Morning Headlines

Palmer’s Singapore option after High Court failure

Billionaire Clive Palmer is expected to take his battle with the West Australian government over a stalled mining tenement in the Pilbara to Singapore, after the High Court rejected his claim for up to $30 billion in damages. The Fin

Sex pest log to fix mines

Mining companies have been urged by the Equal Opportunity Commission to introduce an industry-wide employment register to identify sex offenders and stop them job-hopping within the sector. The West

CBA fends off carbon activists

Commonwealth Bank chairman Catherine Livingstone has stared down environmental activists Market Forces, rejecting accusations the bank is not cutting fossil fuel-lending urgently enough and defending the need to keep funding oil and gas players committed to the transition to a cleaner economy. The Fin

Union claims franchisee did not allow breaks

The union representing fast food workers is taking a Perth McDonald’s franchisee to court for allegedly denying workers at Rockingham and Secret Harbour restaurants paid rest and drink breaks. The West

Net zero hit to economy on coal shift

Demand for Australian coal and gas will plunge within a decade if countries push for net zero emission goals, underscoring the risks to two of Australia’s biggest export earners amid a global push to boost climate change ambitions, the International Energy Agency has warned. The Aus

Toll union deal averts parcel strike

Toll Transport will limit outsourcing to 40 per cent of its workload and pay employees an industry-first 15 per cent superannuation rate in a bid to avoid disruption to food and parcel deliveries next week. The Fin

From climate heroes to net zeros

Senior Nationals are threatening to delay endorsement of Scott Morrison’s net zero 2050 plan until they secure guarantees more ambitious climate targets will not damage jobs or regional economies in a move that risks splitting the government. The Aus

Delta hit $5bn bigger than expected

Josh Frydenberg has revealed that Treasury expects the Delta blow to the economy over the three months to September will be about $5bn larger than previously thought, flagging a quarterly contraction of “potentially 3 per cent or more”. The Aus

Perth company joins the new wave of crypto gaming platforms

Billions of dollars are being poured into blockchain gaming companies around the world as investors and players bet the emerging sector will eventually surpass traditional gaming. The West

Galati’s new Spudshed

Potato king Tony Galati is kicking off a regional rollout of his Spudshed empire, with a new 24-hour store due to open in Northam next month. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Commonwealth Bank chairman Catherine Livingstone has stared down environmental activists Market Forces, rejecting accusations the bank is not cutting fossil fuel-lending urgently enough and defending the need to keep funding oil and gas players committed to the transition to a cleaner economy.

Page 3: PwC staff accused of racist behaviour at a trivia event of the firm will ‘‘leave their roles’’ at the consulting giant, and the partners associated with the incident have been financially penalised as part of CEO Tom Seymour’s response to the scandal.

Billionaire Clive Palmer is expected to take his battle with the West Australian government over a stalled mining tenement in the Pilbara to Singapore, after the High Court rejected his claim for up to $30 billion in damages.

Page 5: Australian scientists have revealed disturbing abuse and social media trolling, including threats of death and sexual violence, after speaking out about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Page 11: Toll Transport will limit outsourcing to 40 per cent of its workload and pay employees an industry-first 15 per cent superannuation rate in a bid to avoid disruption to food and parcel deliveries next week.

Page 12: Fewer than 1 per cent of Tax Office staff attended stand-alone training on the rights of taxpayers to complain or appeal against official decisions on their personal financial matters last financial year, a new report by the independent watchdog has found.

Page 14: The US will reopen its land borders to non-essential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Page 15: Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has signalled the bank is prepared to get ahead of emerging risks presented by hot housing markets by imposing additional lending controls over and above those set by the regulator.

Page 17: The growing energy price crisis could get far worse over the next few months but is unlikely to develop into a ‘super-cycle’ of crippling oil costs, Citi’s global head of commodities Ed Morse has said.

Page 18: Vegan BioCheese is riding strong tailwinds of the non-dairy food space, with founder Terry Paule appointing MA Financial Group to help find a capital investor for the brand eyeing new categories and expansion into Asia.

The Australian

Page 1: Senior Nationals are threatening to delay endorsement of Scott Morrison’s net zero 2050 plan until they secure guarantees more ambitious climate targets will not damage jobs or regional economies in a move that risks splitting the government.

Page 2: Australia’s peak Islamic body has invited two members of the Taliban to appear in a live webinar on Saturday, in a move that has been condemned by Afghan refugees and Australian veterans.

Page 5: Josh Frydenberg has revealed that Treasury expects the Delta blow to the economy over the three months to September will be about $5bn larger than previously thought, flagging a quarterly contraction of “potentially 3 per cent or more”.

Page 8: China, Russia, Australia and other G20 countries have been urged to “step up” efforts to tackle climate change before the COP 26 conference next month.

Page 13: Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation is retreating from buying half of the $1.8bn Grosvenor Place tower in Sydney’s CBD, amid heightened political tensions with Australia.

Demand for Australian coal and gas will plunge within a decade if countries push for net zero emission goals, underscoring the risks to two of Australia’s biggest export earners amid a global push to boost climate change ambitions, the International Energy Agency has warned.

Page 14: Disability services provider APM has been valued as a company worth between $4.35bn and $4.95bn by analysts at Credit Suisse ahead of its initial public offering.

Page 15: Blackmores has engaged proxy solicitation firm Georgeson ahead of its annual meeting later this month, escalating its war with its biggest and namesake shareholder Marcus Blackmore.

Page 16: The way the federal government “reneged” on the $90bn submarine deal with France’s Naval Group was “deeply regrettable’’ and the relationship should be repaired as a matter of urgency, former foreign minister Julie Bishop says.

Page 17: Australia has a new tech “unicorn”, with digital gift card business Prezzee hitting the coveted $1bn valuation mark thanks to surging revenue in the US and UK, and a new deal clinched with global payments giant Mastercard.

The West Australian

Page 1: Almost 80 per cent of West Australians want a “net zero by 2050” commitment in the Morrison Government’s amended climate change strategy, which was considered by Federal Cabinet yesterday.

Page 3: The two Melbourne fans who forged and fibbed their way into Perth to watch their team triumph at the AFL grand final will spend the rest of the year behind bars — after being labelled among the worst COVID-19 breachers of the pandemic.

WA Vaccine Commander Chris Dawson has delivered a “sobering message” on the State’s COVID-19 jab rate and urged people to get immunised before the virus enters the community.

Page 5: Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt says he still believes January 26 should remain the date for Australia Day, but that “we must” include greater recognition of Indigenous people.

Page 11: Mining companies have been urged by the Equal Opportunity Commission to introduce an industry-wide employment register to identify sex offenders and stop them job-hopping within the sector.

Business: The union representing fast food workers is taking a Perth McDonald’s franchisee to court for allegedly denying workers at Rockingham and Secret Harbour restaurants paid rest and drink breaks.

A private Brisbane-based company is eyeing the development of a $460 million nickel, manganese and cobalt refinery hub in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Having overseen another record year, Perth Mint chief executive Richard Hayes has announced plans to retire in April after nearly seven years at the helm.

Billions of dollars are being poured into blockchain gaming companies around the world as investors and players bet the emerging sector will eventually surpass traditional gaming.

Potato king Tony Galati is kicking off a regional rollout of his Spudshed empire, with a new 24-hour store due to open in Northam next month.