Unions back PM as Rudd numbers grow
The union movement has come out swinging in support of Julia Gillard but pessimism is growing among the Prime Minister's caucus supporters about her ability to withstand a challenge should one be mounted next week. The Fin
Buru new hope for NW shelf project
Buru Energy has positioned itself as an unlikely eventual saviour of the North West Shelf project, saying the onshore Canning Basin's vast shale gas reserves could eventually provide backfill for the state's flagship 24-year-old LNG operation. The West
It's Verve's fault, says Barnett
Colin Barnett claimed yesterday that Verve Energy failed to properly inspect boiler pipes at the 47-year-old Muja A and B power station before it committed to a botched refurbishment plan. The West
Fortescue mulls keeping rail stake
Fortescue Metals Group may not follow through with a $US3 billion-plus sale of a minority stake in its Pilbara infrastructure business after reporting a further delay to the process, and solid improvement in its financial position. The Fin
China milk deal
China and South East Asia have emerged as potential saviours of the WA dairy industry as farmers latch onto lucrative deals linked to supplying the burgeoning markets. The West
Top Resources Headlines
Buru new hope for NW shelf project
Buru Energy has positioned itself as an unlikely eventual saviour of the North West Shelf project, saying the onshore Canning Basin's vast shale gas reserves could eventually provide backfill for the state's flagship 24-year-old LNG operation. The West
Mining slump claims new scalp
The slump in the mining services sector has claimed a high-profile victim with the corporate collapse of the listed Allmine Group. The West
Fortescue mulls keeping rail stake
Fortescue Metals Group may not follow through with a $US3 billion-plus sale of a minority stake in its Pilbara infrastructure business after reporting a further delay to the process, and solid improvement in its financial position. The Fin
Intrepid seeks identity of those behind protest vote
Embattled explorer Intrepid Mines will work to determine the true identity of those responsible for a sizeable protest vote against the company’s board yesterday. The Aus
Top Politics Headlines
Unions back PM as Rudd numbers grow
The union movement has come out swinging in support of Julia Gillard but pessimism is growing among the Prime Minister's caucus supporters about her ability to withstand a challenge should one be mounted next week. The Fin
It's Verve's fault, says Barnett
Colin Barnett claimed yesterday that Verve Energy failed to properly inspect boiler pipes at the 47-year-old Muja A and B power station before it committed to a botched refurbishment plan. The West
Gillard cuts Shorten out of the loop
Bill Shorten has been excluded from Julia Gillard’s inner circle and strategic decision-making team as pressure mounts on him to resolve Labor’s leadership impasse. The Aus
Abbott likens PM to Hanson
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott compared Prime Minister Julia Gillard to former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in a bitter debate over the government's plan to clamp down on 457 skilled worker visas. The Fin
Top Property Headlines
$100,000 pay rise for Scaffidi
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi's annual pay is set to jump more than $100,000 to $175,000 under the first review of local government salaries in eight years. The West
Pilbara costs the highest
The cost of living and running a business in the Pilbara is the most expensive in Australia – and maybe the world – according to a federal government report. The West
Abbott's tax breaks to develop the north
Tax incentives could be used to encourage people to shift to northern Australia and drive development in Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Karratha and other cities across the region, under a Coalition plan. The Fin
The West Australian
Page 1: China and South East Asia have emerged as potential saviours of the WA dairy industry as farmers latch onto lucrative deals linked to supplying the burgeoning markets.
Page 3: Perth motorists paying more than $1.60 a litre at the bowser within days as the falling Australian dollar delivers relief to exporters but hits consumers hard in the hip pocket.
Page 4: Colin Barnett claimed yesterday that Verve Energy failed to properly inspect boiler pipes at the 47-year-old Muja A and B power station before it committed to a botched refurbishment plan.
A WA candidate in mining magnate Clive Palmer's political party has described the global financial crisis as a “typical anti-Christ strategy” and said Hurricane Sandy was sent by God to warn against globalisation.
Page 5: WA is the destination of choice, with the state's population swelling by 226 people a day in the past year.
Page 6: The cost of living and running a business in the Pilbara is the most expensive in Australia – and maybe the world – according to a federal government report.
Page 7: The Australian-first use of new electrical technology has allowed the new Fremantle rail tunnel to be built just 1.2m above the existing Joondalup line tunnel.
Former MP Adele Carles yesterday dropped her bid to draw millionaire property developer Nigel Satterley into her defamation stoush with her former lover, Treasurer Troy Buswell.
Page 11: Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi's annual pay is set to jump more than $100,000 to $175,000 under the first review of local government salaries in eight years.
Page 13: The prospect of Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten “tapping” Julia Gillard has evaporated after his union declared its full support for her continued leadership.
Business: Buru Energy has positioned itself as an unlikely eventual saviour of the North West Shelf project, saying the onshore Canning Basin's vast shale gas reserves could eventually provide backfill for the state's flagship 24-year-old LNG operation.
