Morning Headlines

Chalmers ‘no’ to $34b for welfare 

The government has hosed down demands for big new spending in welfare as it reveals the aged care budget is on track to blow out by nearly $5 billion this year alone. The Fin 

Building crisis as WA failures soar 

Construction company collapses have increased nearly 20 per cent in WA this financial year to hit crisis levels as materials costs and labour shortages weigh on the sector. The West 

New city school announced to ease overcrowding 

Plans to build a new public primary school in East Perth have been revealed, just weeks after the extent of overcrowding at inner-city Highgate Primary School was thrust into the spotlight. The West 

CBA faces fines for deliberate underpayment 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has admitted to knowingly underpaying thousands of staff more than $16 million through mass use of individual agreements that unlawfully undercut union agreements, exposing it to massive fines. The Fin 

Praise for Premier as he pushes for tariff cuts at Beijing business event 

Mark McGowan has told Beijing business leaders that he will use his visit to the Chinese capital to advocate for removing all tariffs on WA exports. The West 

OZ Minerals boss Andrew Cole won’t follow his mines to BHP 

OZ Minerals managing director Andrew Cole will not be joining BHP when formalisation of a $9.6 billion takeover offer brings the mining executive’s 15 years with the company to an end. The Fin 

Union blocking BHP’s travel and bonus deal 

The Mining and Energy Union has stalled new travel allowances and $5000 bonuses for more than 1400 BHP workers, prompting employer concerns that unions could hold up enterprise agreements ahead of Anthony Albanese’s second round of industrial reforms. The Aus 

Atlassian the priority: Cannon-Brookes 

Mike Cannon-Brookes says running Atlassian is the best use of his time and the technology veteran has declared that his extra-curricular interests, including an ongoing dispute with Andrew Forrest and a fight over the future of energy giant AGL, are no distraction in running the software company he co-founded two decades ago. The Aus 

Failed Rivet owed $12m tax 

Rivet Mining Services owed a hefty $12 million to the Australian Taxation Office and was struggling with the rising cost of maintaining its ageing fleet when it collapsed last month. The West 

The Australian Financial Review 

Page 1: The government has hosed down demands for big new spending in welfare as it reveals the aged care budget is on track to blow out by nearly $5 billion this year alone. 

Page 3: Meeting Australia’s net zero goals by 2050 will require a heavy reliance on permanent carbon capture and a doubling of gas-fired power capacity to shore up the reliability of renewables and energy storage, according to a multi-university modelling effort. 

Page 5: Over-diagnosing children with autism may be bad for the NDIS budget but it is also potentially bad for the children, says leading child and adolescent psychiatrist Professor Jon Jureidini, from the University of Adelaide. 

Page 8: Commonwealth Bank of Australia has admitted to knowingly underpaying thousands of staff more than $16 million through mass use of individual agreements that unlawfully undercut union agreements, exposing it to massive fines. 

Page 9: Business collapses hit a 3 1/2-year high last month, to jump back above pre-pandemic trends for the first time, as rising interest rates and a cooling economy hurt corporate Australia. 

Page 13: An unexpected glut in the global LNG market has added to the woes of Australia’s gas producers just as they are being hammered on all sides by price intervention, toughened requirements on emissions reductions and looming petroleum tax changes. 

Major banks want a national, standardised star-based rating system measuring the energy efficiency of homes, to help reduce the credit risk associated with lending to borrowers living in inefficient properties susceptible to bill shock. 

The competition regulator has confirmed it has delayed its decision by seven weeks on whether ANZ Bank should be allowed to take over Suncorp Bank, giving it more time to consider the risk of potential collusion, which is coming into sharper focus. 

OZ Minerals managing director Andrew Cole will not be joining BHP when formalisation of a $9.6 billion takeover offer brings the mining executive’s 15 years with the company to an end. 

The Australian 

Page 1: The Reserve Bank says struggling households with a mortgage could be hit with more rate hikes this year to offset the inflationary impact of surging migration and big public sector pay rises.\ 

Page 2: Young Liberals federal president Dmitry Chugg-Palmer has called on the party’s leaders and MPs to collaborate more closely with the movement on policy to help address tanking popularity among millennials and Gen Z. 

Page 3: Defendants who swear a secular affirmation are more likely to be found guilty by religious jurors than those who swear on a book of scripture like the Bible or Koran, a groundbreaking new study has found, leading to calls for the religious oath to be abandoned. 

Page 4: All Australian children should be guaranteed access to three days of early childhood education and care, and current “punitive” bar - riers to parents obtaining a childcare subsidy should be removed, the government’s Interim Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee proposes. 

Page 6: The Mining and Energy Union has stalled new travel allowances and $5000 bonuses for more than 1400 BHP workers, prompting employer concerns that unions could hold up enterprise agreements ahead of Anthony Albanese’s second round of industrial reforms. 

Page 13: Mike Cannon-Brookes says running Atlassian is the best use of his time and the technology veteran has declared that his extra-curricular interests, including an ongoing dispute with Andrew Forrest and a fight over the future of energy giant AGL, are no distraction in running the software company he co-founded two decades ago. 

Four mining deals helped to boost Chinese investment in Australia last year by 143 per cent to $US1.4bn ($2.08bn) – the first upturn in six years, according to a report. 

Page 15: The Self Managed Super Fund Association has called on the federal government to drop its proposal to tax unrealised gains by superannuation funds larger than $3m, describing the approach as “grossly unfair”. 

Page 21: The federal government’s decision to increase the number of years that international students can remain in Australia and work after graduation was a well-targeted incentive, according to new research. 

The West Australian 

Page 3: As many as 1200 WA homeowners have been caught up in the mass failure of plumbing pipes, which the State Government has identified as a “manufacturing defect”. 

Page 5: Plans to build a new public prima school in East Perth have final been revealed, just weeks after the extent of overcrowding at inner-city Highgate Primary School was thrust into the spotlight. 

Page 8: Mark McGowan has told Beijing business leaders that he will use his visit to the Chinese capital to advocate for removing all tariffs on WA exports. 

Page 9: Thousands of Perth residents could be left with overflowing bins, with a 24-hour strike by garbage collectors today. 

Page 14: Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has given mixed messages trying to defend a new hospital unit for babies sitting effectively idle for three years — while pushing back at a senior colleague who admitted it was “not a good look”. 

Page 16: Treasurer Jim Chalmers is staring down a push to increase dole payments after two influential reports called for JobSeeker to be lifted at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. 

Business: Construction company collapses have increased nearly 20 per cent in WA this financial year to hit crisis levels as materials costs and labour shortages weigh on the sector. 

Norwest Energy has ramped up pressure on holdout shareholders to accept Chris Ellison’s takeover bid or risk being hit up for more cash to fund its ambitions in the onshore Perth Basin. 

UBS has slashed its earnings forecasts for lithium miners by up to 40 per cent and reduced price forecasts by up to 30 per cent over 2023 and 2024 due to weaker demand from China. 

An inquiry into a spate of agriculture sector deaths has suggested imposing a levy on the industry to pay for safety campaigns, prompting immediate pushback from the industry. 

Chinese investment in Australia is cranking up again after COVID-19 lockdowns and easing political tensions, but it’s not heading back to the peaks of the mining boom nearly 20 years ago. 

Rivet Mining Services owed a hefty $12 million to the Australian Taxation Office and was struggling with the rising cost of maintaining its ageing fleet when it collapsed last month.