Protest over LTAs forces CBH backtrack
GrainCorp has joined some of the world’s largest grains traders to rebuke the nation’s biggest grains handler, CBH Group, over long-term port access deals. The Fin
Alcoa gets DMP’s Apache files
The State Government’s failed attempt to prosecute Apache over the 2008 Varanus Island explosion could provide an unexpected silver lining for the industrial gas users pursuing Apache for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The West
Regis turns the page with upside surprise
Regis Resources has drawn a final line under last year’s horrors, surprising the market with an upbeat reserves and resources statement for its Duketon gold project north of Laverton. The West
WA short-changed on road, rail cash
WA is on track to get just a third of the infrastructure funding that will flow to Queensland over the next five years, prompting calls on the Barnett Government to change tack on the GST. The West
Ore, coal face chronic pain
Former senior BHP Billiton executive Alberto Calderon has warned Australia faces a permanent fall in prices for its major exports of iron ore and coal as growth in the Chinese economy becomes increasingly driven by private consumption. The Aus
Easier rules for foreign workers
The federal government will make it easier for employers to import workers on the 457 skilled visa scheme, including relaxing the English language requirement, and introduce tougher rules to stop rorts. The Fin
Put focus ‘on kids ahead of nannies’
Childcare reform should focus on prioritising vulnerable children and giving them greater access to early learning, ahead of subsidies to high-income families to employ nannies, the nation’s biggest provider says. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government will make it easier for employers to import workers on the 457 skilled visa scheme, including relaxing the English language requirement, and introduce tougher rules to stop rorts.
Page 3: One of the Tax Office’s top executives has urged business to “get on the front foot” and explain the amount of tax they paid to the public.
Page 4: Thousands of small businesses will have to pay tax refunds and face other compliance burdens after the government opted to retrospectively abolish breaks associated with the mining tax.
Page 6: Former prime minister Julia Gillard’s boss at law firm Slater & Gordon and current Federal Court judge, Bernard Murphy, said he didn’t know about a union slush fund Ms Gillard helped set up when she worked for him.
An employer lobby group has launched a stinging critique of the Fair Work Commission, accusing it of handing down “inconsistent findings” and “intruding into valid management decision making” because of alleged union sympathies.
Page 7: Investors accounted for a record 49.7 per cent of total loans in July, adding to evidence the housing market is becoming enough of a risk to warrant higher official interest rates.
Page 10: Internet service providers and customer advocates say they are too far apart from Hollywood studios to reach an agreement on copyright rules in spite of efforts by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Page 15: Rio Tinto’s head of energy Harry Kenyon-Slaney has warned “the clock is ticking” on the approvals process for the controversial Mount Thorley Warkworth coal mine in NSW, as producers slash costs to try to overcome weak prices and the strong dollar.
Page 17: GrainCorp has joined some of the world’s largest grains traders to rebuke the nation’s biggest grains handler, CBH Group, over long-term port access deals.
Page 18: Lend Lease’s move to bolster its infrastructure business has paid off after a consortium led by the company was chosen as the preferred bidder for the first stage of Melbourne’s $8 billion East West Link toll road.
Page 20: The proportion of low-cost carrier Jetstar’s revenue derived from fees for everything from checking a bag to buying a meal rather than the ticket price itself is on the rise.
Page 23: Growing numbers of investors are dipping their toes into international sharemarkets, lured by a new generation of promising companies and addressing a long-standing weakness in the typical Australian portfolio in the process.
The Australian
Page 1: Australia’s terrorism threat level is poised to rise from medium to high for the first time, after ASIO warned the government it had become increasingly concerned about the chances of an attack on home soil.
Page 2: Bill Shorten has raised memories of World War II as he vowed to cancel any plan to buy completed submarines from Japan and build 12 boats for the navy in Adelaide if Labor wins the next federal election.
Expansive upgrades to airline passenger counter-terror measures will be unveiled today, amid a government push “to extend our border all the way” to airport terminals across the world.
Page 4: A leading employer group is pushing the Electrical Trades Union to agree to a cheaper income-protection scheme, acknowledging member companies are concerned about the cost of contributing to the fund.
Page 7: Private school students labour through almost 7.5 hours of homework a week, more than two hours more than their public school peers and the fifth biggest student workload set by teachers anywhere in the world.
Childcare reform should focus on prioritising vulnerable children and giving them greater access to early learning, ahead of subsidies to high-income families to employ nannies, the nation’s biggest provider says.
Page 19: Former senior BHP Billiton executive Alberto Calderon has warned Australia faces a permanent fall in prices for its major exports of iron ore and coal as growth in the Chinese economy becomes increasingly driven by private consumption.
Australia’s richest woman, Gina Rinehart, and former magazine chief Matt Handbury held secret discussions about buying Fairfax Media.
Growing urbanisation over the next decade will propel infrastructure spending in the Asia-Pacific region to more than $US5 trillion ($5.39 trillion) a year, says a new report that also urges Australian governments to allocate risk on roads projects to lure investors.
Page 21: The launch today of Apple’s iPhone 6 has triggered a pricing war among the nation’s top mobile phone companies who are now offering credits worth up to $450 to entice customers to break contracts and jump ship to rival carriers.
Page 25: The Australian sharemarket climbed at the close yesterday, buoyed by a bullish resources sector, resilient business confidence figures and modest but stable official housing data.
The West Australian
Page 4: WA is on track to get just a third of the infrastructure funding that will flow to Queensland over the next five years, prompting calls on the Barnett Government to change tack on the GST.
Page 5: Plans for traffic lights on some freeway on-ramps have not left the drawing board — nearly two years after they were announced by the Barnett Government as a major weapon in the fight against Perth’s growing peak-hour congestion woes.
The State Government will bankroll what it hopes could become an iconic Perth artwork as an entry statement to Elizabeth Quay.
Page 17: State Government to get on with banning commercial tanning beds after Health Minister Kim Hames conceded yesterday it was proving “more difficult” than he had first thought.
Business: The State Government’s failed attempt to prosecute Apache over the 2008 Varanus Island explosion could provide an unexpected silver lining for the industrial gas users pursuing Apache for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Regis Resources has drawn a final line under last year’s horrors, surprising the market with an upbeat reserves and resources statement for its Duketon gold project north of Laverton.
Aditya Birla faces further uncertainty over its Nifty underground copper mine, after consultants recommended its insurer reject Aditya’s claim for a March rock fall caused by the emergence of a sinkhole, which shut the underground mine.
Rio Tinto has mounted an energetic defence of clean coal, declaring it the only way to meet growing energy needs while reducing emissions.