Morning Headlines

UWA’s bold land sale master plan

The University of WA could sell some of its land for development and establish a ferry station at Matilda Bay under a master plan for the next decade. The West

A year after Juukan blast, miner eyes reform

Rio Tinto Australia chief executive Kellie Parker says the mining giant will hold itself to an even higher standard on Aboriginal heritage than the proposed new laws that will give traditional owners a greater say on what happens on their lands. The West

Founder’s son in court

Pindan co-founder George Allingame’s son is taking legal action against the failed construction giant, with the former company director claiming he is owed a share of the group’s former earnings. The West

Slow cooker: farmers may have long wait in UK trade deal

Australian beef, lamb and sugarcane farmers face a potentially long wait to crack the UK market, with Britain reportedly looking for a 15-year phase-in period for agriculture in the nearly completed free-trade deal. The Fin

Arrow misses target: $1.2bn writedown

Energy giants Shell and Petro-China have been hit with a $1.2bn writedown on their Australian gas business due to a commodity price slump, double the previous year’s level, with losses now nearing $9bn since 2010. The Aus

Alarm bells ring over Labor base

Federal Labor MPs have warned the party risks handing Scott Morrison the next election unless it urgently reconnects with blue collar voters, conceding a weekend by-election in NSW showed the party was out of touch with its base. The Fin

Labor attacks vaccine delays

Anthony Albanese has endorsed suggestions the Coalition is deliberately letting vaccine hesitancy spread, suggesting a slow take-up suits Scott Morrison’s intention of keeping Australia’s borders closed. The Fin

Online boom ahead as unis outsource teaching

The global market for a niche model of online education is set to triple over the next five years as universities outsource course design, delivery and marketing to private companies. The Fin

Facebook pays just $20m tax on $700m

Social media giant Facebook scooped up more than $700 million in Australian advertising revenue last year by boosting its online sales as the nation spent more time at home and online through the pandemic. The Aus

Walkabout is about to run

Walkabout Resources has begun work on the first new mining project in Tanzania since the East African country’s government rocked the sector by unexpectedly introducing a raft of onerous laws. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Federal Labor MPs have warned the party risks handing Scott Morrison the next election unless it urgently reconnects with blue collar voters, conceding a weekend by-election in NSW showed the party was out of touch with its base.

Page 2: Former Oil Search managing director Peter Botten is under pressure to cooperate with an inquiry examining his role in a disastrous $1.2 billion loan extended by the Sydney office of UBS to the government of Papua New Guinea.

Page 3: Australia’s trade-dependent companies are backing calls for a regulator to examine shipping practices as global freight bottlenecks hit imports and exports.

Online marketplace eBay is allowing trusted Australian regulators to directly take down listings where they have evidence of a risk to consumer safety.

Page 4: Australian beef, lamb and sugarcane farmers face a potentially long wait to crack the UK market, with Britain reportedly looking for a 15-year phase-in period for agriculture in the nearly completed free-trade deal.

Page 5: Anthony Albanese has endorsed suggestions the Coalition is deliberately letting vaccine hesitancy spread, suggesting a slow take-up suits Scott Morrison’s intention of keeping Australia’s borders closed.

Page 6: Universities are prime targets for cyber attacks by criminal groups and nation states due to their huge digital footprint, the sheer number and variety of people accessing their systems and the value of personal and intellectual property information they hold, cyber experts warn.

Page 12: The global market for a niche model of online education is set to triple over the next five years as universities outsource course design, delivery and marketing to private companies.

Page 13: AGL Energy may have to raise more than half a billion dollars in equity, or even sell part of its retail business, to carry out its planned demerger as wholesale power prices fall through the floor, analysts have warned.

Page 17: Finder says it will use its open banking accreditation from the competition regulator to speed up the delivery of insights into how customers can save money on their loans and insurance products generated by its app, which has 155,000 users.

Page 18: Parliament is mulling a substantial law change to ban punters from using credit cards or ‘‘digital wallets’’ for online gambling in Australia, which would bring internet betting in line with rules that govern physical gambling sites.

Page 20: A sharp fall in the iron ore price, as China tries to jawbone down the cost of commodities, has fund managers on tenterhooks about whether the price of Australia’s biggest export has peaked.

The Australian

Page 1: Scott Morrison says the values of working-class voters are now more aligned with the Coalition than Labor as government strategists focus on ALP heartland seats ahead of the next federal election.

Page 2: Scott Morrison has warned leaders of like-minded countries that the world is becoming “increasingly polarised between autocracies and liberal democracies”, urging them to increase economic and security collaboration.

The Australian food and grocery sector’s plan to double the industry’s value to $250 billion by 2030 via new export markets, growing investment and advanced research says up to 16,000 jobs are at risk if companies are held back from keeping pace with global competitors.

Page 3: A federal judicial complaints body is needed to hold judges to account for their work and to help those “not managing well”, says a retiring judge.

Social media giant Facebook scooped up more than $700 million in Australian advertising revenue last year by boosting its online sales as the nation spent more time at home and online through the pandemic.

Page 5: The Covid-19 pandemic has produced a dramatic collapse in the job satisfaction and mental health of Australian women, who overwhelmingly report a significant increase in their professional and domestic workload.

One in two young Australians feel financially out of control, a new survey reveals, and under-25s still overwhelmingly seek out their parents for advice on how to handle their money rather than go to a bank or expert.

Page 6: Disability advocates and the opposition are calling for greater transparency from the government and the National Disability Insurance Agency on their multibillion-dollar cost projections for the NDIS.

Page 13: Energy giants Shell and Petro-China have been hit with a $1.2bn writedown on their Australian gas business due to a commodity price slump, double the previous year’s level, with losses now nearing $9bn since 2010.

Blackstone chief operating officer Jonathan Gray has talked up the private equity giant’s investment expertise following the rejection of its bid for Crown Resorts, declaring its executives are “big believers in Australia”.

The West Australian

Page 3: WA Police are looking at the potential for flying military-style unmanned planes that can cover vast distances to fight crime and save lives.

Page 8: Residents of the affluent western suburbs are rolling up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations faster than in any other part of the State.

Page 9: Mark McGowan is yet to be convinced by Scott Morrison’s plan for vaccinated Australians to be exempt from interstate border closures.

Page 10: The Federal Government will publish data relating to median prices for in-home care services.

Page 11: Pindan co-founder George Allingame’s son is taking legal action against the failed construction giant, with the former company director claiming he is owed a share of the group’s former earnings.

Page 14: The University of WA could sell some of its land for development and establish a ferry station at Matilda Bay under a master plan for the next decade.

Business: Rio Tinto Australia chief executive Kellie Parker says the mining giant will hold itself to an even higher standard on Aboriginal heritage than the proposed new laws that will give traditional owners a greater say on what happens on their lands.

Garuda Indonesia needs to restructure its business, potentially reducing the number of planes it operates to less than half its main fleet as it seeks to survive the crisis wrought by COVID-19, its president told staff this week.

Walkabout Resources has begun work on the first new mining project in Tanzania since the East African country’s government rocked the sector by unexpectedly introducing a raft of onerous laws.