Morning Headlines

Ignorance no excuse for boards in tougher cyber threat regime

Company directors will not be able to plead ignorance to cyber threats, with government and regulators spelling out tougher minimum standards for protecting sensitive information and the need to stress test safeguards against real-world threats. The Fin

‘Sack staff who repeatedly click’ on dodgy emails

Phishing and email-based malware attacks are such a big threat to organisations that companies should consider sacking staff who repeatedly click on suspicious emails, a senior executive at a wealth and financial advice company says. The Fin

Labour laws: BHP warns on dividend

BHP has warned investors dividends will suffer under the Albanese government’s ‘‘same job, same pay’’ agenda, which the miner expects will strip more than $1.3 billion from its annual earnings based on a conservative reading of the bill, equivalent to 5000 jobs. The Fin

A trade may be better option than law

University enrolments have headed south as potential students opted for trades over study in a heated labour market that has delivered big salaries and pay rises – without the student debt. The Fin

Bang for buck a priority for energy fund

Industry Minister Ed Husic has confirmed that all emissions-reduction technologies including carbon, capture and storage will be considered under the $15bn National Reconstruction Fund if they deliver a “return to the taxpayer”. The Aus

Building sector survives ‘cyclone’

The head of Australia’s largest home construction company believes most of the industry’s biggest builders are through the worst of a “cyclone” that piled pressure on the sector, even as concerns remain over the potential for further collapses. The Aus

Boss of WorkSafe in surprise exit

WA’s WorkSafe commissioner has taken indefinite leave and has not sought another term, saying he will instead focus on family and “work-life balance”. The West

Stress drove teacher to take her own life

The family of a Perth primary school teacher says the stress of her job contributed to her decision to take her own life. The West

Government approves battery deals worth $1 billion for a greener WA

Contracts totalling $1 billion have been signed for two massive battery projects central to WA’s green energy transition. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The legal, mining and retail industries will be targeted by the Sex Discrimination Commission when new powers enabling it to enforce employers’ duty to actively prevent sexual harassment start in December, the agency’s new boss has warned.

Page 2: State Labor governments are arguing their wage theft laws can co-exist with federal underpayment laws, risking the prospect of multiple criminal regimes as the Albanese government pushes to introduce its own jail time for underpayments.

Page 3: Labor’s long-promised inquiry into Australia’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be a royal commission, sparking concerns that it may not have the powers to adequately scrutinise the role played by the states.

Page 4: Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has reaffirmed the need for gas to buttress the transition to renewable energy, as Peter Dutton slammed the government’s attack on his nuclear power plans as a sign they are gaining traction with the public.

Page 6: Sentiment among manufacturers has plunged to its lowest level since the global financial crisis as a new survey shows the industry is shedding workers in response to falling consumer demand.

Page 9: The amount of money Australians believe they need to start investing in the sharemarket has risen above $15,000 for the first time, new research shows, far more than the $1 that a proliferation of online trading platforms use in their marketing.

Page 10: Labor will push ahead with the purchase of a fourth Triton drone system for the Australian Defence Force, significantly boosting surveillance across the country’s maritime region as part of a $1.5 billion deal.

Page 10: Emergency responders will get access to near real-time fire damage reports from Finnish satellites this summer, as part of a partnership with national locational data company Geoscape Australia and the federal government.

Page 15: Whitehaven Coal has confirmed it is in the running to acquire BHP’s major Daunia and Blackwater coal mines in Queensland after a major investor alleged the company had selectively briefed some of its shareholders and suggested that the market was ‘‘misinformed’’.

Page 16: Countries that don’t emulate the United States and provide financial incentives to kick-start renewable energy projects risk missing out on billions of dollars of investment, the global boss of UK-listed engineering group John Wood has warned.

Page 24: Global benchmark Brent oil rose above $US94 a barrel after a three-week run of gains boosted prices 11 per cent. With Saudi Arabia and Russia prolonging supply curbs to the year-end, Prince Abdulaziz was scheduled to speak at the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary on Monday (Tuesday AEST).

Page 28: A new PEXA-backed platform, the first national registry of affordable housing, could unlock ‘‘hundreds of millions’’ of dollars of private investment into affordable housing by tracking developers’ commitments and providing a governance record to ensure promises are met.

The Australian

Page 13: Australia must concentrate on developing a massive pipeline of renewable energy as it can’t afford to wait for small modular nuclear reactors to mature and become cost-competitive, energy executives have urged.

Page 15: The number of job ads measured by online employment services company Seek fell 1.8 per cent for August, after a slight rise in July, with the nation’s labour market still tight but softening as the weight of a year of interest rate hikes takes its toll on hiring intentions for employers.

Page 16: Silver Lake Resources has kicked off a new wave of jostling over the rich Leonora gold district in Western Australia, snaring an 11 per cent stake in Red 5 in a surprise raid on the gold producer.

Page 17: The industrial property market is locking in its status as one of the most active in Australia, with heavyweight Lendlease expanding its holdings and a tie-up involving Canada’s Brookfield separately acquiring properties.

Page 17: Australian companies only consider paying ransom demands after cybersecurity breaches when they’ve failed to restore their own data, said Deloitte risk advisory partner David Owen.

Page 20: Australian beverage technology start-up Frigid has set its sights on the lucrative US market after securing more than 20 craft breweries for its smart refrigeration platform.

The West Australian

Page 6: The State’s ban on new uranium mines must be reconsidered, according to a peak industry group, as new polling suggests there is support for overturning the McGowan-era decision.

Page 6: Former prime minister Scott Morrison has made a surprise pitch for Wanneroo mayor Linda Aitken’s re-election, jokingly telling churchgoers on Sunday “new church buildings need building and development approvals”.

Page 6: A three-storey tavern is set to breathe life into a onetime Hungry Jack’s site in central Fremantle, which faces the Sail & Anchor pub and is diagonally across from the Fremantle Markets.

Page 14: The Matildas are set for an Optus Stadium clash against fellow Women’s World Cup participants The Philippines, with demand for tickets forcing the game to be moved to the 60,000-seat stadium.

Page 17: The State Government will make law changes and introduce a new code of practice in a bid to prevent future massive explosions like the one involving a truck transporting ammonium nitrate emulsion in the northern Goldfields last year.

Page 17: BHP won’t be joining the lithium bandwagon anytime soon as the Big Australian insists its focus on nickel, potash and copper will provide better margins than the much hyped battery metal.

Page 17: Shares in Azure Minerals tanked on Monday after the lithium and nickel explorer returned disappointing drilling results at its Andover project.

Page 17: Chevron has fixed an outage at the Wheatstone LNG plant, with the company saying output returned to full capacity on Sunday night.

Page 18: West African-focused gold producer Perseus Mining is going underground, earmarking $200 million to extend the life of its Yaoure mine in Cote d’Ivoire into the mid-2030s.

Page 35: About 1700 businesses would have their payroll tax bill cut to zero under a plan to lift the minimum threshold for the levy to $1.3 million, new data shows.

Page 35: Virgin Australia has found a second suspected unapproved plane part from obscure UK supplier AOG Technics as the industry continues to hunt down bogus components that have spread across the global fleet.