Morning Headlines

Fortescue’s secret shell in Singapore

Fortescue Metals Group established a company in Singapore that could buy and sell its iron ore more than a year before it attacked rivals for doing the same thing to minimise their tax bills. The Fin

Internet chief tips online piracy to fall

The chief executive of Perth internet provider iiNet expects the number of Australians visiting pirate websites to decline over the next few years, with the introduction of online streaming service Netflix — which stretched its network to the limit — highlighting Australia’s thirst for “affordable and easily accessible” content. The West

Hockey, PM split over tampon tax

Treasurer Joe Hockey will persist with removing the goods and services tax from tampons and other sanitary products even though Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the government had no enthusiasm for the idea and it was up to the states to propose changes to the tax. The Fin

ANZ’s bid to curb foreign tax exposure

ANZ, one of Australia’s biggest investors in Asia, is gearing up to launch a fresh campaign for an overhaul of the tax treatment of dividends from foreign investments. The Aus

Iron ore major asks for understanding

Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Andrew Harding says there is no end to tough times in iron ore as he draws a line under this month’s iron ore wars. The West

Amcom wins its date with destiny

D-day for the long-winded $1.3 billion tie-up between Vocus Communications and Amcom is set, after the Federal Court approved a meeting date for the shareholder vote. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Treasurer Joe Hockey will persist with removing the goods and services tax from tampons and other sanitary products even though Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the government had no enthusiasm for the idea and it was up to the states to propose changes to the tax.

Fortescue Metals Group established a company in Singapore that could buy and sell its iron ore more than a year before it attacked rivals for doing the same thing to minimise their tax bills.

Page 3: The media industry could be shaken up under proposed changes to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act, which could lift the threshold at which the Foreign Investment Review Board scrutinises foreign shareholdings from 5 per cent to as much as 15 per cent.

Page 5: The right-wing Australian Workers Union has struck a cross-factional alliance with the militant construction union to pressure Bill Shorten to back greater controls over natural gas exports at the ALP national conference.

Page 8: Billions of dollars in debt being racked up by the Abbott government over the next year may not have to be repaid until 2045, when the prime minister will turn 88.

Page 15: Cochlear chairman Rick Holliday-Smith has installed the company’s first new chief executive in more than a decade in a concession the company needs to do more to attract new customers amid stagnant hearing implant sales.

Page 19: The major banks’ clampdown on lending to landlords will help the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep interest rates at record lows by dampening the investor-led housing boom, economists predict.

The Australian

Page 1: Australians will be asked if they want the citizenship test tightened to include more questions about allegiance to the country, unifying values and the rule of law, as part of a “national conversation’’ about the privileges of being an Australian.

Page 2: Bill Shorten has sparked a political storm over same-sex marriage by trying to force a vote as soon as Monday to legislate the social change, leaping ahead of similar moves by Liberal MPs and others.

Australia’s largest health insurer, Medibank Private, wants to know how surgery can cost more than 70 per cent more in one hospital than in others.

Page 6: BHP Billiton will today join the campaign to include indigenous Australians in the Constitution, as Tony Abbott announces a long-awaited meeting on recognition in July.

Page 19: ANZ, one of Australia’s biggest investors in Asia, is gearing up to launch a fresh campaign for an overhaul of the tax treatment of dividends from foreign investments.

The Westpac-owned BT Investment Management has welcomed the Abbott government’s moves to reduce entitlements for wealthy retirees but warned the Coalition and Labor to consider the longer-term implications of tinkering with the retirement savings system.

Page 20: Independence Group has offered a “very generous” price for nickel play Sirius Resources but the miner’s shareholders will enjoy the spoils of the deal in the long-term.

Page 21: Fitness First global chief executive Andy Cosslett says the group will spend a further $20 million on upgrades to its Australian centres over the next year after yesterday revealing the health club would open its doors at Sydney’s $9 billion Barangaroo South precinct.

Page 22: Qantas says it is confident of its position in the international market despite a sharp reduction in its market share over the past decade and a change in the international airline pecking order.

Page 28: Software firm Orion Health has seen its full-year loss blow out to more than $NZ60 million ($56m) but has reported an uptick in revenue and remains confident of its position in the multibillion dollar health IT market.

Page 30: The number of publicly funded vocational education students has dropped for the second year running, just as open markets have been rolled out across the country to encourage more training.

The West Australian

Page 1: Some of WA’s most disruptive and violent students will be sent to a special school in Midland as part of an Education Department overhaul of the way public schools deal with a growing number of difficult pupils.  

Page 4: WA will stand in the way of removing the GST from women’s sanitary products as fresh questions are raised over Treasurer Joe Hockey’s political judgment.

Page 6: Prime Minister Tony Abbott has left open the idea Australians involved in terrorism could be stripped of their citizenship, despite strong opposition to the idea in Federal Cabinet.

Page 14: The chief executive of Perth internet provider iiNet expects the number of Australians visiting pirate websites to decline over the next few years, with the introduction of online streaming service Netflix — which stretched its network to the limit — highlighting Australia’s thirst for “affordable and easily accessible” content.

Page 18: International passenger traffic through Perth Airport jumped 5.5 per cent last year to 4.13 million as Western Australians’ passion for overseas travel showed no signs of abating.

Business: Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Andrew Harding says there is no end to tough times in iron ore as he draws a line under this month’s iron ore wars.

WA milk is being trucked interstate in a stunning reversal for the local dairy industry less than 12 months after processors were waging war to shore up supplies.

Tap Oil shareholders have issued a stinging rebuke to the board of the struggling $83 million company, kicking its proportional takeover provision into touch and forcing a remuneration report first strike.

D-day for the long-winded $1.3 billion tie-up between Vocus Communications and Amcom is set, after the Federal Court approved a meeting date for the shareholder vote.

Confidence among small and medium businesses in WA has slipped amid gloom about the falling iron ore price, according to a new poll.

Atlas Iron says it has re-opened its 6 million tonne-a-year Wodgina operation after cutting a deal with the mine’s remaining contractors.