Morning Headlines

Australia to give UK $5b in subs deal

Taxpayers will give the UK government almost $5 billion to subsidise an expansion of British production lines for Australia’s first nuclear-powered submarines, as well as a downpayment on design work. The Fin

Jobs boom gives workers record slice of national pie

A renewed jobs boom has pushed workers’ share of national income to its highest level in at least two decades and fuelled bets the Reserve Bank could keep interest rates higher for longer. The Fin

Migration record after huge student intake

A surge of international students and temporary workers pushed net arrivals into the country to a record of 548,000 in the year to September 2023, but experts say the pandemic rebound in migration has peaked. The Fin

Unions' war on 'clueless' gas activists 

Major unions are pressing the federal government to reduce the ability of "clueless activists" to frustrate and delay multi-billion offshore gas projects, in an unlikely alliance with resources giants that seeks to tighten consultation rules exploited by project opponents. The Aus

Sector's urgent call to solve shortfall 

Australia must urgently approve new gas developments if it is to avoid a catastophic impact to the economy, as Victoria- one of the states on course to be hit the hardest- has insisted the looming crisis is because there are insufficient supplied to be found. The Aus

Faith row flares over law report 

Anthony Albanese has proposed a blanket removal of section 38 from the Sex Discrimination Act – a move that would ignite a fierce fight from religious schools and the Coalition – and instead wants to give religious institutions the ability to preference teachers based on their faith through a new Religious Discrimination Act. The Aus 

Fool speed ahead on green laws

A leaked document from a peak mining group shows that the Albanese Government is planning to put a 40km/h speed limit across highways in Australia’s sparsely populated and economically vital mining regions, putting billions of dollars at risk. The West 

Political chaos, ore dreams and act of god 

Iron ore bull David Flanagan has suggested more political blood is spilled in Canberra than in the small African nation of Guinea and believes faith in Jesus saved him from death in nearby country Ghana. The West 

Chemist Warehouse profit lifts 30pc in lead-up to ASX debut 

Chemist Warehouse has reported a first-half profit lift of nearly 30 per cent amid its $8.8 billion proposed merger with ASX-listed Sigma Healthcare. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: Corporate watchdog chairman Joe Longo has politely told C-suites to stop whingeing about director duties because ultimately legal compliance and maximising profits go hand in hand.

Page 4: For all the controversy over Paul Keating’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Beijing’s top diplomat probably wasn’t expecting it to veer into a history lesson dating back to Labor icon H.V. ‘‘Doc’’ Evatt’s urgings in 1950 for Australia to recognise Mao Zedong’s communist government.

Page 5: The Albanese government is considering changes to the activity test to increase access to childcare subsidies, but fears removing it altogether risks creating another ‘‘free for all’’ like the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Page 6: Election promises by Tasmania’s major parties to curb sales of hydroelectricity to the mainland to bring down household energy bills are reckless and will hurt the state’s budget, a respected economist says.

Page 7: A senator leading investigations into PwC’s tax leaks scandal accused the consulting giant’s global chairman, Bob Moritz, of trying to minimise the involvement of international partners after he rejected a formal request for the internal legal report on the matter.

The Australian

Page 2: Anthony Albanese has proposed a blanket removal of section 38 from the Sex Discrimination Act – a move that would ignite a fierce fight from religious schools and the Coalition – and instead wants to give religious institutions the ability to preference teachers based on their faith through a new Religious Discrimination Act.

Page 3: Australia is failing to ensure that new generation drugs that could help prevent a devastating tide of diabetes complications, including renal failure, amputations and blindness, are made available to the sickest people in the country.

Page 4: Peter Dutton has called on Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, to repair the relationship with Donald Trump and the former president’s inner circle, arguing Anthony Albanese’s decision to appoint the former Labor leader would have been done “against the advice of a lot of his colleagues”.

Page 6: Social media companies should stop acting “like teenagers” and shoulder responsibility for crimes on their platforms, particularly radicalisation and child exploitation, the European Union Home Affairs Commissioner says.

The West Australian

Page 5: Half of the infamous Ward 5A will be temporarily transferred to Hollywood Private Hospital to allow for extensive upgrades to Perth Children’s Hospital commissioned in the wake of the horrific alleged rape of a 13-year-old patient.

Page 6-7: Public school teachers have been told to prepare for a half-day strike on April 23 in a “significant escalation” of their pay dispute with the Cook Government.

Page 32: Reddit will enter a new era as a publicly traded company with a market value of $US6.4 billion ($9.7b) after the social media platform’s initial public offering was priced at $US34 a share.