Morning Headlines

Budget to reopen uni fight

University fees will be deregulated in next week’s budget but the Coalition will try to ward off a Labor scare campaign by softening what was one of the most unpopular policies of the Abbott government. The Fin

Mid-tier miners urge lockout for big rivals

Mid-tier iron ore miners have come out swinging over the State Government’s proposed sale of Port Hedland’s Utah Point facility, demanding the Pilbara’s big exporters be permanently locked out of the terminal. The West

Optus turns off data, turns up volume for music

Optus is looking to cement its place in the market as a premium content-focused player, with the telco offering customers data-free access to a raft of music streaming services. The Aus

Pacific Brands could finally depart the ASX

US clothing maker HanesBrands offered $1.1 billion for Pacific Brands and said it could almost double earnings within three years by shifting production from contract manufacturers to its own factories in Asia, boosting sales of Bonds and Sheridan through retail stores and possibly taking some of PacBrands’ smaller labels overseas. The Fin

Ferrovial in box seat for Broadspectrum

Spanish giant Ferrovial looks set to finally gain control of detention centre owner Broadspectrum after moves by Papua New Guinea’s government to shut the Manus Island asylum seeker centre helped persuade wavering shareholders to back the $794 million hostile bid. The Aus

Northern Star shines as gold prices rise, costs dip

Northern Star Resources enjoyed a record cash flow in the March quarter thanks to strong Australian dollar gold prices and lower costs. The Aus

Dissent over WA exclusion

The heads of all Gascoyne councils and the development commission have written to Federal MPs to protest against the region’s exclusion from a Federal definition of northern Australia that favours Queensland and the Northern Territory. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: University fees will be deregulated in next week’s budget but the Coalition will try to ward off a Labor scare campaign by softening what was one of the most unpopular policies of the Abbott government.

Page 3: A bid by billionaire Bruce Gordon’s WIN Corporation to stop Nine Entertainment from streaming its channels into regional Australia over the internet has been rejected the NSW Supreme Court, in a blow to other regional broadcasters as they negotiate deals with their affiliates.

Page 4: The Coalition government is preparing to seize on historically-low global interest rates to accelerate borrowing for a wave of city-building infrastructure projects in tandem with private investors riding shotgun on the Commonwealth’s AAA balance sheet.

Page 7: The Greens want the government to raise more tax for services, including a ‘‘millionaire’s tax’’, and to borrow to fund infrastructure, but acknowledge a lid needs to be kept on budget deficits.

Page 9: Fund managers hope for an ‘‘export boom’’ to Asia under an international agreement and new legal structures in next week’s federal budget, but want the government to go further and abolish withholding taxes for foreign investors.

Page 10: One of Australia’s large superannuation fund managers has warned that credit growth numbers in China ‘‘look very scary’’ and need a lot of research before new investment can be justified.

Page 14: The tourism and agricultural industries have threatened to make the planned ‘‘backpacker tax’’ an election issue if the federal government fails to alter it as part of the upcoming budget on Tuesday.

Page 15: US clothing maker HanesBrands offered $1.1 billion for Pacific Brands and said it could almost double earnings within three years by shifting production from contract manufacturers to its own factories in Asia, boosting sales of Bonds and Sheridan through retail stores and possibly taking some of PacBrands’ smaller labels overseas.

Tabcorp chief executive David Attenborough says overseas bookmakers only had themselves to blame after the federal government strengthened a ban on online in-play betting on sports and banned credit betting in a move likely to erode the bookies’ growing market share.

Page 17: The chief executive of vitamins-maker Blackmores says she expects more regulatory changes in China, but the business is now so well-entrenched with multiple routes to market that strong trading momentum will continue.

Page 25: Independence Group managing director Peter Bradford says the miner’s sale of its stake in Gold Road Resources is not indicative of a change in its growth strategy amid challenging market conditions for base metals.

The Australian

Page 1: Australia’s health bureaucracy is growing faster than national employment and now rivals the country’s 17,300-strong army and airforce reserves, with one administrator for every 3.4 hospital beds nationally.

Labor’s climate change policies pose a threat to the already precarious financial security of some of the most vulnerable Australians, including pensioners and the unemployed, welfare groups have warned.

Page 2: A blueprint on how to transition Australia’s energy sector to low emissions generation will be handed to the government by September after 17 prominent Australians joined forces to draw up the plan.

Page 4: The federal government is preparing to slash the $153 million in annual licence fees paid by free-to-air television networks in next week’s budget, delivering a major windfall to the sector.

Page 19: One of the nation’s most respected food industry executives has warned that Murray Goulburn’s shock profit downgrade could damage investor sentiment towards the entire dairy sector as the co-op faces inquiries by the corporate regulator and a potential multi-million-dollar class action over its disclosure practices.

Spanish giant Ferrovial looks set to finally gain control of detention centre owner Broadspectrum after moves by Papua New Guinea’s government to shut the Manus Island asylum seeker centre helped persuade wavering shareholders to back the $794 million hostile bid.

Page 20: Northern Star Resources enjoyed a record cash flow in the March quarter thanks to strong Australian dollar gold prices and lower costs.

Page 21: Optus is looking to cement its place in the market as a premium content-focused player, with the telco offering customers data-free access to a raft of music streaming services.

The West Australian

Page 1: Billions of dollars in train, tram and public infrastructure funding will be unlocked to make Australia’s cities more liveable.

Page 3: Businesswoman and arts patron Janet Holmes a Court says she will lead the charge against the proposed cable car to Kings Park, describing the idea as dreadful, rubbish and an ugly blot on a wonderful view.

Page 6: The contract price to build the tunnel, rail and station works for the Forrestfield-Airport line has come in at $1.18 billion, significantly lower than Government pre-estimates.

The Turnbull Government has stopped efforts by the Senate to access any documents behind the Perth Freight Link.

Page 9: Patrick Lionel Dodson will take his place in Canberra already “a giant of WA politics” after being formally endorsed by State Parliament as a Labor senator yesterday.

Page 11: Federal Assistant Health Minister Ken Wyatt has urged people to defer retirement and take a gap year to be a grey nomad before returning to work.

Page 13: Health experts believe Australia is on the brink of virtually eradicating cervical cancer because of vaccine and testing breakthroughs.

Page 14: People smoking contraband and counterfeit cigarettes are costing the Budget almost $1.5 billion a year, a report commissioned by the tobacco industry claims.

Page 21: The heads of all Gascoyne councils and the development commission have written to Federal MPs to protest against the region’s exclusion from a Federal definition of northern Australia that favours Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Business: Mid-tier iron ore miners have come out swinging over the State Government’s proposed sale of Port Hedland’s Utah Point facility, demanding the Pilbara’s big exporters be permanently locked out of the terminal.

A row over land tenure reforms has failed to deter overseas investors behind a record-breaking deal to buy four cattle stations in the Kimberley.