Morning Headlines

Mining chief slams east coast criticism of hard border

The boss of one of the State’s biggest gold miners has slammed east coast critics who say WA’s hard border is putting a handbrake on the national economy, arguing it is in fact pumping Australia’s coffers full of money. The West

Shippers fume at WA’s iron ore export fee grab

Iron ore shippers in Western Australia’s Port Hedland attacked the cashed-up state government for slugging them with a new fee of up to $13,450 per vessel to pay for the cost of buying dust-drenched homes near the port. The Fin

Treasurer blacklists China

Major Chinese government-backed investments in Australia face an informal ban after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg acted on national security concerns to reject a $300 million takeover of building contractor Probuild by China’s largest construction company. The Fin

Libs will not sell utilities

Electricity utilities Western Power, Synergy and Horizon would all remain in public hands under a WA Liberal Government. The West

Quarantine bubble ‘toughest in world’

Tennis Australia will spend $40 million and hire more than 1500 security and infection control officials to police 1200 international tennis players in what is being billed as the toughest tennis quarantine bubble in the world, before next month’s Australian Open. The Fin

Payments revolution on the way

The Australian payments market is set to see more change in the next five years than the last 30 as policymakers consider overhauling regulatory settings in 2021 and technology changes rapidly. The Aus

Mongolia gets tough with Rio on expansion

Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government are locked in a game of brinkmanship before a big mining decision in May. The Fin

Unions hope for third time lucky in JobKeeper battle with Qantas

Qantas’ use of the JobKeeper wage subsidy will come under the microscope for the third time as unions take their claim that the airline exploited the scheme to the High Court. The Fin

Fires sting WA honey industry

It could take up to a decade for WA’s $30 million commercial honey bee industry to fully recover from the impact of the recent bushfires near Gingin. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Major Chinese government-backed investments in Australia face an informal ban after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg acted on national security concerns to reject a $300 million takeover of building contractor Probuild by China’s largest construction company.

Page 2: RT Health chairman Alan Bardwell says the prudential regulator should be concerned over a union attempt to overthrow the private health fund’s board and may even have to intervene if it prevents a planned merger.

Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack has defended the right of Coalition MPs to peddle misinformation online, saying ‘‘facts are sometimes contentious’’ and that some of what they post on social media is true.

Page 5: Tennis Australia will spend $40 million and hire more than 1500 security and infection control officials to police 1200 international tennis players in what is being billed as the toughest tennis quarantine bubble in the world, before next month’s Australian Open.

Page 13: Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government are locked in a game of brinkmanship before a big mining decision in May.

Page 15: Iron ore shippers in Western Australia’s Port Hedland attacked the cashed-up state government for slugging them with a new fee of up to $13,450 per vessel to pay for the cost of buying dust-drenched homes near the port.

Qantas’ use of the JobKeeper wage subsidy will come under the microscope for the third time as unions take their claim that the airline exploited the scheme to the High Court.

Page 17: Major insurers say they can deal with worsening climate change’s physical effects after $90 billion super fund UniSuper said it was avoiding the sector because of the risk.

The Australian

Page 1: China has accused Australia of “weaponising the concept of national security’’ after a $300 million bid by a Chinese state-owned company to buy a construction company was scuppered by Josh Frydenberg.

The Morrison government has bluntly told councils not to use COVID-19 as an excuse to play politics with Australia Day, as a growing number of councils cancel celebrations on January 26.

Page 3: Superannuation scams have exploded during the pandemic, increasing by more than 300 per cent in 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says.

Page 5: Western Australia’s would-be coalition partners have found themselves at loggerheads two months out from the state election, with the Liberal Party and the Nationals clashing over the future of a multi-billion-dollar regional funding package.

Page 13: The Australian payments market is set to see more change in the next five years than the last 30 as policymakers consider overhauling regulatory settings in 2021 and technology changes rapidly.

Page 14: Payment times for bills and invoices have improved across most Australian industries in December as the economy continues to improve, according to Creditor-Watch — but the credit reporting agency says rolling border closures and new COVID-19 lockdowns threaten Australia’s economic recovery.

Page 15: Toilet paper brand Who Gives A Crap has defied global belt tightening in corporate philanthropy as COVID-fuelled panic buying flushes the company with record profits and, in turn, record donations.

The West Australian 

Page 4: The boss of one of the State’s biggest gold miners has slammed east coast critics who say WA’s hard border is putting a handbrake on the national economy, arguing it is in fact pumping Australia’s coffers full of money.

Page 5: Health Minister Roger Cook has not ruled out fining West Australians who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Page 10: Electricity utilities Western Power, Synergy and Horizon would all remain in public hands under a WA Liberal Government.

Page 16: More than 100 safety notices have been dished out after a WorkSafe WA inspection blitz on farms across the State.

Business: Perth’s oldest five star hotel has lifted the veil on its $45 million facelift.

BHP’s environmental licences at two of its Pilbara mines are under review by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation over concerns about excessive dust coating the town of Newman.

It could take up to a decade for WA’s $30 million commercial honey bee industry to fully recover from the impact of the recent bushfires near Gingin.

Pilbara pastoralists are breathing a sigh of relief after the State Government backtracked on plans to build a road at Port Hedland which would have cut off access to their only cattle export and feedlot facility.

Boeing’s slow climb back to credibility in the flying public’s eyes after the 737 MAX tragedies has been dealt a major blow with the crash of yet another 737 in Indonesia on Saturday.