Morning Headlines

Palmer apology too late to stop cattle trade backlash

China has gone cold on moves to open its shores to live cattle imports from Australia after businessman Clive Palmer’s outburst against WA’s most important trade partner. The West

Cut-price NBN yields better value

The Coalition’s cut-price national broadband network would deliver a net economic boost of $18 billion compared with $2 billion for Labor’s gold-plated version, according to the first ever cost-benefit analysis of Australia’s largest infrastructure project. The Fin

Creasy tops up Sirius investment

Millionaire prospector Mark Creasy yesterday turned a $16.8 million investment into an instant $88 million paper profit after exercising a big parcel of options to increase his shareholding in Sirius Resources. The West

Abbott ready to bend on PPL scheme

Coalition MPs are predicting Tony Abbott will water down his paid parental leave scheme in order to salvage it after the Prime Minister confided with colleagues that more change to the policy should be expected. The Fin

WA to reveal plans for asset selloff

The Western Australian government has been accused of being too soft in its push to sell assets to repair its dire financial position. The Fin

Australia retains big workwear labels

Iconic brands King Gee, Stubbies and Hard Yakka will remain in Australian hands after Wesfarmers agreed to pay $180 million for Pacific Brands’ struggling workwear business. The Fin

Scentre in bid to bring the world’s retailers to malls

Westfield spin-off Scentre Group is negotiating to bring a round of new international retailers to Australia as the group yesterday reported a 3.3 per cent rise in specialty retail sales for the six months to June and a stronger July, with winter finally kicking in. The Aus

‘Free’ degrees would cost $133bn by 2030, says Go8

A whopping $133 billion would be the cost of a return to the Whitlam years of “free” university education desired by Clive Palmer and the Greens, according to modelling by the Group of Eight. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Coalition’s cut-price national broadband network would deliver a net economic boost of $18 billion compared with $2 billion for Labor’s gold-plated version, according to the first ever cost-benefit analysis of Australia’s largest infrastructure project.

Page 3: The Abbott government should wind up the Renewable Energy Target but protect current investment until 2030 or scale it back to a “real” 20 per cent target, an expert panel has recommended.

Page 4: Coalition MPs are predicting Tony Abbott will water down his paid parental leave scheme in order to salvage it after the Prime Minister confided with colleagues that more change to the policy should be expected.

Page 8: The Western Australian government has been accused of being too soft in its push to sell assets to repair its dire financial position.

Page 11: Iconic brands King Gee, Stubbies and Hard Yakka will remain in Australian hands after Wesfarmers agreed to pay $180 million for Pacific Brands’ struggling work wear business.

Page 15: Two frontrunners have emerged in the contest for BHP Billiton’s Nickel West, with the miner in talks with China’s largest nickel refiner, Jinchuan Group, and commodities trader Glencore.

Page 19: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission must lift engagement with regulators in the region so the benefits of recent free-trade agreements can be realised, the Financial Services Council argues in its second submission to the Murray inquiry.

Page 29: Oversupply and high cash costs are increasing the pressure on Australia’s iron ore miners, as the metal’s price drifts lower and margins evaporate.

Page 35: The $18.9 billion Scentre Group, the Westfield spinoff that controls the Australian and New Zealand shopping mall operations, has continued to enjoy improving retail trading.

The Australian

Page 1: The former Labor government’s decision to pursue a fibre-to-the-home, super-fast, broadband network would have a net cost to taxpayers of $22.2 billion, but the Coalition’s model still leaves them paying billions to deliver access to the bush and urban fringes, a landmark cost-benefit analysis reveals.

Christopher Pyne has warned there is only “one shot in the locker’’ for university reform and Australia’s $15 billion higher education sector will follow manufacturing into decline if his deregulation plan fails.

Page 2: The Productivity Commission has recommended an end to government assistance for the automotive components industry within three years in a final report on the car manufacturing industry.

Page 5: Health fund members have been forced to pay the government almost $465 million they wrongly claimed as premium discounts after Labor imposed a means test on the insurance rebate.

Page 7: China’s ambassador to Australia, Ma Zhaoxu, has told Clive Palmer that “Chinese people are never to be insulted”, following the Palmer United Party leader’s climb down from remarks made on television last week.

Page 19: Earnings pressure points for the resources industry are becoming more intense, with price weakness in iron ore extending to a 34 per cent slump since the start of the year and oil prices falling sharply to eight-month lows.

Westfield spin-off Scentre Group is negotiating to bring a round of new international retailers to Australia as the group yesterday reported a 3.3 per cent rise in specialty retail sales for the six months to June and a stronger July, with winter finally kicking in.

Page 20: Sports retailer RCG Corp has announced a strong profit result despite only modest growth in flagship shoe retailer The Athlete’s Foot.

Page 25: Cooper Basin mid-tier oil and gas producer Senex Energy has been hit hard by the share market after issuing full-year production guidance, saying output could fall from current rates.

Page 28: A whopping $133 billion would be the cost of a return to the Whitlam years of “free” university education desired by Clive Palmer and the Greens, according to modelling by the Group of Eight.

The West Australian

Page 1: China has gone cold on moves to open its shores to live cattle imports from Australia after businessman Clive Palmer’s outburst against WA’s most important trade partner.

Page 5: City of Subiaco has agreed to put a new liquor licensing policy out for public comment, taking it a step closer to shrugging off an unpopular 2007 policy blamed by some for the decline of the retail and hospitality precinct.

Page 11: Westpac boss Gail Kelly has given a rousing speech in Perth about her rise from school teacher to the head of one of the world’s biggest banks.

Page 14: The Barnett Government will wait until the end of the year before revealing how it will deal with falling iron ore prices and the credit rating downgrade.

Page 18: Tony Abbott has confirmed the Government is talking to Washington about what Australia could contribute to a military mission in Iraq but has promised to consult the people and Opposition before deciding to go to war.

Liberal MPs have warned Tony Abbott that the unpopularity of some measures in the Budget risks alienating supporters.

Business: Millionaire prospector Mark Creasy yesterday turned a $16.8 million investment into an instant $88 million paper profit after exercising a big parcel of options to increase his shareholding in Sirius Resources.

The State Government will mark the 50th anniversary of the Dowerin Field Day by unveiling a $20 million boost for grains industry research and development.

GR Engineering Services has been a shining light on an otherwise miserable reporting day for resources contractors, almost doubling its annual profit.