Potato king digs in after regulator accuses him of over-planting
The gloves are off in WA’s potato wars with the State Government’s industry regulator preparing to take legal action against Spud Shed king Tony Galati over allegations he is manipulating the market by deliberately over-planting at the expense of smaller growers. The West
Central Tanami battle intensifies
Lawyers are early winners in the $50 million battle for control of the Central Tanami project amid an escalation in the war between Tanami Gold and its two suitors. The West
Coalition divided on science cut
Senior figures in the federal government do not believe Education Minister Christopher Pyne should carry out a threat to slash scientific research funding if the Senate blocks its higher education changes. The Fin
Super-for-homes plan comes at high cost
Allowing younger Australians to withdraw superannuation savings to buy their first home would punch a $32 billion hole in the budget by mid-century. The Fin
AirAsia X has high hopes
AirAsia X founder Tony Fernandes expects the low cost carrier’s troubled Australian operations, which lost $128 million before tax last year, will be in a ‘‘better position’’ financially within six months but stopped short of saying the carrier will be profitable as it undertakes ambitious expansion plans. The Fin
Jay hesitant to follow Barnett on lands
The South Australian Labor government is backing away from its previous warnings that federal funding cuts would put at risk the viability of some remote Aboriginal homelands in the state. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Senior figures in the federal government do not believe Education Minister Christopher Pyne should carry out a threat to slash scientific research funding if the Senate blocks its higher education changes.
The corporate regulator has shut down a high-frequency trading operation which targeted shares in Telstra.
Page 3: With the cost to taxpayers of staging the Australian Grand Prix set to top $500 million in its 20th year in Melbourne, Ron Walker is remaining typically defiant about the true value of hosting the race.
Page 4: Allowing younger Australians to withdraw superannuation savings to buy their first home would punch a $32 billion hole in the budget by mid-century.
Page 13: IFM Investors’ $US7.5 billion ($10 billion) acquisition of the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company is already its biggest ever deal, but chief executive Brett Himbury says it could also be one of its best as the US economic rebound gathers pace.
Australian banks will not be able to avoid building higher levels of equity as global regulators attempt to increase the resilience of the world’s financial system, ANZ Banking Group chief executive Mike Smith has declared.
Page 15: AirAsia X founder Tony Fernandes expects the low cost carrier’s troubled Australian operations, which lost $128 million before tax last year, will be in a ‘‘better position’’ financially within six months but stopped short of saying the carrier will be profitable as it undertakes ambitious expansion plans.
Page 17: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has urged the federal government to grant it the power to enter banks and potentially change the design of financial products, as the financial system inquiry proposed.
Page 18: Timor-Leste Resources Minister Alfredo Pires has described floating LNG vessels as ‘‘sitting ducks’’ for terrorists as he outlined the government’s opposition to Woodside Petroleum’s preferred plan for the development of the Sunrise gas field.
Whitehaven Coal chief executive Paul Flynn says the major Australian banks’ backing of the coal miner’s much needed $1.4 billion refinancing deal is a blow to campaigners propagating ‘‘that coal is the thing of the past’’.
Page 23: The initial public offering pipeline remains reasonably strong in the early part of the year but whether the quality of 2015 floats can reach that of 2014 has been questioned by Deloitte.
The Australian
Page 1: The Fair Work Commission should be dissolved and its functions spread across a series of highly specialised employment tribunals, according to major companies that believe unions are contributing to a $150 billion hold-up in resource projects.
Australia needs to radically review its defence policies and develop a much closer military relationship with its Asian neighbours, including undertaking joint air and sea patrols with Indonesia.
Page 6: The South Australian Labor government is backing away from its previous warnings that federal funding cuts would put at risk the viability of some remote Aboriginal homelands in the state.
Page 7: There was a small fall in the jobless rate last month, however, slowing employment growth suggests the improvement could be short-lived.
Page 19: Industry super funds have highlighted a lack of local infrastructure opportunities that is driving them to look offshore as their jointly owned fund manager IFM Investors spent $7.2 billion buying a US toll road out of bankruptcy.
Page 21: Greg Roebuck’s Carsales.com has taken a stake in peer-to-peer lender Ratesetter, becoming the latest high profile investor to back a major “disrupter” trying to take a bigger slice of the banks’ mega profits.
The company building the National Broadband Network will tune up the download speeds on the cable networks it bought from Telstra and Optus to up to 10 gigabits per second in a move that will rival the superfast speeds promised by Labor’s original NBN plan.
The West Australian
Page 1: The gloves are off in WA’s potato wars with the State Government’s industry regulator preparing to take legal action against Spud Shed king Tony Galati over allegations he is manipulating the market by deliberately over-planting at the expense of smaller growers.
Page 3: Urgent blood tests taken after hours at Fremantle Hospital are being sent by taxi to Fiona Stanley Hospital because the port city has lost its 24-hour on-site pathology service.
Page 5: Rising water temperatures caused by climate change will threaten a rollcall of WA’s most valuable fisheries including rock lobster, snapper and herring, research reveals.
Page 11: Perth’s new children’s hospital will not open until at least March next year — a four-month delay the State Government has blamed on construction issues and changes to fit in extra beds.
Page 12: WA women are feeling the effects of the State’s economic softness with female unemployment hitting an 11-year high.
Page 15: The Abbott Government is close to deciding whether to pursue controversial media ownership laws that could trigger a new wave of industry mergers.
Page 24: Fairfax Media editors have told a court they do not believe Treasurer Joe Hockey is corrupt and do not believe a story headlined “Treasurer for sale” implied that he was.
Page 28: Baby boomers hold the key to changing the face of Perth’s housing stock and fuelling the need for higher density living close to facilities, a visiting British consultant says.
Business: Lawyers are early winners in the $50 million battle for control of the Central Tanami project amid an escalation in the war between Tanami Gold and its two suitors.
Patersons Securities has suffered a second reputational blow inside four months with the corporate regulator imposing a life ban on a former State manager who transferred $1.5 million of client funds into his family accounts.
The Communications Council and the Perth Advertising and Design Club have struck a deal to consolidate their management.