Labor to break tax cut promise
The Albanese government is set to pare back the stage three tax cuts for high-income earners and use the revenue to help those on middle and low incomes, including people earning less than $45,000, the level at which the tax cuts are legislated to begin. The Fin
Union has miners on the ropes
A key mining union has launched a bid for the first multi-employer agreement to set pay and conditions across the resources sector, in a move miners fear could shut down parts of the industry and harm competition. The Fin
Germany’s $660m pitch for our hydrogen
The federal government is in talks with Germany on a potential €400 million ($660 million) green hydrogen funding plan to kick-start billion-dollar-scale projects in Australia and help Germany replace Russian gas. The Fin
Nickel sector calls for tax help, royalty relief
Billionaire Andrew Forrest-owned Wyloo is pushing for a 10 per cent production tax credit on nickel processing, royalty relief and greater access to government funding. Wyloo will also propose a ‘‘badge of shame’’ for electric vehicle makers that use ‘‘dirty nickel’ from Indonesia, at a crisis meeting of nickel miners and the federal and West Australian governments in Perth tomorrow. The Fin
‘We can’t meet our targets for 2030’
Australia will not be able to build and install enough renewable energy generation to meet the country’s 2030 target, modelling from a NSW government body has determined, amid concerns over supply constraints and labour shortages. The Aus
‘Abhorrent’: Buttrose lashes ABC staff revolt
ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose has labelled her staff’s criticism of managing director David Ander- son “abhorrent”, after the public broadcaster’s board passed a unanimous vote of confidence in him. The Aus
Nurses now racing against the clock
WA’s nurses union has confirmed it will run candidates in the 2025 State election, eyeing up to four seats to seize the balance of power in the Upper House. The West
Libs lock in Alcoa talks as Kwinana refinery closure gets political
Federal Liberal frontbenchers will hold talks with Alcoa on Wednesday amid the continuing political row over the US giant’s decision to mothball its Kwinana refinery. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 2: Small business advocates have called on the federal government to make parental leave payments directly to workers, ending costly administration for operators and helping wipe out superannuation ‘‘baby debt’’ facing mothers at retirement.
Page 3: Scott Morrison will join former US government heavyweights in the global strategic advisory business after calling time on his political career and paving the way for a second federal byelection early this year.
Page 5: Families with children in the highest-cost private schools have been slugged with the biggest fee increases for 2024 – far above inflation – partly as a result of government policy designed to provide lower subsidies to institutions with the wealthiest parents.
Page 7: A sales representative for an e-commerce firm has been awarded more than $26,000 in compensation after he was sacked for ‘‘lack of commitment’’ for working from home on mandatory in-office days.
Page 11: Prices for Australian lithium have further to fall and competition from Chinese miners will rise, according to the commodity price forecaster that spooked Australia’s biggest banks out of a $760 million lithium loan this week.
Page 13: Former prime minister Malcolm Turbull has severed ties with Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue in the latest high-profile exit from the iron ore miner turned renewables hopeful.
Page 15: BHP named Tim Day as its new asset president of WA iron ore yesterday, ending speculation about who would replace Brandon Craig after his promotion to BHP’s executive leadership team as president Americas, based in Santiago, Chile.
Page 23: The national CBD office vacancy rate increased by 70 basis points in the three months to December 31, from 14.2 per cent to 14.9 per cent, as the proportion of net losses of leased space in lower-grade offices outpaced net absorption of prime offices, figures from JLL show.
Page 24: New home building, already slowed by high borrowing and materials costs, faces a further cost inflation this year as states and territories implement new building code requirements for a seven-star minimum NatHERS (nationwidehouse energy rating scheme) thermal rating.
The Australian
Page 3: Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley has been forced to clarify that the organisation had not banned the phrase “Australia Day” from the public address system at the Test in Brisbane on Friday, after earlier claiming there would be no mention.
Page 5: A record number of Australians are expected to be unable to pay their electricity bills this year, as a cost-of-living crisis grows.
Page 5: Young and middle-income families are bracing for an increased reliance on loans to weather the cost-of-living crunch, and older Australians are dipping into pandemic savings to maintain lifestyles, economists and analysts say.
Page 13: Australian rare earth deposits are being targeted by offshore buyers for their uranium content, with US uranium producer Energy Fuels talking up the value of the uranium in a Victorian mineral sands and rare earths project it is buying into.
Page 15: Australian businesses raised 708,640 warning flags in a review of shell company activity by Moody’s Analytics, in a sign many local companies may be structured to enable financial crime.
Page 15: Travel agents have weighed into the debate over high rates of flight cancellations, saying airlines’ poor reliability is costing tourism operators and travellers about half a billion dollars a year.
Page 15: Drinks giant PepsiCo will fight a recent Federal Court ruling declaring it was liable for royalty withholding tax, threatening the tax office’s recent landmark win amid a crackdown on multinationals.
Page 16: The rush into Australia’s junior miners has entered the eleventh hour, according to explorer Zenith Minerals, which says an expected rebound in lithium prices will make it too late to invest in smaller players at an affordable price.
The West Australian
Page 8: A furious group of farmers, a number of whom rely on the in-jeopardy live sheep export industry, promised to run a targeted campaign to flip five Federal seats in WA that are held by the Albanese Government and Curtin MP Kate Chaney if the Prime Minister fails to meet farmers face-to-face in Perth next month.
Page 26: BAE Systems’ shipyard workers and electricians say they will walk out of their employer’s Henderson gates today as part of another round of industrial action.
Page 39: Alinta Energy is planning a major new gas-fired power station in the Mid West amid warnings of energy shortages within the next three years.
Page 40: The lithium sector is seemingly imploding, but Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources is keeping the faith and taking a bigger slice of the Kali Metals pie.
Page 41: Business conditions fell slightly in WA over December, according to National Australia Bank’s latest monthly business survey released on Tuesday, but mining and retail led overall confidence higher, though it was still gloomy for most industries.
Page 43: Listed junior De Grey Mining has shortlisted a raft of potential lenders to bankroll the lion’s share of its proposed $1.3b Hemi gold project in the Pilbara.
Page 43: Iluka Resources is on track to lift overall mineral sands output for the year but has failed to follow through on sales because of subdued economic activity in China.
Page 45: The extent of the boom in vacant industrial land could be about three times bigger than sales indicate, with a key agent estimating an all-time record high of $350 million was sold last year.
Page 46: A massive and underdeveloped CBD block nearly 30,000sqm in size could be transformed into apartments, offices and a university club-style sport and recreation centre, under an upcoming masterplan.