Liberals rebound in the West
The Coalition and the Greens have experienced a dramatic recovery in electoral support in Western Australia at the expense of Labor as all three face a crucial battle in the Senate election. The Aus
Telstra plots new NBN contract
Telstra is negotiating with the government-owned NBN Co to install 300 nodes for the national broadband network, a contract that could help its push to play a big part in billions of dollars-worth of construction deals. The Fin
Hot Chili goes for gold and copper
Chilean-focused copper play Hot Chili is expected to move a step closer to developing the Chilean Productora copper and gold deposit today when it releases a maiden reserve putting it in the same league as the DeGrussa deposit being mined by Sandfire Resources. The Aus
Miners reject Rinehart’s north plan
Business groups including the Minerals Council of Australia have rejected billionaire miner Gina Rinehart’s push for northern Australia to be declared a special economic zone. The Fin
Broomhead a ‘China bull’
BHP Billiton director Malcolm Broomhead has declared he remains a “China bull” despite the slowdown in the world’s fastest-growing economy and says he is not concerned about the longer-term outlook for iron ore prices after they recently fell to their lowest level in 18 months. The Aus
Qantas launches Aquire points plan
Qantas Loyalty has launched its new Aquire program allowing small-to-medium enterprises to accumulate points, just days after changes to points and status earnings rates on its Frequent Flyer program led to a backlash from some customers. The Fin
Keep it nice, Shorten tells critics of change
Labor leader Bill Shorten has cautioned opponents of sweeping changes to the Racial Discrimination Act against using incendiary language to make their case, as senior Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull urged his constituents to express their views on the Coalition’s plan.
$115m for homeless scheme
The Federal Government has relented to pressure from social service groups and Premier Colin Barnett and agreed to extend funding for homelessness projects for another year. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Tougher banking capital rules designed for Europe and the United States could be hurting economic growth in Australia and Asia, financial system inquiry head David Murray says.
Telstra is negotiating with the government-owned NBN Co to install 300 nodes for the national broadband network, a contract that could help its push to play a big part in billions of dollars-worth of construction deals.
Page 4: More than 55 per cent of farmers are struggling to keep workers as the drought continues to cripple sentiment in the north, Rabobank’s quarterly rural confidence survey has found.
Business groups including the Minerals Council of Australia have rejected billionaire miner Gina Rinehart’s push for northern Australia to be declared a special economic zone.
The son of mining magnate Gina Rinehart, John Hancock, has landed a consulting role working on projects in competition with the family’s Hancock Prospecting.
Page 5: Next year’s university graduates are likely to face a tight labour market with poorer job prospects than in the past, according to the Group of Eight universities.
Page 6: The Transport Workers Union will consider a campaign of “civil disobedience” against Qantas Airways in response to the airline’s plan to cut 5000 jobs over the next three years, national secretary Tony Sheldon says.
Page 8: Union-backed industry funds are enthusiastically supporting a plan led by the federal and NSW Coalition governments to privatise electricity systems, ports and other publicly owned assets, arguing workers will retain ownership via their superannuation.
Page 9: London-based hedge fund The Children’s Investment Fund has advocated an overhaul of Australia’s regulations for renewable energy to give investors the long-term confidence needed to shift the economy to a lower carbon one.
Page 15: Rio Tinto has won a regulatory battle in the United States after staring down a major Utah power company, paving the way for its copper mine to obtain cheaper power.
Page 17: Qantas Loyalty has launched its new Aquire program allowing small-to-medium enterprises to accumulate points, just days after changes to points and status earnings rates on its Frequent Flyer program led to a backlash from some customers.
Aurizon has a great opportunity to reposition itself as a yield-growth story, offering shareholders attractive returns but also growth, one of its biggest shareholders says.
The Australian
Page 1: The Coalition and the Greens have experienced a dramatic recovery in electoral support in Western Australia at the expense of Labor as all three face a crucial battle in the Senate election.
Page 2: Labor deputy leader Tanya Pilbersek has called for the scrapping of archaic rules that require ALP members to join unions.
Page 4: Labor leader Bill Shorten has cautioned opponents of sweeping changes to the Racial Discrimination Act against using incendiary language to make their case, as senior Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull urged his constituents to express their views on the Coalition’s plan.
Page 15: BHP Billiton director Malcolm Broomhead has declared he remains a “China bull” despite the slowdown in the world’s fastest-growing economy and says he is not concerned about the longer-term outlook for iron ore prices after they recently fell to their lowest level in 18 months.
The executive chairman of Chinese drilling services company Sino Australia Oil and Gas attempted to move $7.5 million of the company’s funds to bank accounts in China one day after the company listed on the ASX, the Federal Court has heard.
Page 16: Australia needs to separate the issue of energy productivity from the climate change debate and follow the lead of the US and have a bipartisan approach to double energy productivity by 2030.
Page 18: Australia’s coal producers could be set for further pain with contract prices continuing to fall and analysts predicting a long-term structural decline in demand.
Chilean-focused copper play Hot Chili is expected to move a step closer to developing the Chilean Productora copper and gold deposit today when it releases a maiden reserve putting it in the same league as the DeGrussa deposit being mined by Sandfire Resources.
Page 21: Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull says ABC board members who do not want to get involved in ensuring news content on the public broadcaster is accurate and impartial should get off the board.
The West Australian
Page 1: Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten will plead today with the WA public to stick with the coalition and Labor amid fears the Palmer United Party’s wall of advertising is wooing over disengaged voters.
Page 3: Figures from the Department of Transport show only 44.8 per cent of young drivers at the Midland licensing centre passed their test at their first attempt last year.
Page 5: WA Liberal senator David Johnston has labelled the State’s share of the goods and services tax a great injustice on West Australians but conceded his Government cannot fix the problem.
Page 6: The Federal Government has relented to pressure from social service groups and Premier Colin Barnett and agreed to extend funding for homelessness projects for another year.
Bill Shorten says Australians should be able to vote online from home, saying internet voting would avoid repeating the expensive “fiasco” of the WA Senate rerun election.
Asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat or air will no longer get free legal advice as the Government slashes $100 million from immigration services.
Page 7: The death of an experienced load operator who plunged down an underground stope at a Goldfields mine has prompted a WA coroner to recommend the use of physical barriers in all underground mines to manage the hazards of open holes.
Page 11: Australian drug dealers are turning to underground websites to sell drugs such as cannabis and prescription drugs, according to research that reveals a surge in retailers selling drugs online.
Page 14: Visitors to WA could be encouraged to follow “food trails” to explore farms, meet producers and buy fresh produce, according to one of the women responsible for shaking up the State’s culinary tourism landscape.
Tightly controlled specialty retailer Country Road and fast expanding childcare group G8 Education are set to take opening honours for 2014 as the stockmarket’s best performers.
Two rivals in the crisis management business have joined forces to control a bigger slice of a growth industry fuelled by WA’s resources sector.
West Australian voters will this week be contemplating Saturday’s Senate election while investors will be seeking insights into interest rates and the economy.
The Australian Shareholders’ Association is demanding directors invest a minimum amount in their companies as part of a sharpened focus on board performance.
Thousands of WA families will be facing a $5-plus hit on their weekly budget tomorrow thanks to increasing private health insurance premiums.