The Australian sharemarket tumbled the most in 18 months and the dollar plunged to a near three-year low yesterday after sentiment towards Australian assets received two stunning blows.
The slump in the mining services sector has claimed a high-profile victim with the corporate collapse of the listed Allmine Group.
A potential multi billion-dollar sale of equipment hire firm Coates Hire has been called off after offers fell short of the owner's expectations.
Almost four years after sparking one of Australia's worst environmental disasters, the Montara oil field in the Timor Sea has finally achieved first production for its owner.
Questions are mounting over the future of local gold producer Reed Resources as its share price slumped to an all-time low after an underwhelming update from its Meekatharra operations.
Fortescue Metals Group chief financial officer Stephen Pearce has played down suggestions a production downgrade announced yesterday is a sign of broader issues emerging at the company, saying the falling Australian dollar, operational cost savings and a ramp-up at its Solomon operations are all helping Fortescue's bottom line.
The next phase of WA's economic growth needs to come through the military expansion of the state's north west to protect WA's multi-billion dollar resources, leading Australian demographer Bernard Salt says.
The board of embattled Indonesian gold play Intrepid Mines survived an attempted board coup yesterday, winning about 65 per cent of the vote at an extraordinary general meeting.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Two of America's biggest banks have questioned the Federal Reserve's upbeat assessment of the US economy and warned that central bank growth forecasts are too optimistic.
Tax incentives could be used to encourage people to shift to northern Australia and drive development in Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Karratha and other cities across the region, under a Coalition plan.
Page 3: Political pressure has helped drive down bank fees for consumers, but bank charges for business have leapt 26 per cent over the past three years to a record $7.3 billion.
Telstra chief executive David Thodey has said that the company's century-old copper network could function for another 100 years in a tacit endorsement of the Coalition's broadband policy.
Page 4: The union movement has come out swinging in support of Julia Gillard but pessimism is growing among the Prime Minister's caucus supporters about her ability to withstand a challenge should one be mounted next week.
Page 6: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott compared Prime Minister Julia Gillard to former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in a bitter debate over the government's plan to clamp down on 457 skilled worker visas.
Page 7: A Labor plan that forces foreigners working on offshore oil and gas projects to hold a visa will push up costs, delay projects and even lead to the suspension or cancellation of investment, business has warned.
Page 8: The Greens have denied an inconsistency between their support for giving farmers the right to block coal seam gas projects and opposition to restrictions on new wind farms.
Page 13: Fortescue Metals Group may not follow through with a $US3 billion-plus sale of a minority stake in its Pilbara infrastructure business after reporting a further delay to the process, and solid improvement in its financial position.
Newcrest Mining's former head of investor relations in Australia, Steve Warner, has returned from his new post in the United States to help the company deal with the scandal involving an alleged breach of its continuous disclosure practices.
Page 15: The Seven Group and private equity firm the Carlyle Group have pulled a $3 billion sale of Coates Hire due to a lack of interest from potential buyers nervous about uncertain financial markets.
Page 17: Woodside Petroleum's $US13 billion deal to buy into the large Leviathan gas field in Israel is hanging in the balance after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced exports from the country will be capped at 40 per cent, less than originally proposed.
Page 32: National firm HWL Ebsworth has continued its fast-paced growth by absorbing Perth-based commercial firm Downings Legal.
The Australian
Page 1: Bill Shorten has been excluded from Julia Gillard’s inner circle and strategic decision-making team as pressure mounts on him to resolve Labor’s leadership impasse.
As the mining boom hit full steam in early 2008, Queensland tycoon Clive Palmer declared he would donate $100 million of his wealth to Aboriginal communities in Western Australia as part of an overall giveaway of $1 billion across the nation.
An Abbott government will offer lower personal and business tax rates, government relocation subsidies and investment incentives to encourage a major population shift to the country’s north.
The dollar plunged US3c to its lowest since 2010 and the sharemarket shed more than $30 billion in value as signs of a recovery in the US economy and weakness in China conspired against Australian financial markets.
Page 2: Labor is scrambling to secure the numbers for its contentious foreign worker crackdown and will lobby independent MPs Tony Windsor and Peter Slipper to save its bill after a vote was deferred until Monday.
Page 4: Clive Palmer has declared his political quest is better for all the recent publicity and pledged he will not run out of personal cash, as his nickel refinery stopped its six-figure support for Townsville’s commerce hub.
Aspiring prime minister and mining entrepreneur Clive Palmer’s candidate for Fremantle yesterday strayed from the party line, raising doubts that his policy of flying asylum-seekers direct to Australia would help solve the boats crisis.
A proposed overhaul of the indigenous work-for-the-dole program has been delayed while some existing job agencies in indigenous communities have lost their contracts and will have to lay off staff.
