Morning Headlines

Barnett sidesteps fight with rate hike reprieve

The State Government is expected to go against departmental advice and not increase the gold royalty rate or that of other minerals until after the 2017 election, a move likely to be greeted with relief by WA’s embattled miners. The West

Tech guru aims to create new ad empire via backdoor listing

Technology entrepreneur Zhenya Tsvetnenko is looking to shake up the $US117 billion-a-year internet ad market with the backdoor listing of his online marketing business Mpire Media that merged with Fortunis Resources in a deal worth up to $10 million. The Aus

Hockey considers GST change to help WA

The Commonwealth Grants Commission may have found Joe Hockey a solution to a stand-off with Western Australia about how federal funds are divided among the states but it would cost the rest of Australia $547 million. The Fin

TPG want Malone on line for iiNet bid

TPG Telecom has established contact with iiNet founder Michael Malone to allay his fears for the fate of staff and customers as it continues to promote its $1.4 billion bid to become Australia’s second-largest broadband provider. The Fin

$100m firms fit the bill in efforts to ease tax burden on ‘small business’

The government’s promised small-business tax cuts could cost as much as $1.5 billion a year and extend to businesses with turnovers of $100 million, in the effort to recoup ground lost with budget cuts to small-business concessions last year. The Aus

Miners challenge 2010 tax-share myth

The claim that the mining industry’s taxes were growing slower than their profits led to the resource rent tax debate of 2010 and created a widespread view – still alive today – that mining companies do not pay their way. Now, the industry is trying to prove it was not true. The Fin

Watkins finalises team to return fizz to Coke

Coca-Cola Amatil chief executive Alison Watkins has finally assembled her senior management team that would aim to revitalise the bottler’s fortunes this year — to be kicked off by the highly anticipated launch of Coke Life in two weeks — after poaching a senior executive from Woolworths to be her new chief financial officer. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating a call by Andrew Forrest for iron ore producers to drive up the price by capping production, a practice federal Treasurer Joe Hockey said would be akin to cartel behaviour.

Surging investment in Australia’s half a trillion dollar commercial property sector is rapidly emerging as the latest source of a potential economic crash, the Reserve Bank of Australia has warned.

Page 3: The $12 billion Australian fashion industry is caught in a ‘‘perfect storm’’ of aggressive bricks and mortar expansion by foreign fast fashion chains such as Zara and Topshop, combined with steadily climbing global online sales – and the continuing decline of Australian manufacturing.

Page 4: The claim that the mining industry’s taxes were growing slower than their profits led to the resource rent tax debate of 2010 and created a widespread view – still alive today – that mining companies do not pay their way. Now, the industry is trying to prove it was not true.

The Commonwealth Grants Commission may have found Joe Hockey a solution to a stand-off with Western Australia about how federal funds are divided among the states but it would cost the rest of Australia $547 million.

Page 6: The Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank will create opportunities for Australian companies to sell more commodities such as iron ore, according to a rebuttal of Japanese and American arguments by Treasurer Joe Hockey.

Page 9: Pressure on the major parties to end their stand-off and agree to a new renewable energy target has intensified with the peak industry body proposing a compromise midway between the duelling positions.

Page 13: Optus has been ordered by a court to pay $3.92 million in compensation to a former call centre trainee who was almost thrown off a workplace balcony by a colleague 14 years ago.

Page 21: Australia’s major banks ‘‘appear well placed to transition to higher capital targets over the course of this year’’, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Wednesday, pointing to strong organic capital generation and last year’s flurry of hybrid issuance which has increased the sector’s resilience to adverse shocks.

Page 23: Nufarm interim boss Greg Hunt said he does not believe the crop protection group’s sales, staff or customers are in danger after a report by the International Agency for Cancer Research found glyphosate was ‘‘probably carcinogenic to humans’’.

Page 28: TPG Telecom has established contact with iiNet founder Michael Malone to allay his fears for the fate of staff and customers as it continues to promote its $1.4 billion bid to become Australia’s second-largest broadband provider.

