Morning Headlines

Optus CEO Bayer Rosmarin considers stepping down

Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin is considering exiting the country’s second-largest telecommunications group after two major crises in 12 months and as she prepares for a difficult Senate hearing today. The Fin

Xi, Biden to resume military talks

President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping defused growing concern over conflict in the Pacific by agreeing to reopen military communication channels and lines of high-level diplomacy in a sign that frosty relations between the superpowers have started to thaw. The Fin

Activists’ challenge to AusSuper on Origin

The heads of seven green activist groups in the eastern states have urged AustralianSuper to either match the $30 billion investment “commitment” made by Brookfield as part of its takeover bid for Origin Energy, or stop blocking the deal. The Fin

New PC boss calls for sweeping tax review

Newly installed Productivity Commission chairwoman Danielle Wood says it is time for a sweeping review of Australia’s tax system, as she urges the Albanese government to exercise caution as it deploys taxpayer-funded industry subsidies towards green energy. The Fin

Kmart says no to ‘flawed’ fashion scheme

The nation’s largest clothing retailer has warned the federal government that a fashion recycling scheme is riddled with flaws, will cost $1.2bn to establish, another $500m a year to run, and could ultimately collapse in chaos, similar to the recent failure of a supermarket plastics recycling initiative. The Aus

Feminised jobs ‘are grossly underpaid’

Australia’s most feminised jobs are at least 96 per cent female, have high rates of part-time work, relatively low rates of pay, and are affected by national skill shortages. The Aus

How green tape chokes carbon goal

Nearly half of Australia’s business leaders say long environmental approvals are a big risk to the country’s ambitions to cut emissions, adding to growing alarm about green tape tying up projects. The West

Chris says yellow Perth

Chris Martin checked into Crown Perth about 8.45pm after his Coldplay bandmates arrived on an earlier flight. They play two WA-exclusive gigs this weekend. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: Shiploads of carbon captured from the burning of gas could be stored in Australia if an industry plan to help it become one of Asia’s main carbon sinks is realised.

Page 3: A court has found Qantas acted illegally when it stood aside a health and safety representative who raised concerns over cleaning planes that returned from China at the start of the pandemic.

Page 4: States claimed everything from new mines in Western Australia to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games were under threat after the Albanese government trimmed $7.4 billion in federal money from their laundry list of road, rail and bridge projects.

Page 6: Western Australia’s Premier Roger Cook has conceded his state’s carbon emissions are expected to increase as it extracts gas and critical minerals required for the world to decarbonise.

Page 7: Employment smashed expectations in October as 55,000 people found work, more than double forecasts, but the jobless rate edged higher to 3.7 per cent and left economists with mixed signals for the interest rate outlook.

Page 9: Rising costs, inflation and lack of policy support threaten billions of dollars of proposed clean hydrogen projects in Australia and globally, industry players have told a conference in Japan.

Page 9: Australia will not shut the door on Chinese investment in critical minerals projects despite US efforts to break China’s stranglehold on the crucial sector needed for the energy transition, Trade Minister Don Farrell said yesterday.

Page 11: Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue says it is expanding into asset management, part of the iron ore and energy group’s strategy to fund green investments.

Page 13: Rio Tinto yesterday fired the former head of its aluminium division, Ivan Vella, with immediate effect because of his ‘‘failure’’ to keep confidential information secret, as the mining giant investigates the fallout from the breach.

Page 14: Seven Group Holdings boss Ryan Stokes has upgraded earnings guidance on a bullish outlook for the mining and construction sectors.

 The Australian

Page 7: Public service employees account for more than half of all mental health workplace claims in Western Australia despite making up less than 10 per cent of the state’s workforce. 

Page 8: Organ donation rates across Australia have dropped to alarmingly low levels, while the list of people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants continue to grow.

Page 17: GrainCorp has declared a special dividend and will buy back $50m in shares from investors as it remains upbeat that demand for grain, canola and emerging renewable products will be strong as Australia enters into a El Nino weather pattern.

Page 17: Travel agents, the cruise industry, and tour operators are decrying the continued high cost of airfares, saying the prohibitive prices are hurting the billion-dollar travel industry’s recovery from Covid.

Page 17: Social media giant X has launched legal action after refusing to pay a $610,500 fine im- posed by the eSafety Commissioner, who accused it of failing to tackle child exploitation on the platform.

Page 17: Resources tycoon Gina Rinehart is buying a Brisbane office tower for about $240m from a Charter Hall-run fund in a sign that activity is returning to the top end of office markets.

Page 18: SQM’s planned takeover of Azure Minerals is “dead in the water”, according to Mineral Resources boss Chris Ellison, but a MinRes takeover offer for the WA junior is not on the cards.

Page 19: Troubled customers in construction and real estate are top of mind for National Australia Bank’s business bankers after the lender ruled off its $7.7bn full year cash profit last week.

Page 21: Australian Agricultural Company, the nation’s biggest wagyu exporter, says its decision to move away from selling cattle and into selling premium branded beef instead has been vindicated by the plummeting prices for livestock, even as it posted a 21 per cent drop in first-half profit to $30.1m. 

Page 22: The US’s air traffic control system faces increasing hazards from short staffing, outdated technology and chronic underfunding, according to a federal report that examined safety issues following a string of close calls at US airports over the past year.

The West Australian

Page 5: East coast cult favourite Gelato Messina will finally open the doors of its first Perth store on Beaufort Street, Mt Lawley on Friday.

Page 8: Resources Minister Madeleine King has flagged imminent changes to provide clarity around consultation requirements for offshore gas projects after major court rulings shook investor confidence.

Page 9: More than $700 million will be spent on major upgrades to WA’s primary power grid — including a new high-voltage transmission line north of Perth that will pave the way for large-scale wind and solar farms in the Mid West.

Page 56: Northern Star chief executive Stuart Tonkin has urged shareholders not to underestimate gold and its recent sky-high prices.

Page 57: Santos says it is still committed to bringing its $5.8 billion Barossa project online, despite a court decision halting the majority of pipeline installation works needed to tap the offshore gas field due to last-minute underwater Aboriginal cultural heritage claims.

Page 57: Oil refinery owner Viva Energy has offered up 25 sites for sale to Chevron as part of its $1.1 billion bid to acquire OTR convenience stores, its national replacement for Coles Express.

Page 57: Sandfire Resources has been fined $551,250 after a rockfall pinned a worker to an elevated basket at the company’s DeGrussa underground copper mine near Meekatharra — with his workmates fearing he had been killed.

Page 58: Reward Minerals has revealed itself as the buyer of the stalled Beyondie sulphate of potash project, agreeing to pay just shy of $20 million funded by a proposed capital raise.