Page 5: Small business subcontractors handling the rollout of the $37.4 billion National Broadband Network face financial strife as asbestos concerns have left them with no income for weeks and Telstra’s asbestos fix could add to their cost woes.
Page 6: Labor yesterday moved to downplay expectations that Julia Gillard’s visit to Indonesia next month will produce a breakthrough on the boat people crisis.
Business: The long era of a gravity-defying dollar has come to an abrupt end after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke sent global markets into a tailspin, firming up his May warning that the central bank could soon start scaling back its bond purchases.
The $US1.2 billion push into Israel by Woodside Petroleum is being muddied by government claims that a 2016 production target to produce gas will be a stretch, amid uncertainty over that country’s export regime.
Business has slammed data showing it continues to cross-subsidise lower banking fees for consumers, calling for greater scrutiny of the banks after fees shot up 7 per cent last year despite little new borrowing activity.
The International Energy Agency has warned of further delays and cost blowouts at Australia’s $190 billion pipeline of LNG projects, many of which it says may be too exposed to any changes in LNG pricing.
Unseasonal wet weather in the Pilbara has prompted Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group to trim its production guidance for the current financial year.
Embattled explorer Intrepid Mines will work to determine the true identity of those responsible for a sizeable protest vote against the company’s board yesterday.
Soaring demand for warehouse space linked to the growth in online shopping has triggered a profit guidance upgrade for the Goodman Group, which expects strong earnings growth to continue into next year.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: A NSW Blues fan who was beaten to the brink of death in central Sydney has been given tickets to watch the series final. Questions are being asked about the NSW parole system after a released murderer was charged with intending to rape and kill a woman.
Page 2: Parliamentary debate about the NSW parole system has revealed 69 murderers and 296 sex pests are on parole in the community.
Page 3: The father of a murdered Sydney teenager said a call from NSW corrective services informing him his daughter's killer had allegedly struck again brought back painful memories.
World: A second miracle has been attributed to late pope John Paul II, a crucial step towards making him a saint.
Business: The sharemarket has gone into a tailspin over concerns the US will stop its quantitative easing program, with more than $30 billion wiped off the value of Australian companies.
Sport: NSW Blues fullback Josh Dugan says he has a massive debt to repay to the team's coach Laurie Daley for showing faith in him.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: The family of a murdered Sydney teenager begged the parole authority to reconsider its decision to free her killer, who allegedly tried to rape and murder another woman on Wednesday night.
Page 2: The falling Australian dollar has raised hope in the nation's export industries, particularly the manufacturing sector where 57,000 jobs were shed last year.
Page 3: Almost 4,000 jobs from Australia's profitable big banks have been offshored and ANZ has plans to shut its Melbourne call centre which will affect about 340 positions.
World: During a Senate testimony FBI director Robert Mueller has revealed the organisation uses drones to spy on American citizens, but says it's done in a "very, very minimal way."
Business: The Australian dollar and sharemarket have been smashed after investors were scared by signs America would wind down its stimulus program.
Sport: Benji Marshall has been in talks with the Wests Tigers NRL club about his future as speculation swirls about a possible switch to rugby union by the star five-eighth.
The Age
Page 1: A Melbourne magistrate has ruled that police cannot pull over vehicles without a reason in a case that has reignited questions of racial profiling by law enforcement.
Page 2: An army reservist who was allegedly a key member of the Jedi Council internet sex ring was sacked by defence contractor Thales in 2010, yet was not suspended by Defence until more than two years later.
Page 3: A future Coalition government could impose special tax brackets for both individuals and companies as part of Tony Abbott's radical plan to transform Australia's vast, under-populated north into a productive international food bowl and a major tourism generator.
World: The FBI employs drones in domestic surveillance operations, director Robert Mueller revealed, but said they were used in a very, very minimal way.
Finance: The Australian sharemarket and US dollar have been smashed as part of a global rout, after investors were spooked by the US Federal Reserves clearest signal yet of a possible end to its multi-trillion-dollar stimulus program.
Sport: St Kilda has thwarted a potential player rebellion by assuring its senior group that it had every intention of clearing Stephen Milne to play, potentially within the next four weeks.
The Herald Sun
Page 1: Two predators strolled unhindered from the home to some of Victoria's worst sex offenders in the latest alarming mishap to plague the justice system.
Page 2: Travellers, drivers, homeowners and online shoppers are facing higher prices as the Australian dollar drops to a 33-month low.
Page 3: The radio station behind last year's infamous royal prank call that led to the suicide of a UK nurse is trying to stop the broadcast watchdog's investigation.
World: Bowing to mass protests, authorities of Brazil's two biggest cities Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will roll back transport fare increases that had triggered widespread unrest.
Finance: The Australian dollar has plunged to its lowest level in almost three years after the world's most powerful central banker unveiled plans to turn off the "money tap."
Sport: Hawthorn believes its pay offer to Lance Franklin is $7.5 million behind what the star could earn at Greater Western Sydney over six years.