Morning Headlines

Costs and labour shortages burden WA companies

Business confidence in WA has slumped to its lowest level since the onset of the pandemic nearly three years ago as companies battle cost pressures and skills shortages. The West

Chinese-owned Barto puts WA gold mine on auction block

Chinese government-owned gold miner Barto Gold Mining has called in the bankers to find a new owner for its Southern Cross Operation, which has a 3.3 million ounce gold resource east of Perth. The Fin

Webuild back in box seat for Clough

Webuild is back in the box seat as the most likely buyer of Clough, only one week after the Italian company’s decision to walk away from a deal that sent the centuryold West Australian contractor into administration. The Aus

PM to stand firm against gas chiefs

Anthony Albanese will meet gas industry representatives ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary vote on a price cap and code of conduct but is standing firm against threats by Shell and Woodside Energy to defer extraction or reduce investment. The Fin

Industry fund strips ETU of board spot

Newly merged industry fund Brighter Super has stripped the Electrical Trades Union of its board membership after a blow-up between the union and the fund’s chief executive over her alleged support of nuclear power. The Fin

RBA’s ultra-low rate loans ‘barely boosted lending’

A $200 billion ultra-low interest loan facility made available to banks during the coronavirus pandemic did almost nothing to boost business lending as intended, a review has concluded. The Fin

Bankman-Fried arrested in The Bahamas

Disgraced entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in The Bahamas on Monday (yesterday AEDT), after US law enforcement agencies shared undisclosed charges with the Bahamian government, foreshadowing extradition and a US trial for the former crypto billionaire and founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX. The Fin

Pubs to pets: Woolworths sells $636m Endeavour Group stake

Woolworths was selling a $636 million stake in pubs and bottle shops business Endeavour Group last night, in a trade via investment bank UBS. The Fin

Juukan Gorge community back mining model

The traditional owners of Juukan Gorge say the best way to protect heritage is through co-management agreements with miners such as Rio Tinto because Indigenous people cannot just rely on new laws from the government. The Fin

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The corporate regulator’s blockbuster case against 11 Star Entertainment officials, the first big case in a decade, puts directors and executives on notice they will be held responsible for wrongdoing.

Page 2: A $200 billion ultra-low interest loan facility made available to banks during the coronavirus pandemic did almost nothing to boost business lending as intended, a review has concluded.

Page 3: Newly merged industry fund Brighter Super has stripped the Electrical Trades Union of its board membership after a blow-up between the union and the fund’s chief executive over her alleged support of nuclear power.

Page 4: Anthony Albanese will meet gas industry representatives ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary vote on a price cap and code of conduct but is standing firm against threats by Shell and Woodside Energy to defer extraction or reduce investment.

Page 14: Disgraced entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in The Bahamas on Monday (yesterday AEDT), after US law enforcement agencies shared undisclosed charges with the Bahamian government, foreshadowing extradition and a US trial for the former crypto billionaire and founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX.

Page 15: Woodside Energy has joined Shell and other east coast gas suppliers in calling off talks with customers for new supply contracts in the wake of the government’s plan to permanently control prices, increasing uncertainty over the level of gas available for manufacturing and power generation in the years ahead.

Page 16: Chinese government-owned gold miner Barto Gold Mining has called in the bankers to find a new owner for its Southern Cross Operation, which has a 3.3 million ounce gold resource east of Perth.

Woolworths was selling a $636 million stake in pubs and bottle shops business Endeavour Group last night, in a trade via investment bank UBS.

Page 19: The traditional owners of Juukan Gorge say the best way to protect heritage is through co-management agreements with miners such as Rio Tinto because Indigenous people cannot just rely on new laws from the government.

The Australian

Page 2: Australia has outplayed China to secure a legally binding security treaty with Vanuatu, paving the way for intelligence sharing and faster deployment of defence, humanitarian and cyber support to the small Pacific nation in times of crisis.

Students would be graded on work ethic, enthusiasm and communication skills to gain a vocational qualification for jobs in childcare, aged care and even traditional trades, under radical reforms to Australia’s training system.

Page 9: A US-born businesswoman with no background in sports administration has been given the job of delivering the 2032 Brisbane Olympics on time, on budget and cost-neutral for the Australian taxpayer.

Page 15: CSL chief executive Paul Perreault says he will step down in March after a decade at the helm of the biotechnology giant.

Page 16: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is planning a return to the negotiating table of Ramsay Health Care in the new year.

Page 17: Australia needs to take advantage of its recovery from the pandemic to lock in a long-term manufacturing strategy and focus on building design and engineering rather than simply blue-collar jobs, says the outgoing boss of a major research centre.

The Albanese government is launching a broadside at the ASX through a plan to strengthen financial market infrastructure, including giving the Reserve Bank and other regulators more powers and increasing competition in clearing and settlement.

Page 19: Webuild is back in the box seat as the most likely buyer of Clough, only one week after the Italian company’s decision to walk away from a deal that sent the century-old West Australian contractor into administration.

The West Australian

Page 10: Brittany Higgins has reached a confidential settlement with the Commonwealth after the former political staffer’s claims of sexual assault at Parliament House.

Page 16: WA’s second oldest university will add another 5000 students by the end of the decade — with nearly half recruited from overseas — under aggressive expansion plans.

Business: Business confidence in WA has slumped to its lowest level since the onset of the pandemic nearly three years ago as companies battle cost pressures and skills shortages.

Australian beef output is set to ramp up in the first half of next year as the herd continues to rebuild, increasing supply for markets in the US, Japan and South Korea, according to a major agribusiness lender.

WA gas projects have been implicated by the Albanese Government’s planned intervention into the energy market, which providers have dubbed a huge threat to future investment and the transition to low-emissions power.

Australia’s infrastructure sector is set for a rocky new year as labour shortages, materials costs and strong demand challenge project completion dates.

Australia’s small business and family enterprises ombudsman has called for a shake-up of complex insolvency rules to make it easier for operators to work through crises.