Morning Headlines

Proxy adviser opposes Woodside’s climate plan

Woodside Petroleum’s latest attempt to be more transparent about adapting to climate change faces a high-profile backlash at the oil and gas giant’s annual general meeting. The Fin

‘Lib in Labor seat’ bullish on surviving shake-up

Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt says he has “a degree of comfort” that he will be returned in the key seat of Hasluck, which he has held since a 2010 cliff-hanger victory that added to chaos for Julia Gillard. The Aus

Making cuts to deal with rising prices likely to hurt businesses

Perth small and medium businesses should avoid the temptation to cut jobs or send them offshore as a reflex to soaring inflation and interest rates, a leading business adviser has warned, as costs continue to mount for owners. The West

RBA rate rise hurts Coalition

Federal Labor has increased its lead on the back of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to lift interest rates, giving Scott Morrison just two weeks to close a sizeable gap. The Fin

Labor backs high achievers to fill education ranks

High-achieving students would be paid up to $12,000 a year to study education under an Albanese Labor government, part of plans to lift teacher standards and improve educational outcomes for Australian children. The Fin

Big four banks step up fight in business sector

Investors are looking to Westpac and Commonwealth Bank to see how their business banks stack up, after National Australia Bank set a high-water mark for SME banking amid a fiercely competitive – and less profitable – home lending market. The Fin

Minderoo-backed FairSupply signs Refinitiv deal on scope 3 reporting

FairSupply, backed by Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, has struck a deal with London Stock Exchange-owned business Refinitiv to report scope 3 emissions, as global interest in ESG investing soars. The Fin

We’ll be going nuclear, says Howard

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard says the AUKUS pact to build nuclear-powered submarines makes it “inevitable” that Australia will develop a civil nuclear industry, contradicting Scott Morrison‘s claim that no local nuclear industry is needed. The Aus

Smart approach to intelligence

As more companies look to speed up their processes with automation technology and artificial intelligence, two Perth founders have stressed retaining the human element is key. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Federal Labor has increased its lead on the back of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to lift interest rates, giving Scott Morrison just two weeks to close a sizeable gap.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers says a successful ‘‘Accord-like’’ deal on climate and energy policy under a Labor government would build trust with business and set a pathway for a broader economic reform agenda on ‘‘thornier’’ issues to lift productivity.

Page 5: Auction clearance rates fell sharply across most capital cities as the first interest rate rise in more than 11 years unnerved buyers who are worried about the impact of higher mortgage costs on their household budgets.

Page 8: Scott Morrison faced pushback from a moderate Liberal MP after he committed to reintroduce religious discrimination laws without protections for gay students, as Anthony Albanese dodged questions about how he would handle the contentious changes.

Page 12: High-achieving students would be paid up to $12,000 a year to study education under an Albanese Labor government, part of plans to lift teacher standards and improve educational outcomes for Australian children.

Page 20: Trials that test and evaluate different approaches to teaching and education delivery in low-performing schools in disadvantaged neighbourhoods should be funded to clearly establish which approaches are most successful in raising academic achievement, experts say.\

Page 21: Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures is set to step up its attack on AGL Energy’s proposed demerger this week, telling shareholders the coal power arm Accel may risk falling insolvent and that a targeted ESG premium for retailer arm AGL Australia is unlikely to emerge.

Page 23: Investors are looking to Westpac and Commonwealth Bank to see how their business banks stack up, after National Australia Bank set a high-water mark for SME banking amid a fiercely competitive – and less profitable – home lending market.

Page 25: Pension funds thinking about investing in cryptocurrencies are just cynically courting the ‘‘young dollar’’, UniSuper chief investment officer John Pearce said, as he ruled out exposing the retirement savings of members to the much-hyped new asset class.

Page 26: FairSupply, backed by Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, has struck a deal with London Stock Exchange-owned business Refinitiv to report scope 3 emissions, as global interest in ESG investing soars.

Page 28: Woodside Petroleum’s latest attempt to be more transparent about adapting to climate change faces a high-profile backlash at the oil and gas giant’s annual general meeting.

The Australian

Page 1: China is vowing to build wharves, shipyards and submarine cables in the Solomon Islands as Beijing moves to lock in closer security and economic ties with the nation's government, raising concerns the developments could be used by the Chinese military.

Page 4: Scott Morrison faces the damaging prospect of petrol prices climbing back towards $2 a litre through the final two weeks of the election campaign, as the peak union body ups its minimum wage claim amid warnings pay rises without improved productivity will add to inflation and potential rate hikes.

Page 5: Former Liberal prime minister John Howard says the AUKUS pact to build nuclear-powered submarines makes it “inevitable” that Australia will develop a civil nuclear industry, contradicting Scott Morrison‘s claim that no local nuclear industry is needed.

Page 8: Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt says he has “a degree of comfort” that he will be returned in the key seat of Hasluck, which he has held since a 2010 cliff-hanger victory that added to chaos for Julia Gillard.

Page 17: Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are expected to trigger a “revolution” in capital markets funding and create more liquidity for key traditional and emerging commodities, with profound implications for Australia, according to former corporate regulator Greg Medcraft.

Page 23: Senior journalists at Nine Entertainment are publicly questioning the editorial judgments at the media company’s two biggest print assets, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, following the newspapers’ decision to give little or no coverage to Anthony Albanese’s widely publicised slip-up on a key policy last week.

The West Australian

Page 6: Labor will make education one of its key priorities if elected on May 21, with a $146.5 million plan to lift teaching standards, fix staff shortages and improve student results.

Page 14: Parents at a number of Perth primary schools were last week told students — including kids aged as young as four in kindergarten — would each be given a box of 20 RATs to take home.

Business: Perth small and medium businesses should avoid the temptation to cut jobs or send them offshore as a reflex to soaring inflation and interest rates, a leading business adviser has warned, as costs continue to mount for owners.

Proposals to severely restrict private ownership of Chile’s giant copper and lithium deposits will have one more attempt after falling short at a weekend vote.

The former boss of a top Perth building company has accused a bank of bullying in a stoush linked to the March purchase of his luxury Dalkeith home.

As more companies look to speed up their processes with automation technology and artificial intelligence, two Perth founders have stressed retaining the human element is key.