Morning Headlines

Fast-track quarantine options

WA’s biggest homebuilder is investigating ways to fast-track accommodation at a potential Perth Airport quarantine facility, ahead of the McGowan Government’s skills summit on Friday. The West

Boral clears decks in new $64.5m sale

Boral chief executive Zlatko Todorcevski has sold off yet another business as the building products group, which is now controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes’ Seven Group Holding, slims down further. The Fin

Mine deal drives more jobs

Dozers working on Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore mines will be rebuilt in Geraldton as part of a joint initiative between mining giant, WesTrac and the WA Government. The West

Taylor spruiks tech at G20 climate talks

Energy minister Angus Taylor told his Group of 20 counterparts that Australia’s technology-driven approach to climate change was the best way to avoid November’s highly anticipated Glasgow summit collapsing into another fight between rich and developing nations. The Fin

Lockdown: PM mulls more cash

The Morrison government is resisting demands to return to the JobKeeper wage subsidy but is examining enhancing the system of business and income payments, including extending support to welfare recipients. The Fin

Best & Less urges disaster clause in leases

Veteran retailer Rod Orrock has called for a disaster relief clause in the national leasing code, saying retailers and landlords needed to share the pain of lockdowns and other disasters. The Fin

Bonuses in doubt amid BEAR calls

Lucrative bonuses for Crown Resorts’ directors and executives are under threat after counsel assisting a royal commission into the casino giant recommended the banking executive accountability regime (BEAR) also apply to gaming executives to ensure the horror of Crown’s widespread lawbreaking is not repeated. The Fin

Merger mania as cheap debt powers deals despite virus

Expectations for record volumes of Australian takeover deals in 2021 are holding up, despite Covid-19 lockdowns gripping large parts of the nation and bidders withdrawing $US30.8bn ($41.9bn) in offers this year. The Aus

Board verve for Venturex

Bill Beament has taken on the role of managing director of Venturex Resources while former Northern Star Resources nonexecutive director Shirley In’t Veld has joined him on the explorer’s board. The West

VEEM gets crack at ran frigates

WA industrial firm VEEM has won a pilot order for a propeller blade that will test its ability to supply the $40 billion-plus program turning out Australia’s next generation of warships. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Morrison government is resisting demands to return to the JobKeeper wage subsidy but is examining enhancing the system of business and income payments, including extending support to welfare recipients.

Page 3: Energy minister Angus Taylor told his Group of 20 counterparts that Australia’s technology-driven approach to climate change was the best way to avoid November’s highly anticipated Glasgow summit collapsing into another fight between rich and developing nations.

Page 5: Pharmacists believe they are witnessing a turning point in perceptions of AstraZeneca after they were overwhelmed by the amount of interest on their first day of delivering the vaccine in western Sydney.

Page 7: Federal health officials are consulting states about changing the settings of the COVIDSafe app to recognise the increased infectiousness of the delta variant.

Page 9: The navy’s patrol boats program is facing a six month delay with one of its vessels, joining other shipbuilding programs to run into trouble during the design and construction stages.

Page 13: Veteran retailer Rod Orrock has called for a disaster relief clause in the national leasing code, saying retailers and landlords needed to share the pain of lockdowns and other disasters.

Page 15: Lucrative bonuses for Crown Resorts’ directors and executives are under threat after counsel assisting a royal commission into the casino giant recommended the banking executive accountability regime (BEAR) also apply to gaming executives to ensure the horror of Crown’s widespread lawbreaking is not repeated.

Endeavour Group has announced plans to buy the Terrey Hills tavern in Sydney’s north for about $40 million, in a joint venture with fund manager Charter Hall, and has said more acquisitions of hotels and liquor stores are on the cards following its $10 billion separation from Woolworths last month.

Page 16: Lynas Rare Earths boss Amanda Lacaze says there has never been a more challenging time in protecting workers and operations from the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

Page 18: The competition regulator in Papua New Guinea has knocked back the $420 million sale of Westpac’s Pacific banking operations to ASX-listed Kina Securities, in a preliminary determination both parties will challenge.

Page 19: Boral chief executive Zlatko Todorcevski has sold off yet another business as the building products group, which is now controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes’ Seven Group Holding, slims down further.

Page 20: Leading Australian venture capital fund Square Peg Capital will launch a new fund, breaking away from its roots in backing private start-ups to seek returns from fast-growth listed technology companies, hunting the next Facebooks or Spotifys on exchanges around the world.

The Australian

Page 1: Anthony Albanese has promised to maintain tax cuts for higher income earners and dump plans to cut negative gearing in a pitch to aspirational voters who deserted Labor at the 2019 federal election.

Page 3: Sexual assault and harassment allegations involving MPs and parliamentary staffers dating back more than two years will come under the microscope of a new independent complaints team, as part of historic reforms to be established in federal parliament.

Page 4: Pandemic restrictions are costing the nation $2.8bn each week and have caused 1.6 million Australians to lose their jobs or have their hours cut, as businesses push for a “smarter approach” to lockdowns and expanded financial support for employers.

Page 5: More than two millions doses of Covid-19 vaccine distributed to GP surgeries are sitting in fridges unused as hesitancy over Astra-Zeneca drives vaccine wastage.

Page 9: More than half the student visa holders waiting to enter Australia are Chinese, despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and tensions between Canberra and Beijing.

Australia’s first cryonics facility – designed to freeze humans to preserve their body immediately after they die – is on track to open early next year after being put on ice in 2020-21.

Page 15: Expectations for record volumes of Australian takeover deals in 2021 are holding up, despite Covid-19 lockdowns gripping large parts of the nation and bidders withdrawing $US30.8bn ($41.9bn) in offers this year.

Page 17: Western Australia’s probe into Crown Resorts will examine whether it is in the state’s interest for the company’s Burswood casino in Perth to be owned by “a large corporate group”, further raising the prospect of a forced break-up or restructuring of the company.

Page 19: Financial regulators have warned they could scrutinise the fast-growing mobile payments system as key players hit out at high fees levelled by Apple and Google.

The West Australian

Page 3: Former Stirling MP Michael Keenan has quit the panel conducting a “root and branch” review of the WA Liberal Party in the wake of the disastrous March election.

Page 10: The Federal Government will go to the election with a policy of continuing to keep international borders closed for some time yet.

Page 12: Former Crown Perth powerbroker John Poynton has said he was forced off the board against his will earlier this year — insisting he could have helped the company redeem itself if he had been allowed to stay.

Business: WA’s biggest homebuilder is investigating ways to fast-track accommodation at a potential Perth Airport quarantine facility, ahead of the McGowan Government’s skills summit on Friday.

Bill Beament has taken on the role of managing director of Venturex Resources while former Northern Star Resources non-executive director Shirley In’t Veld has joined him on the explorer’s board.

Australia is still exporting millions of tonnes of barley despite the loss of access to China but the premium for growing malt varieties no longer exists.

Dozers working on Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore mines will be rebuilt in Geraldton as part of a joint initiative between mining giant, WesTrac and the WA Government.

WA industrial firm VEEM has won a pilot order for a propeller blade that will test its ability to supply the $40 billion-plus program turning out Australia’s next generation of warships.