Morning Headlines

Banks slam deposit 'tax'

The Rudd government plans to impose an insurance levy on all bank deposits, risking a major fight with one of the best-resourced industries on the eve of the election campaign. The Fin

Marginals not part of PM's swing

Leaked Coalition polling suggests the national swing to Labor since Kevin Rudd’s comeback, which has the major parties neck and neck in the published polls, is not being reflected in key marginal seats. The Aus

Cash call for Karara ramp-up

Gindalbie Metals says its half-owned Karara project has produced its first premium-grade concentrate, but the magnetite mine could need millions more from China's Ansteel before it is fully operational. The West

Export prices drop, dollar down

Export prices have fallen more heavily over the past year than Treasury’s May budget forecast, but economists expect slowing economic growth will have a bigger impact on the bottom line in the government’s economic statement, due today. The Aus

Planner still undecided on city light-rail route

More details have been revealed about Perth's inaugural light rail project but it appears the crucial route through the city has still not been finalised. The West

Much gas ado about nothing as Palta fails

Royal Dutch Shell's $100 million plus effort to strike it gas-rich near the Ningaloo Reef has come to nothing, though the lack of exploration success is likely to be hailed as a victory by environmental groups. The West

GFC gloom forgotten as house prices surge ahead

House prices in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne have led rises in most of the capitals with buyer confidence surging to its highest level since 2007, according to separate reports released yesterday. The Aus

Amcor to pack up unit for spin-off

Packaging giant Amcor has moved to free up more cash to plough into its high- growth international operations by spinning off its $3 billion Australia and New Zealand packaging and global distribution businesses into a new company that will be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange by the end of the year. The Aus

The West Australian

Page 1: Millions of bank customers will be hit by a new tax on their deposits in a move that will protect the budget surplus.

Page 4: More details have been revealed about Perth's inaugural light rail project but it appears the crucial route through the city has still not been finalised.

Premier Colin Barnett's frustration with ever-changing speed limits and his stated intention to “do something about it” could lead to WA adopting the simpler system being rolled out in Victoria.

Page 7: West Australians will be among the first in Australia to drink recycled sewage after the government confirmed yesterday it was pushing ahead with plans to prop up Perth's supplies with treated effluent.

Page 13: A fire destroyed a Rockingham factory yesterday, causing $1 million damage.

Page 14: WA's peak financial counselling service for farmers has warned of growing problems of depression, anxiety, drug use and pornography addiction in the Wheatbelt.

Page 16: Potential jurors who ignored summonses and failed to turn up after deferring their call for service were hit with more than 2,000 fines last financial year.

Page 18: WA's chief justice has questioned the Barnett government's “extraordinary delegation of legislative power” to the “unaccountable” Public Sector Commissioner Mal Wauchope.

Business: Elders is closing in on a deal to shed its troublesome forestry interests as the drive to clear massive debts hits top gear.

Global packaging firm Amcor says the time is right to split its Australasia and Packaging Distribution business from Amcor's other operations.

Panoramic Resources last night joined peer Western Areas in acknowledging a persistently weak nickel price meant some of its asset values had to be slashed.

A major pay survey has contradicted evidence of growing salary cutbacks across the Australian mining sector with an optimistic outlook on industry salaries.

Gindalbie Metals says its half-owned Karara project has produced its first premium-grade concentrate, but the magnetite mine could need millions more from China's Ansteel before it is fully operational.

Royal Dutch Shell's $100 million plus effort to strike it gas-rich near the Ningaloo Reef has come to nothing, though the lack of exploration success is likely to be hailed as a victory by environmental groups.

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Rudd government plans to impose an insurance levy on all bank deposits, risking a major fight with one of the best-resources industries on the eve of the election campaign.

Businesses will be required to buy more overseas carbon permits under a plan being drawn up by the federal government's climate change adviser to make deep cuts in emissions by 2030.

Page 4: Australia is almost the only country in the world that does not impose an up-front fee on banks for government-insured deposits but, in contrast with other economies, it has not experienced a bank failure since the early 1990s.

Page 5: Tax arrangements for employee share schemes could be simplified for start-up companies under changes being considered by federal Labor.

Page 7: The $15 million in cost savings being sought by GM Holden includes cutting the lunch break for production workers from 40 minutes to 26 minutes to help win approval for a $1 billion investment by the US parent.

Page 9: The Rudd government is refusing to review the efficacy of youth job training schemes, which a report by the Centre for Independent Studies said this week might be helping to artificially depress the official unemployment rate.

Page 10: The international union movement will push for Australia to use its upcoming presidency of G20 to drive an agenda that includes job creation rather than austerity and a global crackdown on financial transactions.

