Morning Headlines

Christmas supply chains under threat as Toll workers demand higher pay

Toll warehouse workers, including at Kmart’s largest distribution centre, are striking indefinitely citing cost-of-living pressures in a fight for pay rises of up to 8 per cent that threatens the supply chain of major consumer brands ahead of Christmas. The Fin

Labor canvasses three options for emissions target

Labor is canvassing three main options for a 2030 emissions reduction target as it strives to find a balance between keeping the left of the party onside and not exposing itself to a government scare campaign. The Fin

Premier open to super uni

Premier Mark McGowan says he would welcome a pitch from the education sector to amalgamate WA’s four public universities. The West

Multiple PCR tests hurting wallets of families flying in

Families are paying thousands of dollars for COVID-19 tests to fly into and around Australia, prompting warnings from the tourism industry that it is a barrier to travel and will slow the recovery. The Fin

Red meat prices to rise for next 18 months, Elders warns

The chief executive of agribusiness and pastoral group Elders expects inflationary pressures on red meat prices to last for at least the next 18 months because demand is outstripping supply and Australia’s herds are still being rebuilt. The Fin

LNG will likely run dry by 2050: report

Government forecasts of continuing LNG exports from Australia through to 2050 – despite the net zero goal – are too optimistic given the gas reserves underpinning exports will be exhausted by then, EnergyQuest says. The Fin

Sydney law job for MP?

Christian Porter is weighing up ditching a political career in favour of working as a barrister in Sydney. The West

Shell ditches ‘Dutch’ title

Royal Dutch Shell has announced a major overhaul of its legal and tax structure and will walk away from the Netherlands amid deteriorating relations with what has been its home country for a century. The West

Borrowers stress as values rise

Inheriting a property may be the only way some Aussies will ever own the roof over their head, a Reserve Bank spokeswoman has suggested, while the Finance Brokers Association has warned of a looming affordability “disaster”. The West

BP has green goal but says oil & gas will still be around

BP is committed to tackling climate change, the company’s chief executive said, but he insisted that hydrocarbons such as oil and gas will have an ongoing role to play in the energy mix for years. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Woodside Petroleum has secured a $4.9 billion commitment from a US-based infrastructure giant for its Pluto LNG expansion project, clearing the way for the biggest resources scheme to be built in the country for almost a decade, even as the Glasgow Climate Pact ramps up emissions pressures.

Toll warehouse workers, including at Kmart’s largest distribution centre, are striking indefinitely citing cost-of-living pressures in a fight for pay rises of up to 8 per cent that threatens the supply chain of major consumer brands ahead of Christmas.

Page 2: Australia is highly unlikely to hit its draft target of less than 5 per cent of the population smoking by 2030 unless it takes significant steps to reduce supply, including by curtailing retail sales, experts have warned.

Page 3: Scott Morrison has channelled John Howard’s mantra about interest rates being lower under a Coalition government as he inserted the cost of living into his post-pandemic economic management pitch.

Page 4: Labor is canvassing three main options for a 2030 emissions reduction target as it strives to find a balance between keeping the left of the party onside and not exposing itself to a government scare campaign.

Page 5: Australia is already paying higher interest rates because of a refusal to commit to a stronger 2030 emissions reduction target and policy uncertainty, according to climate finance experts who criticised the government’s modelling as a ‘‘magic pudding’’.

Page 6: Families are paying thousands of dollars for COVID-19 tests to fly into and around Australia, prompting warnings from the tourism industry that it is a barrier to travel and will slow the recovery.

Page 8: The Reserve Bank of Australia may not move in lockstep with its global peers in reining in cheap money, despite acknowledging that booming house prices fuelled by record low interest rates are hurting first home buyers.

Page 13: Australian coal miners say a COP26 pact to ‘‘phase down’’ unabated coal-fired power generation strikes a balance between the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy poverty in developing nations, and affirms their expectation that a global energy transition will take decades to deliver.

The chief executive of agribusiness and pastoral group Elders expects inflationary pressures on red meat prices to last for at least the next 18 months because demand is outstripping supply and Australia’s herds are still being rebuilt.

Page 16: Government forecasts of continuing LNG exports from Australia through to 2050 – despite the net zero goal – are too optimistic given the gas reserves underpinning exports will be exhausted by then, EnergyQuest says.

Page 19: Incitec Pivot has for the first time revealed it expects green ammonia to reach price parity with fossil-fuelled ammonia by 2040, as the fertiliser and explosives company lays out plans to decarbonise its highly emissions-intensive business.

The Australian

Page 1: Interest rates and petrol prices would be higher under a Labor government, Scott Morrison has claimed, putting inflation and cost of living at the centre of the government’s campaign targeting Anthony Albanese ahead of the next election.

Page 2: Mark McGowan has furiously denied Health Minister Greg Hunt’s suggestion that the West Australian government may open its border earlier than planned so it could host tourists for the Ashes Test in Perth.

Page 3: ABC chair Ita Buttrose has lashed out at the Coalition again after it established a Senate inquiry into the broadcaster’s complaints handling department, conceding that the relationship with the government was “strained”.

Drinking coffee and tea may slash your risk of having a stroke or developing dementia, according to a new study.

Page 5: Cervical cancer is on track to be eliminated in Australia within the decade, with the nation set to become the first in the world to give the option to self-collect a testing sample, in a “gamechanging” move designed to break down the final barrier to women who are not undergoing screening.

Page 13: One of the country’s largest landholders has accused energy giant Santos of misleading and deceptive conduct as it battles attempts by fracking companies to develop the gas-rich Beetaloo Basin.

National Australia Bank’s head of personal banking, Rachel Slade, expects mortgage applications will stay strong until the year’s end, ahead of more home listings and regulatory measures to cool the market kicking in.

Page 15: As flying takes off once again, Qantas has wasted no time making another bid for the business of its rivals’ most loyal passengers.

The West Australian

Page 3: The McGowan Government and other States will develop a proposal to raise the minimum age at which children can be jailed from 10 to 12.

Page 5: Volunteer firefighters are the latest group to be included under WA’s sweeping jab mandates.

Page 10: Christian Porter is weighing up ditching a political career in favour of working as a barrister in Sydney.

Page 12: Premier Mark McGowan says he would welcome a pitch from the education sector to amalgamate WA’s four public universities.

Business: Royal Dutch Shell has announced a major overhaul of its legal and tax structure and will walk away from the Netherlands amid deteriorating relations with what has been its home country for a century.

One of Perth’s major naval players is forecasting strong growth, with plans to double its local workforce within the next year.

The Australian Government’s low emissions technology adviser Alan Finkel has reinforced his support for controversial carbon capture and storage technology to reduce carbon emissions, as debate continues rages about its efficacy in the wake of the global climate conference in Glasgow.

Perth-based mining technology company Imdex will buy a 30 per cent stake in analysis company Datarock in a $5.5 million deal that it expects will enhance efficiency in the industry.

Inheriting a property may be the only way some Aussies will ever own the roof over their head, a Reserve Bank spokeswoman has suggested, while the Finance Brokers Association has warned of a looming affordability “disaster”.

BP is committed to tackling climate change, the company’s chief executive said, but he insisted that hydrocarbons such as oil and gas will have an ongoing role to play in the energy mix for years.