Morning Headlines

Labor backs down on tax disclosure

Labor has bowed to pressure from business over its plans to force multinational companies to disclose an unprecedented level of tax information, opting to follow less onerous international standards. The Fin

Offshore work wins 6-8pc wage deals

Workers earning up to $200,000 a year in the offshore oil and gas industry are scoring wage increases between 6 per cent and 8 per cent as skill shortages and inflation ratchet up pay claims. The Fin

Defence to fire 2000 private consultants

The Defence Department will purge 2000 contractors from its ranks – a fifth of its private workforce – sparking warnings from the defence industry that cuts could threaten the military’s ability to operate and maintain weapons and vehicles. The Fin

Investors face ‘political risk’ from rent control

Government controls on rent increases create political risk around property investment that will drive investors out and reduce the stock of rental properties available in the market, investors say. The Fin

Kelty blasts RBA’s ‘full employment’ goal

Union legend Bill Kelty has rubbished the Reserve Bank’s claim that unemployment will need to rise to 4.5 per cent to meet its inflation targets, arguing that price stability could be achieved with a lower unemployment level than the one pursued by the central bank. The Aus

Same job, same pay ‘to put casuals in the line of fire.’

The peak small business lobby group – used by the Albanese government and unions to justify last year’s multi-employer bargaining laws – has warned that same job, same pay industrial relations changes could hit smaller employers using casuals, locums and contractors. The Aus

‘Pathetic and disrespectful’: Premier bristles at heritage law critics

WA Premier Roger Cook says the federal opposition should “butt out” of his state amid ongoing scrutiny of new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws. The Aus

Powerful Federal probe into Mint

A Federal parliamentary probe will be launched into Perth Mint despite the Albanese Government warning the inquiry risked compromising existing investigations of the gold refiner. The West

Perth flies high in liveable city ranks

Perth was the third biggest climber in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index 2023, shooting up to 12 from a rank of 32 last year. The West

Australian Financial Review

Page 6: A new parliamentary inquiry triggered by the PwC tax leaks scandal will examine the partnership models of the big four consulting firms, their lack of disclosure obligations, and explore how regulators and the government can impose penalties on their personnel for bad behaviour.

Page 9: Mining union members have overwhelmingly voted to split from the CFMEU following a rupture with John Setka and the construction division.

Page 11: Productivity will need to increase at a pace not seen in almost a decade for the current rates of wage growth to be sustainable, according to new research that casts doubt on the economy’s ability to sustain even modest pay rises.

Page 12: The US Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), accusing it of illegally inducing consumers to sign up for its Prime service and then hindering them from cancelling subscriptions, in the most aggressive action against the company yet by the regulator.

Page 13: Billionaire philanthropist and mining magnate Andrew Forrest has said his $US500 million ($735 million) fund to help rebuild war-torn Ukraine is ready to go – but the country’s government must stamp out corruption to get the money flowing.

Page 13: Facbook supremo Mark Zuckerberg and tech behemoth Elon Musk have called each other out for a cage fighting match-up, which Mr Musk wants to hold in Las Vegas.

Page 14: Northern Star will spend $1.5 billion by the end of the decade to double the amount of gold it will produce at its massive Super Pit mine by Kalgoorlie.

Page 14: Endeavour Group, the owner of hundreds of pubs, eight wineries and the Dan Murphy’s and BWS liquor chains, says the number of distressed wine assets is rising, opening up opportunities for it to expand its portfolio.

Page 15: Going underground. That is one way to break the gridlock holding up a 360 kilometre transmission line connecting Snowy 2.0 to the NSW power network, say landholders in its path holding it to ransom because of fire, environmental and biodiversity risks.

Page 17: TPG Telecom has been effectively locked out of expanding into the bush, and the cost of replacing its nixed infrastructure-sharing deal with Telstra is likely to be prohibitively expensive, equity analysts say.

Page 17: Insurers knew they had probably ripped off customers with pricing but made no effort to refund them, the corporate regulator says. The lack of action was among new problems uncovered in a review into why the insurers had failed to pass on at least $815 million in discounts or rewards to consumers since 2018.

Page 18: Big bank share prices would have to fall 10 per cent to 20 per cent to entice bearish investors back into these stocks after intense mortgage competition erased gains from higher interest rates and concerns about rising arrears.

Page 25: Gold miners and the technology sector dragged the S&P/ASX 200 Index 1.6 per cent lower yesterday, as the benchmark index suffered its worst day since March, retreating 119.4 points to a one-week low of 7195.5 points.

The Australian

Page 15: Optus customers received emails on Wednesday notifying 4.50 them that their “Choice” plans were set to rise by nearly $20 per month. 

Page 20: More than a fifth of Australia’s Ford workforce will be slashed as the car manufacturer continues to lighten domestic operations.

The West Australian

Page 7: Crisis-plagued builder Modco Residential is teetering on the edge after an unpaid creditor launched court actionseeking to wind up the company.

Page 72: A piece of meat crawling with maggots was served to a worker at an FMG mining site and has the union calling for government intervention.

Page 72: Virgin Australia will ramp up flight simulator training in Western Australia in a bid to get more pilots in the sky and address ongoing worker shortages in the aviation sector.

Page 72: Investors have punished Gold Road Resources after the miner slashed production guidance and warned of higher costs at its Gruyere project near Laverton.

Page 73: The bank’s latest analysis of State performance released yesterday showed WA again outperforming other States on several metrics but lagging on measures like building approvals.

Page 75: Rio Tinto has spent $1 billion with WA businesses as it progresses the development of its Western Range joint venture with China Baowu Steel Group.

Page 75: De Grey Mining has secured a deal that could give it a half share of a promising new gold play next door to its Mallina project in the Pilbara.