Morning Headlines

Woodside in Pluto gas search

Woodside Petroleum chief Peter Coleman is hoping potentially high-impact exploration drilling under way off Western Australia can supply gas for a long-awaited expansion of the Pluto LNG plant at Karratha. The Fin

States fire up over GST distribution

Resource-rich Western Australia and Queensland claim they will be dudded by changes to the way the Commonwealth Grants Commission carves up revenue from the GST. The Fin

Dollar drifts down to US90¢

The Australian dollar is today facing its first breach of US90¢ in six months after the weekend’s weak Chinese industrial growth numbers added to the build-up of pressure on the currency. The West

Leighton emails: ‘disgusting history of incompetence’

Leaked emails from Leighton Holdings reveal plans by senior employees to make payments to “friends” in the Middle East and to inflate and backdate contracts to win work in Iraq. The Fin

Tax reporting standard to be adopted

Australia will adopt a common reporting standard designed to stop multi-nationals shifting profits to avoid tax from 2017, after federal cabinet approved the move before this week’s G20 finance ministers meeting in Cairns. The Fin

Investors clamour for a slice of e-China

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is said to be set to be readying to close its record-breaking float early because it has been flooded with interest. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Leaked emails from Leighton Holdings reveal plans by senior employees to make payments to “friends” in the Middle East and to inflate and backdate contracts to win work in Iraq.

Page 3: Trade Minister Andrew Robb will warn the dairy industry to lower its expectations for trade agreements being negotiated with China.

Australia will adopt a common reporting standard designed to stop multi-nationals shifting profits to avoid tax from 2017, after federal cabinet approved the move before this week’s G20 finance ministers meeting in Cairns.

Page 6: Resource-rich Western Australia and Queensland claim they will be dudded by changes to the way the Commonwealth Grants Commission carves up revenue from the GST.

Page 13:  Australia is poised for the first major wave of airport privatisations in more than a decade, as cash-strapped local councils look to sell or lease regional airports to investors, including superannuation and infrastructure funds.

One of insurance and banking giant Suncorp Group’s top executives is set to undergo a rigorous public examination by the liquidators of a separate private company which went into liquidation in controversial circumstances.

Page 15: The Australian gold sector needs to take immediate action to rectify cost pressures and other conditions currently hitting its profitability, or face a more challenging future, industry leaders claim.

Page 16: Private credit funds are stepping in to fill the void created as big banks cut their lending to mining contractors, amid growing financial distress in the sector.

Page 17: As Reserve Bank of Australia board members, economists, and investors debate whether the local housing market outlook Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia could turn out to be the ultimate bellwether stock.

Page 19: Analysts are split over whether the spinoffs unveiled by BHP Billiton and AngloGold Ashanti could be the start of a broader industry trend, but agree they will see investors increase pressure on management to deal with underperforming assets.

Page 37: Pay television group Foxtel considered a bold expansion into the free-to-air television sector through a joint takeover bid for the troubled Ten Network Holdings in another sign that traditional media companies are being forced to pursue growth through mergers and acquisitions.

The Australian

Page 1: Australian special forces are ready to go into action against the Islamic State terrorist group after Tony Abbott committed the nation to an international mission he warned would be “highly hazardous” and could last months.

The government’s building watchdog has launched a fresh legal assault on individual construction workers, seeking to have penalties imposed on 67 employees over one day of allegedly unlawful industrial action at the Northern Territory’s biggest gas project.

Page 3: The rising unaffordability of private school fees has prompted one independent school to overhaul the way it charges parents, introducing a system that calculates tuition fees based on parents’ income.

Page 4: Australia is on track to sign a free-trade agreement with China at about the time of the G20 meeting in Brisbane, after the latest round of negotiations left senior ministers believing the deal can be clinched by the end of the year.

Page 17: Woodside Petroleum chief Peter Coleman is hoping potentially high-impact exploration drilling under way off Western Australia can supply gas for a long-awaited expansion of the Pluto LNG plant at Karratha.

Page 18: Australia’s thermal coal miners, already struggling to turn a profit, could be further hit with an import ban on lower quality coal by China.

Page 19: The Good Guys chairman Andrew Muir says the new boom in home renovation has helped boost revenue for the electrical and household goods retailer.

The man charged with revitalising Virgin Australia’s brand believes Qantas has lost the plot and is no longer the airline of choice in Australia.

The West Australian

Page 3: A sharp slowdown in China’s industrial heartland is expected to drive iron ore prices and the Australian dollar even lower over coming days.

Page 7: Former Federal environment minister Ian Campbell says the silent majority backed Premier Colin Barnett’s drum-line policy and still believe the State is right to catch and kill sharks.

Page 9: WA’s Water Minister wants greater use of water recycling measures including “new generation” sources such as schemes that use non-drinking water for household gardens and toilets.

Page 10: Teenager Angel Watterson, who needs a wheelchair because of the pain of arthritis and the curse of epileptic fits, was one of hundreds of people who yesterday called on the State Government to legalise medical marijuana.

Page 16: The State Government has backed giving wildlife officers increased powers to arrest and run covert operations against criminals engaged in the illegal trade of lucrative native sandalwood stocks.

Business: The Australian dollar is today facing its first breach of US90¢ in six months after the weekend’s weak Chinese industrial growth numbers added to the build-up of pressure on the currency.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is said to be set to be readying to close its record-breaking float early because it has been flooded with interest.

The housing finance figures released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics offer pause for thought.

Thresholds for the popular Commonwealth Seniors Health Care card have been increased for the first time in 13 years.