Hancock’s $162m dividend
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting paid out $162 million in dividends last financial year, and has flagged the payment of up to $324 million from its $3.4 billion cash pile. The West
Qld generator takes Wesfarmers to court
The Queensland government’s power generator, Stanwell Corporation, is suing Wesfarmers for hundreds of millions of dollars over what it claims are unpaid royalties from a coal mine they are developing in Central Queensland. The Fin
Native title counter-claim looms for Fortescue mine site
Two of the major Aboriginal groups in Western Australia’s Pilbara region are heading for a bitter legal stoush over competing native title claims covering Fortescue Metals Group’s Solomon iron ore mine. The Aus
Palmer opens the books in scramble for funds
The Western Australian government will gain an intimate look at the inner financial workings of Clive Palmer’s troubled business group, amid concerns about the future of a $12 billion iron ore project. The Aus
NBN faces hit on Optus wires
NBN Co spent $800 million to buy and reuse Optus’ cable network. Now it may be forced to invest another $375 million to rebuild parts of the fading network because it isn’t capable of delivering high-speed broadband to enough people. The Fin
McAleese investors vote against pay report
McAleese has received a first strike against its remuneration report as investors questioned management’s ability to turn around the troubled transport group and revive its low stock price. The Fin
$1bn sting in training college rort
Taxpayers have funnelled more than $1 billion to 15 private colleges found in breach of government regulations this year but legislation aimed at fixing the rorted training scheme is delayed in the Senate. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Former BHP chairman Don Argus, who introduced the company’s policy of never cutting its $US6.6 billion dividend, says it wasn’t designed to be a permanent strategy.
Page 4: Secret plans by Tony Abbott and his former chief of staff Peta Credlin to extend Parliament House have been quietly killed off.
Page 6: The government is being urged to close a superannuation loophole that allows high income earners to reduce their tax bills while they continue to work full time.
Page 8: Australia will push for more accountability from rival trading countries on their emissions reduction targets at next week’s Paris climate conference, so that commitments and achievements can be easily tracked in five-yearly ‘‘stocktakes’’.
Page 9: The Queensland government’s power generator, Stanwell Corporation, is suing Wesfarmers for hundreds of millions of dollars over what it claims are unpaid royalties from a coal mine they are developing in Central Queensland.
Page 10: NBN Co spent $800 million to buy and reuse Optus’ cable network. Now it may be forced to invest another $375 million to rebuild parts of the fading network because it isn’t capable of delivering high-speed broadband to enough people.
Page 13: A dispute between a major subcontractor and the head builder at Perth’s $1.2 billion children’s hospital has escalated, with John Holland seizing more than $3 million in bank guarantees to pay for alleged defects to the project’s external facade.
Page 19: Poker machine maker Aristocrat Leisure said it has been urged by shareholders to focus on scouring the globe for more deals during the next 12 months, rather than returning excess cash to investors.
Page 21: McAleese has received a first strike against its remuneration report as investors questioned management’s ability to turn around the troubled transport group and revive its low stock price.
Page 22: Commonwealth Bank, the country’s most profitable bank, will pay refunds to 216,000 customers for failing to honour discounts on mortgage interest rates and fees that it had promised, mistakes that meant borrowers were overcharged.
Page 30: Telstra is set to use its experience in Indonesia as a ‘‘cookie cutter’’ model for its planned expansion into other parts of Asia.
The Australian
Page 1: Taxpayers have funnelled more than $1 billion to 15 private colleges found in breach of government regulations this year but legislation aimed at fixing the rorted training scheme is delayed in the Senate.
Page 2: The Western Australian government will gain an intimate look at the inner financial workings of Clive Palmer’s troubled business group, amid concerns about the future of a $12 billion iron ore project.
Page 3: More viewers are spending their evenings watching programs on Netflix, Stan, Foxtel and catchup TV, according to technology research firm Telsyte, rather than staying glued to free-to-air.
Page 6: Two of the major Aboriginal groups in Western Australia’s Pilbara region are heading for a bitter legal stoush over competing native title claims covering Fortescue Metals Group’s Solomon iron ore mine.
Page 19: Key members of Woolworths management team were not told of new chairman Gordon Cairns’s “captain’s pick” to appoint Roger Corbett as a special adviser to the under-pressure retailer that will see the former chief executive paid more than $700,000 a year to help save the company.
The federal government is gaining ground in its bid to expose the $2 trillion superannuation industry to greater oversight, with crossbench senators warming to the reforms after taking a battering from Labor in a brutal debate in the upper house.
Oil Search boss Peter Botten has stepped up his defence against Woodside Petroleum’s $11 billion takeover approach amid continued stalking by the predator, emphasising Oil Search’s better returns and declaring the company a Papua New Guinea national champion.
Page 20: Gina Rinehart almost tripled the dividends paid by her private company Hancock Prospecting last year, despite a big fall in both profit and cash flow due to the slump in iron ore prices.
The West Australian
Page 1: Main Roads WA wants the State Government to build a tunnel under Beaconsfield and White Gum Valley that would cut road fatalities, increase house values and improve the quality of life for thousands of residents.
Page 14: WA’s peak medical group is urging the State Government to delay the start of new mental health laws amid claims doctors have been kept in the dark.
Page 15: Colin Barnett has warned of a “dramatic increase” in the number of sharks off WA but conceded shark-proof swimming enclosures earmarked for two popular beaches may not be in place in time for this summer.
Page 17: The Liberal Party is bracing for a fight in Rob Johnson’s seat of Hillarys with confirmation that North Metropolitan Upper House MP Peter Katsambanis will contest preselection.
Page 18: Mental health services are in for a generational shake-up with individualised care packages introduced for people with complex needs.
Page 20: Commuters believe expanding Perth’s public transport is the best way to resolve the city’s traffic woes.
Business: Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting paid out $162 million in dividends last financial year, and has flagged the payment of up to $324 million from its $3.4 billion cash pile.
Empire Oil & Gas chairman Tony Iannello is hopeful of drawing a line under a year of big achievements but also substantial protest from shareholders with a capital consolidation that should lift the Perth company out of penny dreadful status.
One of the world’s biggest fertiliser producers and marketers is about to enter the WA market in a move with big ramifications for Wesfarmers-owned CSBP.
Roy Hill Holdings has accused head contractor Samsung C&T of deliberately holding up its $10 billion iron ore project in pursuit of commercial strategy, the Supreme Court was told yesterday.