The Australian

Page 1: Australia risks a “disaster” from deepening deficits if Tony Abbott retreats on budget repair, according to new warnings from the Prime Minister’s chosen advisers as he softens his message on the need for unpopular spending cuts.

Page 2: China will have to share control of its $50 billion infrastructure bank under proposals put by Australia and other countries to ensure “open membership” for the fund, as Tony Abbott prepares to sign up to the initiative within days.

Page 3: Recordings of infrasound and low-frequency noise from wind turbines should be played into the bedrooms of random rural residents to investigate health concerns, a senior acoustics academic says.

Page 5: Joe Hockey faces internal pressure to provide tax relief for stay-at-home mothers as the government frames the May budget and its childcare package.

Page 6: Food and grocery manufacturers and the property industry have taken aim at the Abbott government’s tougher foreign investment regime, warning that it could jeopardise the “food boom’’ and force up the cost of houses by lowering supply.

A Liberal MP was suspended from the House of Representatives last night after he took black fuel oil onto the floor of parliament and began pouring it over his hands.

The government’s promised small-business tax cuts could cost as much as $1.5 billion a year and extend to businesses with turnovers of $100 million, in the effort to recoup ground lost with budget cuts to small-business concessions last year.

Page 19: Toll-road operator Transurban has formed a landmark alliance with some of the world’s biggest companies from the telecommunications, traffic services, software and data analytics fields to develop new technology designed to revolutionise the way Australians use their transport networks.

The founders of two of the nation’s most successful broadband companies have launched stinging criticisms of the $40 billion-a-year telecommunications sector, with Michael Malone lamenting the “faceless” nature of the industry and Simon Hackett attacking the technology choice underpinning the National Broadband Network.

Page 20: Australia’s gold industry no longer deserves its reputation for high costs and can rediscover its relevance in the eyes on international investors, senior industry executive Jake Klein says.

Page 21: Technology entrepreneur Zhenya Tsvetnenko is looking to shake up the $US117 billion-a-year internet ad market with the backdoor listing of his online marketing business Mpire Media that merged with Fortunis Resources in a deal worth up to $10 million.

Coca-Cola Amatil chief executive Alison Watkins has finally assembled her senior management team that would aim to revitalise the bottler’s fortunes this year — to be kicked off by the highly anticipated launch of Coke Life in two weeks — after poaching a senior executive from Woolworths to be her new chief financial officer.

The West Australian

Page 3: Main Roads predicts traffic congestion in Perth will get worse and admits it does not have the capacity to manage it amid predictions the problem could cost the WA economy $2.1 billion by 2020.

Page 9: A new school program aimed at teaching about bicycles and road rules was one initiative canvassed at a roundtable meeting convened after the deaths of nine cyclists on WA roads in the past 13 months.

Page 11: Treasurer Mike Nahan faces a further $180 million hole in his 2015-16 Budget after the Barnett Government backed away from any attempt to increase mining royalties next year.

WA’s highest court has ordered Kojonup farmer Mike Baxter to reveal any deal for Monsanto to cover his legal costs in a landmark damages case over genetically modified crops.

Page 13: David Carter, from Perth-based Austral Fisheries, said yesterday that the company was joining forces with Sea Shepherd because it wanted to lend moral support to the group’s efforts to stamp out poaching.

Page 14: Australia’s peak medical research group says there is not enough proof that e-cigarettes are safe or help smokers quit.

Business: The State Government is expected to go against departmental advice and not increase the gold royalty rate or that of other minerals until after the 2017 election, a move likely to be greeted with relief by WA’s embattled miners.

A live export subsidiary of WA’s Carpenter Beef has been put into administration with liabilities of up to $20 million after the failure of a Chinese sales contract.

Yara Pilbara has stuck to its target of producing first technical ammonium nitrate (TAN) from its $800 million plant on the Burrup Peninsula later this year, despite a delay to the start of commissioning.

Rox Resources shares soared as much as 23 per cent yesterday before closing up 0.3¢ at 2.9¢ on news of another nickel discovery at its Fisher East project, south of Wiluna.