Morning Headlines

Forrest is WA’s top business leader

Andrew Forrest was named WA Business Leader of the Year at a gala ceremony at Crown Perth last night, held to recognise the State’s best businesses and the people who run them. The West

Miner’s push to keep out unions

BHP Billiton has urged the Senate to pass the government’s proposed restrictions on unions entering workplaces, warning that union conduct is diverting resources from production and hampering the mining giant’s ability to improve its key coal operations. The Aus

Navitas cuts back on dodgy enrolments

Concerns over fraud and visa rorting have led listed education giant Navitas to halve growth in student numbers for its Australian business, with fears growing some international students were enrolling merely for visa reasons. The Aus

Hanlong shows little love for King and Co with pay deal rebuke

Chinese group Hanlong Mining has given Wal King a hostile welcome to the chairmanship of Sundance Resources by voting down the iron ore hopeful’s remuneration report. The West

Communities’ funding pot just a drop in the desert

The $90 million to be paid to the Barnett government for assuming responsibility for Western Australia’s remote Aboriginal communities would cover little more than half the costs for just 13 of them up to 2018, according to a report. The Aus

Test for Rio spending

Rio Tinto’s controversial policy of expanding exports in a depressed iron ore market faces a litmus test on Friday when the miner is expected to approve more than $US1 billion in spending for a new iron ore mine in the Pilbara. The Fin

Westpac, Seven fund Australian social network

Woolworths has reversed a near three week share price slide by reassuring shareholders it will hit its profit growth targets this year and countering fears the Australian grocery market faces a margin-crunching price war. The Fin

Hockey, Abbott split on GP fee

Treasurer Joe Hockey will fight a proposal to shelve the Medicare co-payment as it emerged he was among several members of cabinet unaware of the move. The Fin

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Treasurer Joe Hockey will fight a proposal to shelve the Medicare co-payment as it emerged he was among several members of cabinet unaware of the move.

Foreign investors are vital to the property market, are not to blame for making prices unaffordable for Australians, and if banned would curb the construction of new homes, according to a parliamentary inquiry set up in response to fears foreigners are driving up prices.

Page 5: The number of flights between Australia and Japan will increase after Qantas Airways was granted a coveted peak-time slot at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, which is much closer to the city’s centre than Narita Airport.

Page 11: The federal government has written to the opposition, urging it to come back to the negotiating table and reach an agreement on the future of the renewable energy target.

Page 12: Chinese government-owned company Citic Pacific said it paid a port fund in good faith and did not expect the money to be used for other purposes including Clive Palmer’s political party, Brisbane’s Supreme Court was told.

Page 14: The bureau’s December to February Climate and Water Outlook predicts unusually warm summer days and nights are more likely for all regions except western Western Australia, south-western Victoria and Tasmania.

Page 17: Woolworths has reversed a near three week share price slide by reassuring shareholders it will hit its profit growth targets this year and countering fears the Australian grocery market faces a margin-crunching price war.

Westpac Banking Corp’s venture capital fund and Seven West Media have invested in a new social network with ambitious plans to build closer communities in Australia’s suburbs.

Australian iron ore miners have badly misjudged the Chinese steel market, according to a top industry official, who said consumption would peak in just three years and at levels well below the ambitious forecasts of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

Woodside Petroleum has been left seeking a new second in command after Rob Cole resigned to take up the role of managing director at the much smaller oil and gas player, Beach Energy.

Page 20: Rio Tinto’s controversial policy of expanding exports in a depressed iron ore market faces a litmus test on Friday when the miner is expected to approve more than $US1 billion in spending for a new iron ore mine in the Pilbara.

Sundance Resources’ shareholders have narrowly approved the appointment of the controversial former boss of Leighton Holdings, Wal King, to their board with more than 40 per cent of investors voting against his election as chairman.

The Australian

Page 1: BHP Billiton has urged the Senate to pass the government’s proposed restrictions on unions entering workplaces, warning that union conduct is diverting resources from production and hampering the mining giant’s ability to improve its key coal operations.

Page 4: The company rolling out Australia’s super-fast internet plans to deliver fibre-to-the-premises to one in four homes, setting the scene for a fresh political storm over the nation’s biggest infrastructure project.

High-end passengers will have to pay up to $270 a flight in departure tax under plans commissioned by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.

Page 8: Up to 2000 naval shipbuilding jobs could be lost across three states next year — a third of the entire industry — according to a confidential report into the troubled Air Warfare Destroyer project.

The Coalition has warned that existing renewable energy projects will collapse and consumers will face higher electricity prices unless a bipartisan deal can be reached on the future of the Renewable Energy Target.

Page 9: The $90 million to be paid to the Barnett government for assuming responsibility for Western Australia’s remote Aboriginal communities would cover little more than half the costs for just 13 of them up to 2018, according to a report.

Page 21: Business confidence among leading accounting firms is growing strongly, driven by increased demand from the corporate sector and an expected surge in revenue.

Mining and trading giant Glencore’s surprise move to shut down coal production for three weeks at some of Australia’s lowest-cost thermal coalmines is not a Rio Tinto merger ploy or even a strategic trading move.

Page 22: Concerns over fraud and visa rorting have led listed education giant Navitas to halve growth in student numbers for its Australian business, with fears growing some international students were enrolling merely for visa reasons.

Page 29: The Abbott government is at risk of a damaging stoush with the two largest federal courts as it moves to restructure the court system to find further budget savings.

The West Australian

Page 3: Andrew Forrest was named WA Business Leader of the Year at a gala ceremony at Crown Perth last night, held to recognise the State’s best businesses and the people who run them.

Page 12: A key State Government MP wants tolls on the Mitchell and Kwinana freeways to help pay for their maintenance and encourage more use of public transport.

Page 13: The inventor of WA’s first shark barrier — reinstalled at Coogee beach yesterday — has fielded interest from as far abroad as Saudi Arabia.

Page 17: The Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale will not appeal against this week’s Supreme Court verdict on the legality of the State Government’s council reforms.

Page 19: The State Government has been accused of shifting blame for flaws and delays in the Aboriginal heritage process from its own department to smooth the way for changes that could lead to the destruction of sacred sites.

Business: Chinese group Hanlong Mining has given Wal King a hostile welcome to the chairmanship of Sundance Resources by voting down the iron ore hopeful’s remuneration report.

A mixed-use project will go ahead at the Milligan Square site, which has been purchased by Singapore’s Fragrance Group for $30 million.