Morning Headlines

Boat breaches border, blackout

The first asylum boat to arrive since Tony Abbott was sworn in as Prime Minister — and a media blackout on new arrivals was imposed — was escorted into Christmas Island yesterday. The Aus

Tax office told: lay off contractors

The Abbott government has begun reshaping Australia’s workplace system by reversing a “concerted attack” by the Australian Taxation Office and other government agencies on self-employed people and independent contractors under Labor. The Fin

Telstra chases NBN construction deal

Telstra has built a test site for the Coalition’s preferred national broadband network technology as part of an aggressive strategy to win billions of dollars in construction contracts. The Fin

$200m-plus for WA trio in Bell settlement

Veteran businessmen Danny Hill, Brian Coppin and Wayne Bowen  are set to pocket $200 million-plus from banks and liquidators settling their two decade legal battle over the4 stripping of Alan Bond’s Bell Group. The West

Roy Hill contracts reach $2.37bn

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is increasingly confident of completing the $7 billion debt funding necessary to develop its Roy Hill iron ore mine by the end of the year after handing out at least $2.37 billion worth of contracts in the past month. The Fin

NBN board offers to quit en masse

The entire board of the National Broadband Network has reportedly tendered its resignation to the new Coalition government. Fairfax Media reports today NBN chairwoman Siobhan McKenna offered the en masse resignations to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week. The Aus

Fury at merger ‘cherrypicking’

Former City of Perth councillors-turned MPs, Alannah MacTiernan and Eleni Evangel, yesterday teamed up to criticise the council for being reluctant to accept a united City of Vincent into its boundaries. The West

Coalition bid to fix project paralysis

Master plans for future development of the Great Barrier Reef and the nation’s major coal, iron ore and gas regions have been fast-tracked to help deliver a Coalition promise to cut green tape and break the decision making ‘‘paralysis’’ of the Rudd and Gillard governments. The Aus

Abbott’s friend vows some fights

An ‘‘informal’’ voting bloc of conservative senators may be in place next July, with Family First’s likely senator-elect saying the new batch of micro- and minor-party politicians share the same views on a lot of policies. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Abbott government has begun reshaping Australia’s workplace system by reversing a “concerted attack” by the Australian Taxation Office and other government agencies on self-employed people and independent contractors under Labor.

Treasurer Joe Hockey has downplayed fears record-low Reserve Bank of Australia interest rates are laying the foundations for another housing bubble and said rising prices should send a signal to builders and their lenders of the need to boost supply.

Page 3: Telstra has built a test site for the Coalition’s preferred national broadband network technology as part of an aggressive strategy to win billions of dollars in construction contracts.

Australia will need to start enriching uranium and storing the nuclear waste if it is going to sustain a competitive uranium industry in the future, says senior finance and resource figure Mark Johnson.

Page 10: China will be seen as an economic opportunity rather than a potential adversary in an upcoming Abbott government defence white paper, Defence Minister David Johnston says.

The Coalition has backed down on its controversial plans to put an effective gag on reporting asylum-seeker boat arrivals.

Page 17: Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is increasingly confident of completing the $7 billion debt funding necessary to develop its Roy Hill iron ore mine by the end of the year after handing out at least $2.37 billion worth of contracts in the past month.

Page 18: Ruralco says it may quit its holding in one-time takeover target Elders but won’t make a decision until mid-November.

Page 19: Westpac Banking Corp is offering home buyers $1,500 in cash if they take out a mortgage with the bank in a sign that competition for customers is intensifying.

Page 22: High-profile company director Mark Johnson has warned the Reserve Bank of Australia not to dare intervene in currency markets as its battle against a high Australia dollar rages on.

Page 37: Seven West Media has raised concerns with the competition regulator about a potential sales joint venture between Ten Network Holdings and Foxtel-owned MCN, arguing against any consolidation between free-to-air and pay television.

Page 40: Negotiations over the proposed internationalisation of Commonwealth Bank’s property platform are under way in earnest after the bank named its price last week to the funds’ managers.

The Australian

Page 1: The first asylum boat to arrive since Tony Abbott was sworn in as Prime Minister — and a media blackout on new arrivals was imposed — was escorted into Christmas Island yesterday.

Master plans for future development of the Great Barrier Reef and the nation’s major coal, iron ore and gas regions have been fast-tracked to help deliver a Coalition promise to cut green tape and break the decision making ‘‘paralysis’’ of the Rudd and Gillard governments.

An Australian is among the casualties of the unfolding Kenyan shopping mall siege, in which at least 59 people have been killed and about 200 wounded.

Bill Shorten has revealed that, if elected Labor leader, he will instruct his team to develop a suite of policies targeting single parents, including the possible restoration of the single parents pension he was responsible for slashing as minister.

Page 2: An ‘‘informal’’ voting bloc of conservative senators may be in place next July, with Family First’s likely senator-elect saying the new batch of micro- and minor-party politicians share the same views on a lot of policies.

Page 3: The entire board of the National Broadband Network has reportedly tendered its resignation to the new Coalition government. Fairfax Media reports today NBN chairwoman Siobhan McKenna offered the en masse resignations to Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week.

Page 4: The Coalition government is facing a long-term conflict between its industry and climate change policies as it vows to spark new growth in manufacturing just as it claims an early benefit from a slowdown in the sector.

Page 5: Independent schools will have to wait at least two more months before they know the level of government funding they will receive next year, with the process of calculating each school’s amount described as ‘‘incredibly complicated’’.

Page 17: Companies with a market value of at least $13 billion are expected to be launched on the Australian Securities Exchange in the next 12 months, and almost half are tipped to debut by Christmas.

Page 19: Australian non-bank lender Pepper Group is circling up to $18 billion worth of debt and financing businesses in Australia and Europe with its global investment banking and hedge fund partners.

Page 23: Foxtel has muscled up in the battle with the free-to-air television sector over Netflix-style ‘‘video on demand’’ subscription services, with the Pay-TV operator unveiling a new platform offering extensive movie content over the internet.

The West Australian

Page 10: Former City of Perth councillors-turned MPs, Alannah MacTiernan and Eleni Evangel, yesterday teamed up to criticise the council for being reluctant to accept a united City of Vincent into its boundaries.

Page 11: The first boat of asylum seekers to arrive under the Abbott Government’s watch has put a hole in its efforts to shut down how much information about boats is made public.

The first recount of votes in a Federal seat will start today after mining magnate Clive Palmer won the Queensland electorate of Fairfax by 36 votes.

Page 12: WA’s biggest business lobby has thrown its weight behind the Barnett government’s long-term plan to privatise electricity utilities, arguing it will ultimately lead to lower power prices.

Business: Veteran businessmen Danny Hill, Brian Coppin and Wayne Bowen  are set to pocket $200 million-plus from banks and liquidators settling their two decade legal battle over the4 stripping of Alan Bond’s Bell Group.

Adam Harry, the general manager of John Holland, western region, has suddenly quit his job as the company endures crucial preparations for a consortium bid to build the $1 billion Burswood Stadium.