Morning Headlines

Tax Office chief unleashes on BHP, Rio Tinto, tech giants

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan has challenged parliamentary testimony by senior executives from BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Apple, Microsoft and Google, telling a Senate committee investigating corporate tax avoidance their claims they are not profit shifting should not be taken at face value. The Fin

Hikes irk stevedores

Asciano’s Patrick stevedoring business says other Australian port operators need to be mindful of the potential risks of following Melbourne’s lead and sharply hiking port rental charges. The West

Over 50s discriminated against at work and when job-hunting

Calls by the federal government for people to work longer are being undermined by widespread discrimination against people over 50, according to a landmark study that will be released Thursday by Treasurer Joe Hockey. The Fin

Giants to spend $300m to revitalise WA mall

Shopping centre giants Federation and ISPT will invest $300 million in an overhaul of Western Australian regional centre Mandurah Forum. The Aus

Buyers Club: Bid to exclude iiNet

The owners of the Hollywood blockbuster film Dallas Buyers Club are seeking to exclude iiNet from being involved in the Federal Court’s review of a letter it plans to send the ISP’s users over the next few months. The Fin

Crown in deal with junket firm

One of Macau’s leading casino junket operators for high rollers has extended its operations to Australia after forging an alliance with James Packer’s Crown Resorts. The Aus

Feds go hard on erection doctors

The erectile dysfunction company renowned for its Bonk Longer advertising billboards has been ordered to compensate patients after a damning judgment by the Federal Court. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Tax commissioner Chris Jordan has challenged parliamentary testimony by senior executives from BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Apple, Microsoft and Google, telling a Senate committee investigating corporate tax avoidance their claims they are not profit shifting should not be taken at face value.

Rogue union officials would be banned and fined up to $200,000 under legal changes being considered by Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, in response to the wave of criminal conduct that has swept the building industry.

Some major banks, including National Australia Bank, are getting around Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority lending restrictions imposed designed to stop a bubble building in the property market, according to confidential mortgage calculators.

Page 3: The sprawling $147 billion healthcare system wastes billions through excessive testing, diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as cardiovascular imaging of low-risk patients, knee ultrasounds and early ultrasound scans in pregnancy, according to the government’s independent think tank.

Calls by the federal government for people to work longer are being undermined by widespread discrimination against people over 50, according to a landmark study that will be released Thursday by Treasurer Joe Hockey.

Page 11: Australia is at risk of corporate cartels because of gaps in the law that could stop companies being prosecuted, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says.

Page 12: The Fair Work Commission ended a ban on forced redundancies, restrictions on rostering and hiring, and discount travel for up to 6000 staff and dependents at Aurizon.

Page 13: The owners of the Hollywood blockbuster film Dallas Buyers Club are seeking to exclude iiNet from being involved in the Federal Court’s review of a letter it plans to send the ISP’s users over the next few months.

One of BHP Billiton’s biggest shareholders has backed the miner’s decision to slow its push to hit its ultimate iron ore expansion target of 290 million tonnes per annum by deferring a $US500 million port upgrade, saying it was a sensible response to uncertainty amid the price collapse for the commodity.

Page 23: Atlas Iron executives and contractors providing services to the iron ore miner will hold meetings with US-based debtholders in Los Angeles on Thursday to try to stop the company falling into receivership.

The Australian

Page 1: The federal budget is expected to detonate a row between the commonwealth and the states by locking in $4 billion in cuts to school and hospital funding ahead of Tony Abbott’s retreat with premiers in July, when he has promised to revisit the issue.

Page 2: The cost of living has barely changed for the average person in the past six months, opening the way for the Reserve Bank to cut its benchmark cash rate at next month’s board meeting.

Cambodian officials remained on Nauru yesterday, explaining resettlement offers to refugees as Immigration Minister Peter Dutton addressed prospective transferees via a video.

Page 3: Banning union officials who repeatedly flout workplace laws should be considered a live option to enforce compliance and crack down on rogue industrial behaviour, says the lead counsel assisting the royal commission investigating trade union governance and corruption.

Page 6: Labor has declared the Age Pension is “sustainable” without policy changes, despite government projections showing the annual cost will more than triple in 40 years to $165 billion.

Premature X-rays for back pain, unnecessary referrals to allied health professionals and regional spikes in cardiac procedures are areas likely to be reviewed in the Abbott government’s search for Medicare savings.

Page 7: Insurers are bracing for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of claims arising from the deadly storms that have whipped NSW this week, with some estimating that the total damages bill could rise to almost $1 billion.

Page 19: Two of the biggest families in the Australian dairy industry have forged an alliance with China’s giant New Hope Dairy group and the listed food company Freedom Foods to ramp up milk production destined for the local and Chinese markets and establish new greenfields dairy projects.

BHP Billiton has become the first of the world’s three iron ore giants to pull back on expansion plans in the face of sliding prices, announcing it is reassessing plans to increase the capacity of its Western Australian operations.

Page 20: Rio Tinto’s review of its controlling stake in Bougainville Copper, now in its ninth month, is considering the options not only of a trade sale but also of giving its shares away, possibly to a charitable trust.

Page 21: One of Macau’s leading casino junket operators for high rollers has extended its operations to Australia after forging an alliance with James Packer’s Crown Resorts.

Surging subscriber growth for pay-TV provider Foxtel and competition from American streaming giant Netflix has intensified the pressure on Australia’s three main commercial networks, with growth in the TV market cut to zero.

Page 27: Shopping centre giants Federation and ISPT will invest $300 million in an overhaul of Western Australian regional centre Mandurah Forum.

The West Australian

Page 1: More than a dozen illegal immigrants have been rounded up as part of a major crackdown on foreign workers being used as cheap labour in WA’s building industry.

Page 4: The ALP may target negative gearing in its hunt to boost the Budget bottom line after winning cautious support for its plan to lift superannuation taxes on wealthy Australians.

Page 10: The State Government has moved to increase its borrowing limit for an unprecedented third time in six years, introducing a Bill into Parliament that would authorise it to take on a further $8 billion in loans.

Page 16: Western Power is facing hefty compensation payouts and the possibility of criminal charges after admitting it was partly to blame for an incident in Mandurah in which a teenage boy was almost killed.

Page 21: Doctors have backed a sweeping review of Medicare rebates but warned the Federal Government not to use it as an excuse to cut patient services.

Business: BHP Billiton has called a halt to further spending on its Pilbara expansion, slowing down its push to achieve an annual shipping rate of 290 million tonnes within the next two years in response to low iron ore prices.

Workplace diversity remains the key to corporate success even through the challenges facing the resources industry, according to one of BHP Billiton’s most senior executives.

The erectile dysfunction company renowned for its Bonk Longer advertising billboards has been ordered to compensate patients after a damning judgment by the Federal Court.

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan has challenged the testimony given by corporate giants including Google, Microsoft, Apple, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to a parliamentary inquiry, declaring yesterday he took issue with some of the comments the multinational companies made about corporate tax avoidance.

Asciano’s Patrick stevedoring business says other Australian port operators need to be mindful of the potential risks of following Melbourne’s lead and sharply hiking port rental charges.