Morning Headlines

WA FIFO workers grounded

WA’s thriving resources sector has again been asked to halt movement of its fly-in, fly-out workers until at least Saturday morning as part of a State Government lockdown for Perth and the Peel regions. The West

Top private companies’ tax bill soared 40pc

Income tax for Australia’s top 320 privately owned corporate groups jumped 40 per cent in the three years to 2018, in what the Tax Office says is vindication for its campaign to boost taxpayer compliance by close engagement. The Fin

Telstra fights conspiracies in spreading 5G nationwide

Telstra will not abandon rolling out 5G networks to areas where the residents oppose the technology, such as Byron Bay, saying it believes residents will eventually warm to it as they need greater mobile speeds and capacity. The Fin

Race to halt spread of delta strain

National cabinet has rushed to plug holes in Australia’s quarantine system, including segregating domestic and international travellers and vaccinating all quarantine workers and their families, after outbreaks in Sydney and the Northern Territory of the infectious delta strain of COVID-19 spread quickly across the country. The Fin

Part-timers win in award flexibility

Part-time employees in retail will be able to work extra hours without overtime rates by just sending a simple text message to their boss under new changes brought in by the workplace tribunal. The Fin

Albanese pledges resources cabinet seat

Anthony Albanese has committed to elevating the resources and water portfolios to cabinet if he wins the next federal election, with Liberal senator Dean Smith condemning the Morrison government’s decision to dump the key portfolios to the outer ministry. The Aus

Big four ponder $34b capital returns

The big four Australian banks are expected to return about $34 billion of excess capital to shareholders in the coming three years, according to Morningstar. The Fin

Skills crisis pushes wages up by a third

The cost of hiring skilled software developers, security specialists and data experts has gone up by about 30 per cent in Australia in just 12 months, and the policy of trying to eliminate COVID-19 from the country is a large part of the reason, software companies claim. The Fin

Chinese seize African iron projects

China’s Pilbara-killing ambitions in Africa are taking shape, with a former ASX-listed company with links to major Chinese state-owned companies emerging as the likely developer of a suite of iron ore projects in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Aus

Just as confidence was improving, four-day lockdown to hit hospitality

Hospitality industry leaders warn WA’s snap four-day lockdown will hit job security in the sector, which is already struggling with crippling skills shortages. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: National cabinet has rushed to plug holes in Australia’s quarantine system, including segregating domestic and international travellers and vaccinating all quarantine workers and their families, after outbreaks in Sydney and the Northern Territory of the infectious delta strain of COVID-19 spread quickly across the country.

Page 3: The decision to dump the resources portfolio from cabinet to accommodate the fallout from the Nationals’ leadership coup could cost the junior Coalition partner direct authority over the sector.

Part-time employees in retail will be able to work extra hours without overtime rates by just sending a simple text message to their boss under new changes brought in by the workplace tribunal.

Page 4: Warnings in the Intergenerational Report about the growing costs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme have been dismissed by Labor as ‘‘rubbery figures’’ as it signalled it would fight any attempt by the government to rein in the program.

Falling short of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s optimistic productivity assumptions over coming decades will have dire consequences, including an almost 10 per cent reduction in wages and a doubling of the deficit.

Page 5: Income tax for Australia’s top 320 privately owned corporate groups jumped 40 per cent in the three years to 2018, in what the Tax Office says is vindication for its campaign to boost taxpayer compliance by close engagement.

Page 10: Crown Resorts knew its method of helping high-rollers to buy casino chips with credit cards was probably illegal, yet its head of regulation and compliance, Michelle Fielding, developed legal arguments in case they were caught by the Victorian gambling regulator, an inquiry has heard.

Page 11: A long history of cooperation between government, industry and academia has helped the United States hold on to its early lead in cyber capabilities over China, according to a report released yesterday.

Page 13: Metcash chief executive Jeff Adams expects consumers to return to shopping at local food, liquor and hardware stores if the latest COVID-19 outbreak proves as serious as that last year.

Page 15: The financial intelligence regulator has warned reporting entities to stay on top of their obligations, following recent changes to the AML-CTF Act that added clarity on know-your-customer requirements and banned certain types of correspondent banking.

Telstra will not abandon rolling out 5G networks to areas where the residents oppose the technology, such as Byron Bay, saying it believes residents will eventually warm to it as they need greater mobile speeds and capacity.

Page 19: The big four Australian banks are expected to return about $34 billion of excess capital to shareholders in the coming three years, according to Morningstar.

Page 20: The cost of hiring skilled software developers, security specialists and data experts has gone up by about 30 per cent in Australia in just 12 months, and the policy of trying to eliminate COVID-19 from the country is a large part of the reason, software companies claim.

The Australian

Page 1: Australians under 40 are now able to join the vaccine rollout and get the AstraZeneca jab, as Scott Morrison warns he will not “countenance” an increase in Covid-19 deaths as a result of further opening up the economy.

Australians’ average incomes will be $32,000 lower than projected and the federal deficit twice as large by 2061 if the country fails to reverse a decade of slumping productivity growth, the latest Intergenerational Report warns.

Page 2: Anthony Albanese has committed to elevating the resources and water portfolios to cabinet if he wins the next federal election, with Liberal senator Dean Smith condemning the Morrison government’s decision to dump the key portfolios to the outer ministry.

Page 13: Biotech giant CSL insists that despite fading confidence about the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout, production at its Melbourne facility remains on track, with other countries clamouring for the jab and declaring they will accept it.

Corporations face a crackdown on disclosing climate risks after major investor groups held briefings with Treasury and the nation’s financial watchdogs to introduce a mandatory reporting system by 2024, in the latest warning to business on the risk of climate change.

China’s Pilbara-killing ambitions in Africa are taking shape, with a former ASX-listed company with links to major Chinese state-owned companies emerging as the likely developer of a suite of iron ore projects in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Statewide Super and larger industry fund Hostplus have confirmed they are in detailed merger talks and working towards a deal, as marriages and takeovers in the $3.1 trillion superannuation sector gather pace.

Page 17: A new clash of tech titans is taking shape as Apple and Microsoft reignite a feud that dates back to the formative days of the personal computer era.

The West Australian

Page 3: Landlords have launched eviction proceedings against more than 1250 families since the rental moratorium ended in March, figures reveal.

Page 5: Testing clinics were testing drivers’ patience in Perth’s north yesterday as thousands of West Aussies rushed to do their COVID-19 duty on the first full day of new restrictions.

Page 7: Confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine has plunged, with fewer than 5500 vaccination appointments booked among over-60s — equivalent to just one per cent of that age group.

Page 11: Ambulance ramping has soared to a new record high and is on track to crash through the 5000-hour barrier for the first time this month.

Business: WA’s thriving resources sector has again been asked to halt movement of its fly-in, fly-out workers until at least Saturday morning as part of a State Government lockdown for Perth and the Peel regions.

Hospitality industry leaders warn WA’s snap four-day lockdown will hit job security in the sector, which is already struggling with crippling skills shortages.

Sundance Resources is considering its legal options after its onetime Chinese-backed partner AustSino Resources signed a draft agreement with the government of Cameroon to help develop the stalled Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore project.