Hip pocket pain on way for shoppers
The supermarket giants are facing a wave of cost increases they will have no choice but to pass on to shoppers, leaving them in an unenviable position of balancing profits with demands to keep prices low. The Fin
Qantas flight earnings could halve to $544m
Qantas could see earnings from flying more than halve to $544 million this financial year if the conflict in the Middle East drags on and significantly increases fuel prices, according to the airline’s former chief economist. The Fin
Canberra must take charge: business
Business and industry have beseeched federal government to take charge of the response to the fuel crisis and avoid a repeat of the pandemic when the states went their separate ways, resulting in needless additional hardship and confusion. The Fin
ETU threatens rare Pilbara strike
Mining giant BHP is facing strikes in Western Australia’s Pilbara for the first time in decades, marking an escalation in protracted workplace bargaining in one of Australia’s most important economic regions. The Fin
Port operators warn of bare supermarket shelves
Australia’s port operators warn that a diesel scramble could stall trade nationwide, paralysing container terminals and emptying supermarket shelves, while the escalating fuel crisis is threatening fresh vegetable supplies and forcing companies to stand down hundreds of apprentices. The Aus
ABC pay impasse deepens
ABC boss Hugh Marks has accused unions of “grossly misrepresenting” the chaotic pay dispute at the taxpayer-funded organisation, with further industrial action increasingly likely as the impasse between the public broadcaster’s management and its heavily unionised workforce widens. The Aus
Transport taskforce charged with driving a road user strategy
The Albanese government has given three years worth of funding to a taskforce that will design and implement a road user charge across Australia, as recommendations are put forward by the publicly funded Cooperative Research Centres for an electric vehicle levy. The Aus
Treasurer makes grim admission that prices will stay higher for longer as WA businesses at brink of collapse
Perth is enduring the nation’s worst inflation as Treasurer Jim Chalmers warned prices across the economy would stay higher for longer because of the war in Iran. The West
Building industry leaders call for longer hours at roundtable meeting
Allowing worksites to operate for longer hours and changing bitumen levels on certain roads have been raised when WA builders met the Cook Government to discuss fuel shortage issues. The West
New chief executive appointed to clean up mess out on stress leave
The City of South Perth’s chief executive has walked out on stress leave just three months after she was appointed to the top job to turn around the dysfunctional and problem-plagued council. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 14: Big investors are gaining an unfair advantage by submitting handwritten trading disclosures that cannot be easily read by algorithmic machines, according to academic research that may trigger a ban by regulators.
Page 15: Fortescue thinks it could save more than $1 billion every year by ditching diesel at its sprawling Pilbara iron ore operations and instead, turning to solar energy.
Page 16: The country’s largest superannuation fund’s invisible hand is at play once again in public markets M&A as non-bank lender Pepper Money announces the demise of its $1 billion takeover bid.
Page 17: KPMG Australia has been accused of misusing confidential information from its client Lendlease to win external audit work for Westpac and Dexus, while allegedly failing to act on a whistleblower complaint.
Page 17: Canva has bought Melbourne-based advertising technology company Doohly, its third acquisition of 2026, as the design software giant diversifies the business to better position itself for the artificial intelligence boom.
Page 18: Major banks are likely to increase their bad debt buffers in coming months as the energy price shocks triggered by war in the Middle East squeezes the finances of business customers reliant on fuel.
Page 21: As Australia’s mining sector plunged into a bear market on the rocketing price of diesel from the Iran war, brokers are telling their clients that their best bet is to stick with miners that have underground operations rather than open-cut projects.
The Australian
Page 5: Rural doctors have held crisis talks with senior MPs and department officials to “game” contingencies for further fuel shortages, with the peak body concerned patients will forgo care or delay appointments to reduce costs.
Page 15: Fortescue founder and executive chairman Andrew Forrest has thrown his weight behind BHP in its iron ore pricing and contract dispute with China, urging a powerful Beijing-backed market player to step away from the “gunfight”.
Page 17: The new Canadian owner of The Reject Shop has issued a menacing threat to discounter rivals such as Kmart and Target, vowing to invest heavily in stores and merchandise to make it the “800-pound gorilla” of Australian retail.
Page 17: The rail freight sector says it is best placed to move goods more efficiently across Australia, helping ease inflation and checkout prices as the fuel crisis escalates.
The West Australian
Page 18: The State Government has approved plans to build East Perth’s first public school on the former Queens Gardens carpark site with a $165 million budget.
Page 42: The priority list at the top of the State’s queue for public housing has exceeded 8000 for the first time, as the Cook Government struggles to build its way out of a property squeeze.
Page 42: Western Australia made the fastest surge in building new homes over the past year but will fall short of a deadline unless it speeds up construction further.
Page 43: Curtin University placed fourth globally for engineering (mineral and mining), according to the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings by Subject, released on Wednesday night.
Page 45: WA’s oldest dairy, Brownes, has been forced to closely examine the sustainability of its delivery model to cafes, restaurants and other customers in response to the Iran war-induced fuel crisis that has left service stations across the country dry.
