing four years ago, outlaying $122.4 million for one of New Zealand’s largest online retailers, Mighty Ape.

Page 20: FedEx Express has hired 400 extra permanent and casual staff, told workers not to take holidays, and is flying more planes to Australia as the group tries to get goods bought online delivered in time for Christmas.

Page 21: MSP Engineering says Tianqi Lithium owes it $32.5 million for work on Australia’s first lithium hydroxide plant and is pursuing payment through the WA Supreme Court.

The Australian

Page 1: A revival of the great Australian dream is under way, as take-up of $1bn worth of COVID-19 Home-Builder grants surges well ahead of initial forecasts and new home loan approvals hit record levels.

Page 2: A key bill allowing Foreign Minister Marise Payne to scrap agreements with foreign powers struck by universities and sub-national governments — including Victoria’s contentious Belt and Road Initiative deal with Beijing — has been thrown into jeopardy.

Page 4: The Morrison government will unveil plans to reform national security legislation, particularly around telecommunications and surveillance devices, as a major review into the legal framework governing the intelligence community is released.

Page 5: A campaign to sell the benefits of having foreign students in Australia and the provision of digital “vaccination passports” to help them travel here were the focus of discussions between six cabinet ministers and the international education sector on Thursday.

Page 13: Fortescue Metals Group shares jumped above $20 on Thursday as another downgrade from Vale boosted the iron ore price and put a rocket under the share prices of Australian producers.

Page 15: The federal Department of Health spent more than $1.2m on consultants for advising on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, with one contract equating to about $26,000 a day.

Page 17: The prudential regulator has delivered a stinging rebuke to Westpac over its poor risk management, saying in a court enforceable undertaking that the bank’s slow progress in remediating issues had allowed “new and significant prudential concerns to surface”.

The West Australian

Page 1: The planned resumption of quarantine-free interstate travel between WA and NSW and Victoria on Tuesday has been plunged into doubt after a hotel worker in Sydney tested positive for coronavirus this week.

Page 3: China’s hefty tariffs on Australian wine should come to an end next year, according to a spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry.

Page 4: Qantas has cut fares between WA and Sydney and Melbourne next week after redeploying its 787 Dreamliner planes — which usually operate the non-stop London route — in response to overwhelming demand.

Page 5: About one million doses of the breakthrough Pfizer coronavirus jab are expected to arrive in WA from March, with specialist vaccination teams to be deployed to the State’s nursing homes to immunise the elderly.

Page 11: Sea levels are rising faster along Perth’s coast than anywhere else in the country.

Business: The appointment of a new boss at Chevron Australia is being eyed as a circuit-breaker in the company’s fractured working relationship with WA Government departments.

Woodside Petroleum yesterday gazumped Indian group ONGC Videsh by taking another stake in the Sangomar oil project in West Africa off cash-strapped Australian explorer FAR.

More than 300 Vanuatu workers should arrive in Perth by early January to help the State’s embattled fruit and vegetable growers harvest their crops.

China is to allow a shipment of Australian coal into the country, according to a person familiar with the matter, despite a ban on such imports remaining in place as tensions between Beijing and Canberra escalate.

Troubled Chinese lithium group Tianqi has lost another court case against the Perth contracting company chasing more than $30 million for work undertaken on a landmark processing plant at Kwinana.

WA-based diamonds producer Lucapa has revealed its 46-carat Angolan pink rough diamond has yielded three polished diamonds, including a 15.2-carat heart-shaped gem.