John Holland faces $8.6m claim in WA
Construction giant John Holland is facing claims it owes millions of dollars to several sub-contractors at Perth’s $1.2 billion children’s hospital project. The Fin
Copper drill results shine for Sandfire
Good results from copper exploration assays by Sandfire Resources have sent the company’s shares to a nine-month high, providing some good news for resources investors. The Fin
Cash key to deal on stadium
The Barnett Government, the AFL and its Perth clubs are inching towards a deal to have West Coast and Fremantle play home games at the new Perth stadium at Burswood when it opens for the 2018 season. The West
CBH on a roll with $40m oats deal
CBH is planning to take a big bite of the burgeoning oats market in South-East Asia after snapping up a leading processor based in South Australia and Victoria. The West
Change or block ‘unjust’ Chinese deal, MPs told
The nation’s most powerful union bosses are demanding Labor force changes to foreign worker provisions in the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement or block the deal entirely in a direct threat to the future of the nation’s biggest trade pact. The Aus
Radical plan to reform tax on super, landlords
The Abbott government could change the superannuation contributions tax so everyone gets the same tax benefit regardless of income, a tax expert says. The Fin
NBN chief warns of dominant big three
NBN chief executive Bill Morrow has warned that the impending $1.56 billion takeover of iiNet by TPG Telecom could see the big three telco’s squeeze out competition in the market. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government is about to embark on a collision course with union-backed industry superannuation funds by pushing laws to ensure one-third of fund directors and the chair must be independent.
Page 3: Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart wants workers at her $10 billion Roy Hill mine to take pay cuts to preserve jobs and ‘‘family friendly’’ rosters for its operational staff.
Page 4: Household battery storage of electricity won’t take off until 2024-25 after tariffs are deregulated and new solar systems are installed. Household battery storage is not expected to take off in Australia until 2024-25, the first big study of the implications of new technology such as batteries and electric cars on the National Electricity Market shows.
Page 5: The Abbott government could change the superannuation contributions tax so everyone gets the same tax benefit regardless of income, a tax expert says.
Page 7: The ABC is fielding a surge of angry phone calls from the public after Prime Minister Tony Abbott demanded ‘‘heads should roll’’ over Monday’s controversial Q&A episode.
Page 9: The federal government has responded to growing criticism of its planned next big regional trade deal by denying that there will be any changes to the intellectual property regime or that the agreement will undermine the sovereignty of the Australian courts.
Page 10: Business Council of Australia president Catherine Livingstone leapt to the defence of the Abbott government’s ‘‘growth centres’’ industry policy against a stinging attack from the Productivity Commission.
Page 11: Australia has squandered its leading position in using public-private partnerships to fund major projects and the federal government needs to take the lead in winning it back, the former head of Infrastructure Australia said.
Page 12: Construction giant John Holland is facing claims it owes millions of dollars to several sub-contractors at Perth’s $1.2 billion children’s hospital project.
Page 14: Flight Centre Travel Group managing director Graham Turner has characterised a 21 per cent fall in the company’s share price since a profit downgrade on Tuesday as a probable overreaction given the company reported only a ‘‘minimal loss of market share’’ to online travel groups.
Page 17: Good results from copper exploration assays by Sandfire Resources have sent the company’s shares to a nine-month high, providing some good news for resources investors.
The Australian
Page 1: New laws will be imposed on the $2 trillion superannuation industry to expose the funds to greater oversight, as the federal government unveils reforms that will force dramatic change to industry funds backed by unions.
More than 25 years after it was opened, the nation’s $1 billion federal parliament is in a state of disrepair and will require a $330 million rescue job over the next decade to cope with growing demands on the building.
Page 6: The nation’s most powerful union bosses are demanding Labor force changes to foreign worker provisions in the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement or block the deal entirely in a direct threat to the future of the nation’s biggest trade pact.
Page 8: Big falls in migration to the resource states and increases in household wealth are helping the economy to adjust to the end of the resources boom.
Page 21: Chilean industrial heavyweight Sigdo Koppers has joined forces with CHAMP Private Equity to secure control of Australian mining consumables group Bradken, potentially ending a year of manoeuvring for the company.
The managing director of The a2 Milk Company, Geoff Babidge, has publicly confirmed a disagreement with its major shareholder, Freedom Foods, over the milk group’s strategy and revealed it was blindsided by Freedom’s move to make a takeover approach.
Page 23: Costa Group is confident that significant offshore investor interest will shore up its $1 billion float, as local institutional investors continue to baulk at the high pricing on the fruit and vegetable group.
Page 24: NBN chief executive Bill Morrow has warned that the impending $1.56 billion takeover of iiNet by TPG Telecom could see the big three telco’s squeeze out competition in the market.
Page 28: Property developer and investor Mirvac Group has slashed 75 jobs across its business as part of a drive to rein in costs and overhaul its management structure.
The West Australian
Page 1: Auditor-General Colin Murphy has revealed he is dealing with an unprecedented number of decisions by Barnett Government ministers to keep information secret from Parliament.
Page 3: The Barnett Government, the AFL and its Perth clubs are inching towards a deal to have West Coast and Fremantle play home games at the new Perth stadium at Burswood when it opens for the 2018 season.
Page 6: The Barnett Government’s Supreme Court bid to suppress the release of pre-election documents relating to the MAX light rail and airport line has failed.
Page 7: Australian health experts are bracing for a horror flu season peaking in August or September amid concerns the virus is causing year-round illness and is more contagious than once thought.
Page 12: The Abbott Government will try to dilute union influence in the $2 trillion superannuation sector by mandating that at least one-third of super funds’ boards are independent directors.
Page 16: Australia’s domestic spy agency insists it did not accidentally reveal classified material when it hosted Tony Abbott to its new Canberra offices for a photo opportunity.
Page 28: The fire-ravaged Guildford Hotel could be the site of a new planning fight between the State Government and a local council after restoration plans were thrown into doubt.
Business: CBH is planning to take a big bite of the burgeoning oats market in South-East Asia after snapping up a leading processor based in South Australia and Victoria.
Fresh from pulling off a surprise $84 million exit from a troubled project in Mongolia, Macmahon says it remains interested in returning to work in the central Asian country.