Morning Headlines

Shell keen for all options in the NW Shelf gas hunt

Shell has signalled it has not abandoned the option of using gas from the Scarborough field or onshore gas from Western Australia to minimise a decline in output at the country’s flagship LNG export venture, putting it at odds with Woodside and the WA government. The Fin

‘No one’ watching ancient art after sacking leaves site exposed to LNG boom

Efforts to protect the world’s largest collection of ancient rock art on the Burrup Peninsula are in disarray after the contractor hired to develop a new “world class” scientific monitoring system for the priceless art was secretly sacked from the job by the WA government, amid an acrimonious falling out between business partners. The Aus

AMA urges caution as jab rate accelerates

Australia’s coronavirus vaccination rate is accelerating rapidly but doctors have warned against going too far, too fast and leaving the vulnerable unprotected. The Fin

30 families caught with homes unfinished

Award-winning WA builder Schlager Homes has gone under, stranding 30 families with unfinished houses in Perth, the Great Southern and the South West. The West

Japan has PM’s back over China

Japan is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Morrison government to explicitly repudiate China’s economic coercion of Australia on the eve of a crucial world leaders’ meeting, warning its pressure tactics undermine international order. The Fin

Agriculture and visas threaten FTA with Brits

Free-trade agreement negotiations between Australia and the United Kingdom are mired in disagreement over agriculture and labour mobility, with no guarantee that there will be a deal to sign when Scott Morrison meets Boris Johnson early next week. The Fin

SAS gets $34m infrastructure spend

The Morrison Government will pump $34 million into new sheds at the Special Forces barracks in Swanbourne as part of an upgrade to facilities nationally. The West

Dan Murphy’s review finds major failures

Woolworths has vowed to overhaul its corporate governance and strengthen engagement with stakeholders before it opens new stores after a damning independent review of its proposal to open a Dan Murphy’s megastore in Darwin. The Fin

CIMIC, Monadelphous in Lendlease services auction

Australia’s UGL Group and rival infrastructure sector contractor Monadelphous are two of the parties crunching the numbers on Lendlease’s up-for-sale services division. The Fin

Pharmacists keen to jab

WA’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout would be completed up to six months faster if the more than 500 pharmacies keen to administer the jab were allowed to. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Japan is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Morrison government to explicitly repudiate China’s economic coercion of Australia on the eve of a crucial world leaders’ meeting, warning its pressure tactics undermine international order.

Page 2: The construction union has been fined more than $382,000 for threats and intimidation including posting a strikebreaker’s photo on Facebook in what a judge likened to a punishment from the Middle Ages.

Page 3: The government has seized on research by Labor MP Andrew Leigh showing potentially anti-competitive levels of company ownership by big superannuation funds as evidence to back its crackdown on proxy advisers.

Page 4: Australia’s coronavirus vaccination rate is accelerating rapidly but doctors have warned against going too far, too fast and leaving the vulnerable unprotected.

Page 5: The period of ultra-low longer-term fixed-rate mortgages is coming to an end, economists say, following a 50 per cent jump in the portion of fixed-rate housing credit over the past year.

Page 6: Free-trade agreement negotiations between Australia and the United Kingdom are mired in disagreement over agriculture and labour mobility, with no guarantee that there will be a deal to sign when Scott Morrison meets Boris Johnson early next week.

Page 9: Lack of ambition is acting as a barrier to Australia’s ability to create new industrial giants and diversify the economy away from resources, a panel event was told yesterday.

Page 10: The Biden administration is giving preference to critical minerals supplies from trusted allies with high environmental and labour standards such as Australia as part of a 100-day review into securing the world’s most important supply chains.

Page 13: Woolworths has vowed to overhaul its corporate governance and strengthen engagement with stakeholders before it opens new stores after a damning independent review of its proposal to open a Dan Murphy’s megastore in Darwin.

Shell has signalled it has not abandoned the option of using gas from the Scarborough field or onshore gas from Western Australia to minimise a decline in output at the country’s flagship LNG export venture, putting it at odds with Woodside and the WA government.

Australia’s UGL Group and rival infrastructure sector contractor Monadelphous are two of the parties crunching the numbers on Lendlease’s up-for-sale services division.

Page 15: Brickworks says its United States operations are rebounding quickly with demand at its Redland Bricks operation in Maryland back to pre-pandemic levels.

Page 17: Afterpay’s growth rates in Australia will fall significantly this year, as it hits maturity in its first market, while merchants pay eight times more than debit cards for accepting the service, UBS says, predicting more scrutiny from the Reserve Bank.

The Australian

Page 3: Australia is among the fastest rising property markets in the world as the post-pandemic bounce is reflected internationally.

Page 6: Former foreign minister Bob Carr has criticised suggestions there is a growing strain of anti-Semitism within Labor, saying the claim was propagated by people who want to “close down criticism of Israel”.

Page 13: Efforts to protect the world’s largest collection of ancient rock art on the Burrup Peninsula are in disarray after the contractor hired to develop a new “world class” scientific monitoring system for the priceless art was secretly sacked from the job by the WA government, amid an acrimonious falling out between business partners.

Page 15: Treasury Wine Estates, the makers of Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Lindemans, is taking a step into the brave new world of robotics with a deal to trial the use of unmanned vehicles in its vineyards that predict weather patterns and make informed decisions on when to spray, plant and harvest.

Page 17: National Australia Bank has turned to a former Austrac chief executive to try to get on top of its messy anti-money-laundering function, as the bank faces a formal Austrac investigation into potentially serious and ongoing noncompliance with AML laws.

The West Australian

Page 7: Expectant mothers are being turned away from the State’s leading maternity hospital, with women being told to give birth at smaller hospitals as far away as Joondalup.

WA’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout would be completed up to six months faster if the more than 500 pharmacies keen to administer the jab were allowed to.

Page 8: Wanneroo mayor Tracey Roberts is the frontrunner to be the Labor Party’s candidate to take on Christian Porter in the must-win seat of Pearce.

Scott Morrison used a whirlwind stop in Perth to put China on notice about “economic coercion” and announce a $60 million funding boost to bolster Australian Federal Police efforts to combat child sexual abuse.

Page 9: The Morrison Government will pump $34 million into new sheds at the Special Forces barracks in Swanbourne as part of an upgrade to facilities nationally.

Page 57: Excess profits from the COVID-19 surgery ban will be returned to a million members of HBF from next month.

Business: Award-winning WA builder Schlager Homes has gone under, stranding 30 families with unfinished houses in Perth, the Great Southern and the South West.

Crown’s former chief executive reportedly told a consultant he had concerns about the “grim” state of the firm’s corporate culture, a royal commission has heard.

Australia’s biggest brickmaker has warned the country’s timber shortage is adding to labour and skills challenges slowing its recovery from a protracted downturn in WA.

Several people accused of being at the centre of WA’s biggest alleged cattle rustling bust have been hit with additional charges as police continue their investigation.

Junior explorer Bryah Resources has closed out a heavily oversubscribed capital raising as it continues to hunt for copper and gold in the Murchison.