Page 13: Amcor chief executive Ken MacKenzie has vowed to maintain the global packaging giant's headquarters and listing in Australia even though 96 per cent of sales will come from overseas, following the de-merger of its Australasian glass, can and box business into a separately listed $2 billion company.

National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corp and Macquarie Bank are circling the residual Australian operations of the state-backed UK bank Lloyds in a multi-billion dollar deal that could see the lender exit Australia by the end of the year.

Page 15: Elders managing director Malcolm Jackman said the embattled company requires a recapitalisation – and a significantly improved business performance – after reaching a binding agreement with Clearlake Capital to sell its Futuris Automotive business for $47 million.

The Australian

Page 1: Bank customers will pay a levy on all deposits worth up to $250,000 in a Labor move that aims to prepare for future economic shocks but exposes Kevin Rudd to attacks for increasing the burden on consumers.

The fallout from Kevin Rudd’s dying days as prime minister in 2010 opened a rift in the family that left his older brother frozen out for three years.

Thousands of jobs in two states could be lost unless global metals group Nyrstar’s giant South Australian smelter immediately improves its profitability.

Page 2: Leaked Coalition polling suggests the national swing to Labor since Kevin Rudd’s comeback, which has the major parties neck and neck in the published polls, is not being reflected in key marginal seats.

The Rudd government has created a fund to allow business and agencies to apply for grants to trial radical ideas that get disabled people into work.

The head of Kevin Rudd’s social-inclusion board has called for a bipartisan commitment to increasing welfare payments, warning that jobless families reliant on government income support are going backwards and children are suffering while a lack of political leadership on both sides exists.

Page 3: Fairfax Media’s largest shareholder, Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, has supported the company’s decision to refuse an ad campaign for the book Killing Fairfax even as the company overturned that decision.

Page 4: Labor has launched phase two of its big asylum-seeker advertising campaign, amid revelations the domestic budget was “up to $30 million”, a figure that dramatically overshadows the $7 million set aside for overseas information.

Page 5: Strident criticisms of coal seam gas by prime ministerial aspirant Clive Palmer have been undermined by the disclosure that his own major business has become an enthusiastic new user and supporter of the fuel.

House prices in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne have led rises in most of the capitals with buyer confidence surging to its highest level since 2007, according to separate reports released yesterday.

Page 6: Export prices have fallen more heavily over the past year than Treasury’s May budget forecast, but economists expect slowing economic growth will have a bigger impact on the bottom line in the government’s economic statement, due today.

Australia's biggest telecommunications company, Telstra, has warned that usage- based charges for the National Broadband Network could quadruple by 2016.

Page 8: Hydro-electric power stations preserved water before the carbon tax began to maximise their profits after it came into force and are likely to try to produce as much power as they can before Kevin Rudd’s proposed early move to a trading system linked to cheaper European prices or the Coalition wins power.

Business: Packaging giant Amcor has moved to free up more cash to plough into its high- growth international operations by spinning off its $3 billion Australia and New Zealand packaging and global distribution businesses into a new company that will be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange by the end of the year.

National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne has lashed the ‘‘ immature’’ debate on debt and lack of long- term reform, calling on the government to issue more bonds to pay for critical infrastructure and deepen funding markets to withstand future financial crises.

A Coalition government would introduce its own anti-avoidance and transfer-pricing measures to strengthen Australia’s ability to combat international profit shifting, despite having voted against Labor’s amendments in federal parliament in June.

China has received a mixed message on the state of its manufacturing health, leaving economists little evidence of an upturn as the world’s second- largest economy continues to struggle.

Gindalbie Metals has pushed back the date for its iron ore project to be cashflow positive, less than a month after its quarterly results outlined it was still tracking to previous guidance.

Australia risks chronic power shortages and massive price hikes unless government cedes control of policy to an independent energy reserve authority that could be run along the lines of the Reserve Bank, according to a former president of the Shell Oil Company.

Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman has left no doubts over his desire to move into Israel’s giant offshore Leviathan gasfield, but remains silent on the extent of hurdles the group is facing in its non-binding $ US1.3 billion-plus buy-in deal.

Transurban has called on the federal government to get more involved in driving more infrastructure investment by the states and lamented the lack of political leadership in tackling future funding challenges.

Elders has lauded the sale of its Futuris Automotive business as a ‘‘ good outcome’’, despite expecting to book a $28 million loss on the transaction.

Tourism executives breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as the Australian dollar fell below US90c for the first time in nearly three years.

A Coalition government would leave the door wide open to making positive changes to superannuation, opposition financial services spokesman Mathias Cormann said yesterday.