Big earners hit as top rate raised to 49pc
People earning $180,000 a year will pay a 2 per cent tax for the next three years to help plug the budget deficit, bringing the effective top tax rate to 49 per cent. The Fin
Joe lays path to fiscal fix
Health and education spending will be scaled back to save $80 billion over the coming decade, as the Abbott government axes two of Labor’s flagship programs to put the federal budget on a “clear track” to a surplus. The Aus
Labor Party, ministers hang Rudd out to dry
Kevin Rudd has been cut adrift by the Labor Party and two of his former ministers as he faces a searching examination under oath today over the deadly debacle of Labor’s $2.8 billion Home Insulation Program. The Aus
Scripts to cost more but more cash for research
A will receive a 6 per cent boost in payments from the Commonwealth in 2014-15 but must brace for much smaller than expected contributions from Canberra to public health and education beyond 2017-18. The West
Coca-Cola gives up on fast growth
Coca-Cola Amatil’s new managing director, Alison Watkins, has warned that 2014 will be a tough year for the iconic beverage company and has indicated she will close plants and slash costs in the face of a consumer revolt against soft drinks. The Fin
$1.2bn benefits crackdown puts jobseekers on notice
Australians under 30 will be denied welfare payments for six months and then forced to do 25 hours of work for the dole. The Aus
Orica pushes on with spin-off
Orica confirmed it is likely to push ahead with a trade sale or demerger of its $1billion chemicals division, as the explosivesmakerreportedan8percent drop in half-year net profit to $242 million. The Fin
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Coca-Cola Amatil’s new managing director, Alison Watkins, has warned that 2014 will be a tough year for the iconic beverage company and has indicated she will close plants and slash costs in the face of a consumer revolt against soft drinks.
Page 3: Qantas Airways will make some of its pilots redundant for the first time in more than 40 years as the ailing carrier looks to return to profitability.
Page 7: Judging by pre-budget proceedings in the House of Representatives on Tuesday we are going to be subjected to a lot of repetition of political discourse in the days and weeks ahead.
Page 13: Orica confirmed it is likely to push ahead with a trade sale or demerger of its $1billion chemicals division, as the explosivesmakerreportedan8percent drop in half-year net profit to $242 million.
Page 15: Goldminer Northern Star has continued its extraordinary buying spree by acquiring one of Australia’s top 10 producing gold mines.
Page 17: Canada’s Baytex Energy Corp has been forced to sweeten its offer for Australian-listed shale player Aurora Oil & Gas by 2.4 per cent to $1.88 billion, to win over two key shareholders that could have derailed the deal.
Page 21: Aurizon workers are considering industrial action against the rail operator in its home state of Queensland after the company approached Fair Work Australia to terminate its enterprise agreements, unions have warned.
The Australian
Page 1: Health and education spending will be scaled back to save $80 billion over the coming decade, as the Abbott government axes two of Labor’s flagship programs to put the federal budget on a “clear track” to a surplus.
Page 2: People earning $180,000 a year will pay a 2 per cent tax for the next three years to help plug the budget deficit, bringing the effective top tax rate to 49 per cent.
Motorists will pay $2.2 billion more in tax over the next four years as they fill up their cars after Joe Hockey reintroduced twice yearly indexation to the fuel excise.
Page 4: Nearly 600,000 families with school-aged kids will be stripped of family tax benefits as the government slashes $7.3 billion from family payments over the next four years.
Page 5: Australians will work longer, receive less-generous payments and lose income supplements as they age under wide-ranging pension reforms.
Page 6: Australians under 30 will be denied welfare payments for six months and then forced to do 25 hours of work for the dole.
Page 7: University students could find themselves paying significantly more for their degrees from next year, despite the government’s own data showing poorer graduate salaries and employment rates over the next four years.
Page 8: A $43 million funding pool will be thrown open to state and territory governments for tourism focused infrastructure projects as part of an Abbott government plan to double the tourism sector by 2020.
Page 11: A key pillar of the Abbott government’s infrastructure program, a new Asset Recycling Fund, will be set up using untapped money from Labor’s nation-building funds.
Page 17: Kevin Rudd has been cut adrift by the Labor Party and two of his former ministers as he faces a searching examination under oath today over the deadly debacle of Labor’s $2.8 billion Home Insulation Program.
Page 41: Treasury has warned that iron ore prices could fall below $90 ($US83) a tonne within two years due to oversupply and weak demand for steel, but says the slump will be offset by increased demand outside the resource sector that will underpin higher profitability across corporate Australia.
A potential $1.4 billion-plus takeover bid for PanAust from Chinese state-owned Guangdong Rising Assets Management has triggered a mini-boom in the valuation of mid-tier copper stocks.
The West Australian
Page 10: The cost of most scripts under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will rise $5 from January 1 under reforms forcing the average patient to pay $145 more before they get subsidised medicine.
WA will receive a 6 per cent boost in payments from the Commonwealth in 2014-15 but must brace for much smaller than expected contributions from Canberra to public health and education beyond 2017-18.
Page 11: The Barnett Government will be able to pay down State debt from at least some of the proceeds of its planned program asset sales and still claim Joe Hockey’s 15 per cent privatisation bonus payment.
Higher education loans will for the first time be extended to those learning a trade as part of reforms designed to bring tertiary education to an extra 80,000 Australians by 2018.
Page 12: Unemployment will increase and the economy remain sluggish for another year as the headwinds from the slowdown in the mining sector weigh on the nation.
Business: Companies and business groups have largely welcomed last night’s Federal Budget while raising concerns about the impact of consumer confidence.
Gindalbie Metals subsidiary Karara Mining has sunk further into debt after signing up to a $US300 million ($321 million) loan with China Merchants Bank, taking total borrowings for its Mid West magnetite project out to $2.8 billion.
Farmers are claiming a major victory after the reintroduction of fuel excise indexation was leveraged off increases in fuel rebates in the Federal Budget.
Linney’s will display some of its rare pink diamonds at its store this week ahead of the annual tender as it seeks to capitalise on growing scarcity in the lead-up to the closure of the Argyle mine.