Morning Headlines

Fortescue will shut mines if tugboats strike

Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power said the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer would have to shut its mines within days if tugboat crews walk off the job, a move which he said will hurt government revenues and damage the nation’s reputation in Asia. The Fin

WA spending axe

WA’s Treasurer has taken the axe to Government spending, ordering all departments to find hundreds of millions in savings to help keep next month’s State Budget in surplus. The West

Big banks eye $10bn profit for the half

Record first-half profits of more than $10 billion are set to flow from three of the major banks as fewer debts go bad and their large mortgage books pump out healthy returns, setting the stage for bumper dividends. The Aus

Major parties combine for electoral reform to stop micro gamers

The major political parties are poised to engineer the biggest electoral reforms since the 1980s, including moves to limit preference distribution from micro parties and a uniform, national electoral roll, in the wake of the Western Australian Senate election debacle. The Aus

Business says no to ‘deficit tax’

Industry and business have urged the government to scrap plans to raise taxes to reduce debt and the deficit, reminding Tony Abbott that he promised on the eve of the election that no country could tax its way to prosperity. The Fin

Coalition woos PUP over climate policy

The Abbott government is willing to negotiate with Clive Palmer on the details of its controversial Direct Action climate policy to gain his support in the Senate. The Fin

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Industry and business have urged the government to scrap plans to raise taxes to reduce debt and the deficit, reminding Tony Abbott that he promised on the eve of the election that no country could tax its way to prosperity.

Page 4: Clive Palmer has extended his political influence to Northern Territory state politics, after poaching three members of its Legislative Assembly for his party.

Page 7: The Abbott government is willing to negotiate with Clive Palmer on the details of its controversial Direct Action climate policy to gain his support in the Senate.

Page 8: Tourism Australia will aim to sign marketing partnerships with the big four banks and focus more on leveraging the opportunities presented by major events under the leadership of new chief executive John O’Sullivan.

Page 13: Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power said the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer would have to shut its mines within days if tugboat crews walk off the job, a move which he said will hurt government revenues and damage the nation’s reputation in Asia.

Page 18: Oxfam accuses four big banks of funding companies involved in child labour, forced evictions, human rights abuses.

Page 31: The ABC’s pan-Asian television channel has struck another major international deal that could add more pressure on the Abbott government to rethink plans to scrap the service.

The Australian

Page 3: The major political parties are poised to engineer the biggest electoral reforms since the 1980s, including moves to limit preference distribution from micro parties and a uniform, national electoral roll, in the wake of the Western Australian Senate election debacle.

Page 4: Several leading retail funds are holding out to lodge applications for recognition as default superannuation funds by the Fair Work Commission ahead of a landmark challenge against the distribution of more than $9 billion a year in compulsory contributions.

Iincreasing the eligibility for the aged pension to 70 years old will discriminate against Aboriginal Australians because the average indigenous male dies before reaching that age, says the National Welfare Rights Network.

Page 6: Up to $4 billion worth of gas-fired power stations are in danger of being “stranded” as gas prices explode and the renewable energy target pushes extra generation into a grid already oversupplied with excess power, a new report has found.

A leaking waste-water pond that has caused a uranium scare in an underground aquifer at NSW’s biggest coal-seam gas project would be empty within two weeks, project operator Santos Ltd has said.

Page 17: Mick Davis, the former boss of Xstrata, is in talks over an ambitious deal to buy the unloved assets BHP Billiton is looking to sell or spin off.

Page 19: Record first-half profits of more than $10 billion are set to flow from three of the major banks as fewer debts go bad and their large mortgage books pump out healthy returns, setting the stage for bumper dividends.

Coles’ four-year-plus dream run is expected to come to an end this week, with analysts expecting third-quarter sales reports to show Woolworths has at last closed the gap on its smaller rival’s sales performance.

The West Australian
Page 1: WA’s Treasurer has taken the axe to Government spending, ordering all departments to find hundreds of millions in savings to help keep next month’s State Budget in surplus.    

Page 5: WA cancer experts want the Federal Government to spend $8 million a year on a mass media campaign about sun protection to stem the increasing cost of skin cancers.

Page 6: Australians face paying up to 1.5 per cent more tax from July 1 if the Abbott Government goes ahead with a proposed “deficit levy” on top of the scheduled increase to the Medicare levy.

Page 11: Perth has the capacity to be an international mining and LNG hub but should also diversify, says the mayor of the city regarded as the world’s energy capital.

Business: WA investors are among close to 100 people funding an innovative but ambitious bid to help resurrect failed silver miner Cobar Consolidated Resources.

The Financial Services Institute of Australasia, the cashed-up and self-proclaimed “premier organisation for finance professionals”, has closed its WA office months after beefing up its presence.