Optus top job up for grabs as CEO quits
Optus has installed a former Singaporean telecommunications executive into a key leadership role as the country’s second-largest provider attempts to put behind it two crises in the last 12 months – a major cyberattack and a day-long network outage. The Fin
ASIC to crack down on green shonks
The corporate watchdog will target dodgy sustainability claims and sham green investment funds that erode trust in the financial system, cause capital misallocation and could hinder the green energy transition. The Fin
No God-given right: bosses back tribunal WFH ruling
Business leaders have welcomed a Fair Work Commission ruling that workers being in the office could have benefits for productivity and collaboration. The Fin
Greens push AusSuper on Origin
Greens leader Adam Bandt has challenged union-aligned AustralianSuper to put up or shut up on its opposition to Canada-based Brookfield’s $30 billion renewables play for energy generator and retailer Origin. The Fin
Labor’s electric dreams running on empty as new car sales tank
Chris Bowen’s electric vehicle strategy is on track to fail after government department officials predicted fewer than a third of new car sales would be battery-operated by 2030, casting doubt on Labor’s modelling underpinning its green agenda. The Aus
Irate farmers hit back at greens’ ‘bullying’ tactics
Conservation groups are conducting their own investigations into alleged illegal tree clearing and writing directly to farmers to warn of supposed breaches. The Aus
Heritage $1m-a-day gas delay
Santos says it stands to lose $1 million for every day it is barred from building a pipeline at its Barossa offshore gas project, which was halted by the Federal Court over claims it would damage “sea country, dreaming tracks, songlines and areas of cultural significance” deep in the ocean. The West
First draft pick to wear famous Eagles number
Move over Nic Nat and Cuz — there’s a new No.9 in town. The Eagles last night used the first pick in the AFL draft to recruit Harley Reid. Wearing the iconic 9 on his back, Reid will immediately become the most-watched player at WA’s biggest sporting club. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 3: Rugby Australia’s new chairman, Dan Herbert, says the game’s member unions are committed to a major overhaul to lift the performance of the Wallabies despite rolling his predecessor at the weekend.
Page 5: John Hancock has made a shock appearance at Western Australia’s Supreme Court amid a multibillion-dollar court battle over his family’s mining riches, declaring he had flown to Perth to defend the reputation of his grandfather, Lang Hancock.
Page 5: The 397 train drivers of BHP’s lucrative iron ore operations in Western Australia, who are critical to carrying millions of tonnes of iron ore from Pilbara mines near Newman to Port Hedland, will start an industrial campaign on Friday with an indefinite ban on mobile rostering apps to prevent automatic changes to their hours without personal contact.
Page 6: Travis Head nearly missed the World Cup because of a broken hand. Now, he’s Australian cricket’s hero after one of the great performances in the sport’s biggest showpiece helped deliver a stunning victory.
Page 7: Virgin Australia has dodged the threat of disruptive industrial action from ground staff during the peak Christmas period, agreeing to a pay deal that will deliver some workers pay rises as high as 20 per cent in the first year.
Page 8: A sharp intergenerational divide has emerged for self-reported personal wellbeing, as younger and lower income people feel increasingly pessimistic about their standard of living.
Page 8: Younger Australians are cutting back on things they need as well as things they want as rising rents and home loan repayments force them to make tougher spending decisions than older people who have more savings, new research shows.
Page 9: Gambling giants, the big banks, energy and insurance companies and the buy now, pay later sector will fund a $30 million boost in financial counselling services, following demands from the Albanese government.
Page 14: The local boss of Japanese gas giant Inpex says Australia’s deteriorating policy climate for gas threatens future investments to support the $US45 billion ($69.5 billion) Ichthys LNG project in Darwin.
Page 18: Rio Tinto has agreed to pay $US28 million ($42.7 million) to end an American regulatory probe into its Mozambique coal debacle, in a settlement that closes a dark chapter in the miner’s history.
Page 21: An Australian songwriter, who turned tech entrepreneur with a platform to help musicians sell their songs for use in movies, advertising, television and video games and apps, now has an $879 million company on his hands, after raising more than $100 million in a marathon capital raising campaign.
Page 27: Airlines are struggling to convince investors to back the travel recovery despite reporting booming profits and splurging tens of billions of dollars on new planes.
The Australian
Page 5: Twelve per cent of all boys aged five to seven across Australia and 5 per cent of girls the same age are now on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, new figures show.
Page 7: Western Australia will become the first Australian jurisdiction to limit how many firearms a shooter can legally own, as the Labor government dramatically rewrites gun laws to slash the number of legal guns in the state by about one-third.
Page 15: Business groups are calling on the federal government to strike the right balance and avoid overzealous reform as it prepares to rewrite Australia’s corporate merger rules, including giving the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission greater power to block deals between companies.
Page 15: Non-alcoholic spirits brand Lyre’s has joined forces with international DJ and music producer David Guettato drive up international sales.
Page 15: Bunnings boss Mike Schneider believes a move into the $5bn home cleaning market will see the hardware chain capture a sig- nificant slice of the category as it evolves into a retailer that sells everything from “the front gate to the back fence”.
Page 17: Glencore last Tuesday agreed to a multibillion-dollar deal that will eventually rid it of its coal mines, a move that represents the company’s biggest strategic shift in years. That leaves it to focus on bolstering its position as a major supplier of the metals needed for electric-vehicle batteries and other green technologies.
Page 17: Auto exports from Europe and Asia are surging as the US and other countries lavish subsidies on electric vehicles and dealers replenish inventories that even now aren’t back to pre-pandemic levels.
Page 17: China’s housing market has a big problem: millions of unfinished homes that were sold but not de- livered.
The West Australian
Page 3: A ban on advertising unhealthy food and drink on public transport could lead to an average weight loss in Perth of 1kg per person, and benefit WA to the tune of $2 billion over 30 years.
Page 8: Minerals Council of Australia boss Tania Constable lashed out at a union analysis of the claimed cost of the Government’s planned crackdown on the use of labour hire, saying it ignored the broader benefits of the sector’s success.
Page 18: Peninsula Energy has rattled the tin for up to $60 million to fund the restart of production at its Lance uranium mine in the United States by the end of 2024.
Page 19: APA Group will undertake feasibility work on plan to convert part of the Parmelia Gas Pipeline to green hydrogen, which will supply hydrogen to Wesfarmers Chemicals Energy and Fertilisers to produce ammonia in Kwinana, after receiving $1.3 million in funding from the Federal Government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Page 34: WA’s nascent octopus sector has the potential to expand and grow in a way not seen since the early days of the State’s lucrative western rock lobster fishery, according to seafood industry advocates.
Page 34: A cyberattack that caused port operations to grind to a halt at four container terminals should be subject to a Federal probe as a union pushes for DP World to reveal what it knew about the risks.
Page 35: Rio Tinto has signed a farm-in agreement at the Lake Johnston lithium project in the Goldfields, a region swiftly emerging as the new frontline in the ongoing lithium land grab.
