Morning Headlines

Watchdog drops cases over CFMEU

The workplace watchdog has not filed a single new case against the CFMEU for 18 months and has dropped 30 per cent of the cases alleging construction union law-breaking it inherited after Labor’s election, even as builders raise concerns that CFMEU disruption is pushing up project costs. The Fin

CBA dumps Hayne-era bonus limits in mortgage fight

Commonwealth Bank will dump bonus caps agreed in the shadow of the Hayne royal commission as it opens a new front in the mortgage war in a bid to stem market share losses to rival Macquarie. The Fin

Anglo board to face grilling over BHP bid

Anglo American shareholders are expected to appeal to their chairman this week to extract a better price from suitor BHP after its $60 billion bid was swiftly rejected last week. The Fin

Battle of the budget bulge

The Coalition will demand Jim Chalmers cut spending in the May budget to accelerate the nation’s fight against stubbornly high inflation, but trade unions say prices growth has peaked and Labor should instead focus on jobs and bolstering wages. The Aus

PM’s flagship ‘to worsen housing crisis’

Australia’s residential building sector and civil contractors are warning Anthony Albanese’s flagship Made in Australia agenda will exacerbate the housing shortages and hamper the nation’s ability to meet its pledge to build 1.2 million homes. The Aus

‘Updates us on cyber crime threats’

The Albanese government is being urged to publicly attribute state-sponsored cyber espionage and sabotage to any foreign government – including China – when there’s enough evidence to do so, following revelations a Chinese hacking group may have already accessed some of Australia’s critical infrastructure. The Aus

Thousands march to end national crisis of violence against women

Thousands have marched through the centre of Perth, joining a nationwide chorus for an end to violence against women. It was one of a dozen rallies across the country. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: PwC is likely to be the smallest of the big four accounting partnerships at the end of the financial year, after more than 200 partners left the once-ascendant firm following its tax leaks scandal.

Page 3: Buyers are still snapping up homes despite renewed fears inflation will be more persistent than expected, but many may reconsider entering the market if the Reserve Bank increases rates again, property experts say.

Page 6: Leading economists have urged the Albanese government to significantly restrict rather than ban the use of noncompete clauses in employment contracts to help revive Australia’s ailing productivity growth.

Page 17: The corporate regulator secretly probed whether insurance giant IAG needed to disclose the risk of a potential costly blowout to controversial financing firm Greensill Group during a $750 million capital raising, freedom of information documents reveal.

Page 17: The major banks are preparing to declare up to $4.5 billion in dividends and share buybacks over the next two weeks amid easing profit pressures reflected in what is expected to be a resilient earnings season, beginning with National Australia Bank on Thursday.

Page 19: Discount supermarket chain Aldi paid a mega $420 million dividend to its offshore parent last year, newly lodged accounts in Australia reveal, boosted by the historic sale of some of its distribution centres, and a successful grab for market share.

Page 22: Australia’s sharemarket is poised to recover some of Friday’s losses at the opening bell today, as traders brace for a more hawkish assessment of the US monetary policy outlook from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

Page 30: Soaring costs are making building new homes uneconomical in many areas and will restrict home completions below demand until the end of the decade, a survey of 12 property analysts and economists has found.

The Australian

Page 3: Shopping giant Super Retail Group offered to settle a legal claim from at least two rogue executives over an alleged secret affair between its chief executive and its HR manager, but it was rejected after the offer fell well short of a $50m payday they executed.

Page 4: More general practitioners are making the shift back to bulk billing after the government tripled incentives in November, new data has revealed.

Page 13: Coles is growing increasingly alarmed by the reluctance of key food and grocery workers to return to the office and continuing to work from home despite the end of the pandemic, and is concerned the trend is liming its ability to efficiently operate its supply chain and properly stock its stores for major shopping events like East and Christmas.

Page 13: John Wylie’s Tanarra Capital has taken aim at Lendlease chairman and long-term director Michael Ullmer, demanding the former bank executive retire later this year and that the board is overhauled to bring “fresh thinking and leadership” to the embattled property company.

Page 14: BHP’s challenge will be convincing not just Anglo American shareholders’ but its own shareholders about the merits of buying the rival miner’s assets for $40.5bn.

Page 14: Property Exchange Australia is once again back in focus for technology investors, with US private equity firm Thoma Bravo said to have been assessing the business for a potential takeover play.

Page 15: Two of the nation’s biggest building products companies have demanded the federal government make the thermal upgrade of homes a central part of the Future Made in Australia Act, designed to boost Australian manufacturing and stimulate the clean energy transition.

Page 15: The local sharemarket is poised for a solid lift at the start of trade on Monday, boosted by rebounding global optimism.

The West Australian

Page 8: The judge tasked with deciding the multibillion-dollar legal battle between the families of WA’s mining pioneers — and between Gina Rinehart and her children — has been given another year on the job.

Page 8: The State Government will reopen WA’s two best-known tree climbs and extend a showcase cycling trail as part of a $165 million Budget commitment to upgrade adventure tourism.

Page 9: Tens of thousands of critical health workers could go on strike if their union’s pay and conditions demands are not met.

Page 12: Opposition to an offshore wind farm off the Bunbury coast is intensifying, with commercial fishers warning of a “dramatic impact” to the industry if it gets the green light.

Page 19: Water Corporation was forced to power down assets — including a key source of drinking water — on more than a dozen occasions over summer because the State was short of electricity.

Page 20: WA nickel producers are not budging from their depressed state, despite a key benchmark for the battery metal flirting with the $US20,000 ($30,628) per tonne barrier.

Page 43: A backlog of more than one million claims made to Services Australia is set to return to normal levels by the middle of the year following a mass recruitment drive.