Morning Headlines

Rio to settle $21b deal for Simandou

Rio Tinto is poised to ink within the next fortnight a long-awaited investment agreement for the stalled $US20 billion ($21 billion) Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, which chief executive Sam Walsh said would inject “renewed momentum” into the development. The Fin

Coalition in world of pain

Voters have declared the government’s first budget to be the worst in more than 20 years, with support for the Coalition dropping to the lowest level since the dying days of Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership. The Aus

Bans and soaring prices help BHP to exit nickel

BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie would do well to send Indonesia’s political leadership a note of thanks for making BHP’s well-baked plans to quit its historic West Australian nickel operations (Nickel West) much easier to achieve.

Heat on seniors

WA pensioners face losing up to $1500 in yearly discounts on council rates and other charges as the State Government counts the costs of Federal Budget cuts. The West

China regains its appetite

China’s state-owned companies have rediscovered their appetite for Australian miners, with the latest multi-billion-dollar wave of acquisitions reflecting the expensive lessons of past deal failures. The Aus

Short sellers target Atlas as iron ore falls

Short sellers are dropping their obsession with Fortescue Metals Group to focus instead on Atlas Iron, as the benchmark iron ore price prepares to fall into double figures for the first time in20months. The Fin

Coalition crashes after budget

Support for Tony Abbott and his government has plummeted following the budget, which a record number of voters believe is unfair, bad for Australia and would leave them worse off. The Fin

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Support for Tony Abbott and his government has plummeted following the budget, which a record number of voters believe is unfair, bad for Australia and would leave them worse off.

In a rare display of unity, Liberal and Labor premiers slammed a claim by Prime Minister Tony Abbott that budget cuts to the states would not be felt for years.

Page 3: Cuts to social security benefits and an increase in petrol taxes are reasons to increase the minimum wage by $27 a week, according to the union movement, a rise that would hit thousands of small businesses.

Page 4: Co-payments for GP visits could end up far higher than the mandatory $7, doctors warned, as bulk-billing clinics recoup costs caused by having to charge patients for the first time.

 Page 7: More voters back keeping the carbon and mining taxes than support an increase to petrol excise or raising the GST, the latest poll has found.

Page 9: Defence has drawn up a submission to build a $40 billion super-frigate fleet to replace the Anzac- and Adelaide-class ships using the larger hull of a 6500-tonne air-warfare destroyer.

Page 13: Rio Tinto is poised to ink within the next fortnight a long-awaited investment agreement for the stalled $US20 billion ($21 billion) Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, which chief executive Sam Walsh said would inject “renewed momentum” into the development.

The competition watchdog is examining comments by Telstra, SingTel-Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia executives to determine if they represent price signalling in relation to the rising cost of smartphones.

Page 15: Leighton Holdings’ new Spanish management team, led by chief executive Marcelino Fernández Verdes, will front investors for the first time since completing a takeover of the contractor at the company’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Monday.

An industrial battle between Aurizon and its Queensland workforce has intensified after the company’s main rival signed a highly competitive deal with its train drivers.

Page 18: Short sellers are dropping their obsession with Fortescue Metals Group to focus instead on Atlas Iron, as the benchmark iron ore price prepares to fall into double figures for the first time in 20 months.

The Australian

Page 1: Voters have declared the government’s first budget to be the worst in more than 20 years, with support for the Coalition dropping to the lowest level since the dying days of Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership.

Tony Abbott will attempt to schedule a visit to India before the G20 summit meeting in November in a bid to use the election of Narendra Modi as India’s Prime Minister as a stepping stone for a much closer relationship with New Delhi.

Page 4: Tony Abbott never expected voters would love the budget, but had said he hoped to earn their respect. Today’s Newspoll shows he may not have that either.

Page 5: Tony Abbott has hosed down the prospect of an early election as Labor again dared him to take his budget to the people.

Page 17: China’s state-owned companies have rediscovered their appetite for Australian miners, with the latest multi-billion-dollar wave of acquisitions reflecting the expensive lessons of past deal failures.

The Asian bidders for Goodman Fielder plan to keep the business intact and pursue regional growth rather than seek a quick profit from a break-up.

Page 18: BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie would do well to send Indonesia’s political leadership a note of thanks for making BHP’s well-baked plans to quit its historic West Australian nickel operations (Nickel West) much easier to achieve.

Page 19: The Australian Shareholders’ Association has stepped up its attack on Westfield’s proposed $70 billion restructure, taking aim at the fees and influence derived from the large number of investment banks working on the deal.

Page 23: Seven Network negotiated to pay veteran programmer John Stephens a salary of half a million dollars a year for just two days a week of work, while executives privately poked fun at his age in emails produced under subpoena in court.

The West Australian

Page 1: WA pensioners face losing up to $1500 in yearly discounts on council rates and other charges as the State Government counts the costs of Federal Budget cuts.

Page 3: Australian authorities have joined a coordinated global crackdown on computer hackers who use software known as Blackshades for sinister purposes.

Page 4: WA Premier Colin Barnett was accused of being “slack” after failing to show at an emergency meeting called to discuss the Budget, with Queensland Premier Campbell Newman left to speak for WA.

Page 5: The WA Health Department is looking at rolling out robotic assisted surgery in public hospitals after a report showed making the expensive technology available to public patients could be cost-effective.

Page 10: The bones of what is believed to have been the biggest creature to walk the Earth have been discovered in Argentina.

Page 12: Perth will not need another airport to replace or supplement the existing one for at least 50 years — and probably beyond.

Page 13: An analysis of more than 31,000 car accidents in Perth last year has revealed a growing proportion of rear-end and overtaking crashes — a trend considered systematic of congestion and gridlocked traffic systems all over the world.

Page 14: WA’s Supreme Court is set to become even more clogged up and delayed, with Chief Justice Wayne Martin revealing successive State governments have failed to invest in any new resources for the State’s highest judiciary in the past eight years.

Page 15: WA’s Chinese tourist bubble may have burst. After four years of extraordinary growth, the number of Chinese tourists coming to WA has fallen.

Business: Businessman Craig Bond has launched a legal campaign to revive a Bankruptcy Act compromise deal with Bond family trust companies and other creditors.