‘Rising ocean’ to hit $400m coast project
A $400 million coastal development is being reviewed by the State Government after data revealed that parts of the site could potentially be plunged under the water because of rising sea levels. Planning Minister John Day revealed that the Port Kennedy development, on the coast of Warnbro Sound, had become financially unviable in the light of new climate change predictions. The West
RBA won’t admit housing concerns, says ex-official
Reserve Bank of Australia policymakers would be “enormously worried” about the threat of a property bubble but unable to admit it, says a former senior central bank official. The Fin
Jakarta fires shot across PM’s bow
Indonesia has warned the Coalition that ‘‘unilateral’’ measures could risk bilateral cooperation on asylum-seekers, raising diplomatic tension over Tony Abbott’s border-protection policies on the eve of his visit to Jakarta. The Aus
BHP’s uranium woes
BHP Billiton chief Andrew Mackenzie says the slump in the world uranium prices means even the existing Olympic Dam operations need to make more gains in productivity, and warned the resource giant requires a technological breakthrough to allow an expansion of the project. The Fin
Single mums priority in welfare overhaul
Simplified income-support payments and a financial boost for single mothers will be considered as the Abbott government embarks on dramatic reform of the nation’s welfare system. The Aus
IPCC more certain on warming
The hottest days in Australia will increase in temperature by up to 6 degrees and higher than previously predicted sea-level rises could decimate the Northern Territory’s Kakadu wetlands, according to an international scientific report to be released today. The Fin
Knives out for Greens leader as split deepens
Days after being re-elected as unopposed head of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne’s leadership is being tested by a nasty split exposed by the resignation of long standing chief of staff Ben Oquist. The Fin
WA gold royalties ‘light on’
There were mounting fears last night that the cash-strapped State Government was eyeing WA’s battered gold sector after Premier Colin Barnett told Parliament he believed its royalty rate was “light on”. The West
Synergy profits eroded
WA’s monopoly household electricity retailer is under renewed financial pressure after average household consumption fell for the second year in a row. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The hottest days in Australia will increase in temperature by up to 6 degrees and higher than previously predicted sea-level rises could decimate the Northern Territory’s Kakadu wetlands, according to an international scientific report to be released today.
NBN Co board member Kerry Schott has acknowledged the network’s board “struggled” with the rollout of the telecommunications project, arguing that former NBN head Mike Quigley was “not the right person” to run it.
Industry and retail superannuation funds have kicked off a battle against the fast-growing self-managed sector.
Page 4: An inquiry into the tax system will be linked to a review of state and federal relations, a move that gives the Abbott government more latitude to propose changing the goods and services tax after its first term in office.
Page 5: Reserve Bank of Australia policymakers would be “enormously worried” about the threat of a property bubble but unable to admit it, says a former senior central bank official.
Page 7: Days after being re-elected as unopposed head of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne’s leadership is being tested by a nasty split exposed by the resignation of long standing chief of staff Ben Oquist.
Trade Andrew Robb has ordered trade officials to seek an urgent resolution with Chinese authorities over their decision to ban imports on Australian chilled beef, a move seen by experts as being driven by broader trade negotiations.
Page 11: Australia’s population rose above 23 million for the first time in the March quarter of this year, according to official statistics, and overseas migrants accounted for most of the increase.
Page 13: Kerry Schott, chairman of the Moore-bank Intermodal Company, believes the private sector could fund a proposed freight terminal in south-western Sydney built on government land, potentially making it harder for Chris Corrigan’s Qube Logitstics to progress with a rival hub.
ANZ Banking Group Australia chief Phil Chronican has hosed down concerns of an imminent property bubble, but says hundreds of thousands of new houses need to be built to fill a massive undersupply and prevent prices from running out of control.
Page 15: BHP Billiton chief Andrew Mackenzie says the slump in the world uranium prices means even the existing Olympic Dam operations need to make more gains in productivity, and warned the resource giant requires a technological breakthrough to allow an expansion of the project.
Page 22: The Australian sharemarket continues to buck global trends by closing higher again with local investors buoyed by better than expected jobs data.
Page 34: The impact of the mining slowdown on demand for hotel rooms, serviced apartments and guest houses was confirmed in June quarter tourist accommodation figures
The Australian
Page 1: Indonesia has warned the Coalition that ‘‘unilateral’’ measures could risk bilateral cooperation on asylum-seekers, raising diplomatic tension over Tony Abbott’s border-protection policies on the eve of his visit to Jakarta.
Simplified income-support payments and a financial boost for single mothers will be considered as the Abbott government embarks on dramatic reform of the nation’s welfare system.
The federal government will overhaul its peak infrastructure agency to lure more private investment into new construction under ambitious plans that include the use of commonwealth debt to fund major projects.
Page 4: Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks Party will be resurrected despite a revolt over its preference dealing and a poor performance at the ballot box, with even its strongest state, Victoria, more than 430,000 first-preference votes short of a Senate quota.
Page 5: The ‘‘sensible’’ and ‘‘moderate’’ predictions expected to be made in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fifth update report tomorrow would open the way for more constructive discussions on how best to combat climate change, according to Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist.
Page 17: ANZ Australia chief Phil Chronican has raised the prospect that regulators may be forced to impose limits on bank lending to cool house prices, as the soft economy forces the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates at record lows.
Tony Abbott’s defence that he filled his cabinet on ‘‘merit’’, resulting in only one female, is a nonsense argument, according to the head of Women on Boards.
Page 18: Tony Abbott is soliciting nominations from businesspeople to join his newly formed Business Advisory Council.
Page 26: TIGERAIR Australia is launching Sydney-Perth services in its first strategic move since Virgin Australia took majority control.
The West Australian
Page 11: A $400 million coastal development is being reviewed by the State Government after data revealed that parts of the site could potentially be plunged under the water because of rising sea levels. Planning Minister John Day revealed that the Port Kennedy development, on the coast of Warnbro Sound, had become financially unviable in the light of new climate change predictions.
Page 12: Fifty London-style taxis will hit the streets of Perth from late next month under a four year trial of the five-seater vehicles.
WA’s monopoly household electricity retailer is under renewed financial pressure after average household consumption fell for the second year in a row.
Page 13: WA’s foremost water researcher says the axing of a stand-alone body to manage the Swan and Canning rivers is a backward step for a river system “close to disaster”.
Page 14: Forget the mining boom – WA is going through a baby boom with almost 100 children a day being born.
Page 17: The City of Perth will not only support splitting the City of Vincent but will also push for a new northern border to divide the Leederville town centre from residential areas.
Page 18: Tony Abbott has played down warnings from the Reserve Bank about the DIY superannuation sector while trying to encourage more “exuberance” across the economy.
The Barnett government’s strained Budget bottom line got a small boost yesterday after the Insurance Commission of WA declared a bigger-than-expected dividend for 2012-13.
Business: There were mounting fears last night that the cash-strapped State Government was eyeing WA’s battered gold sector after Premier Colin Barnett told Parliament he believed its royalty rate was “light on”.
Louis Dreyfus has become the latest global agribusiness to grab a strategic share of grains industry infrastructure in WA, joining a recent spending spree by US-based Cargill and Bungee and China’s Beidahuang Group.
Sandfire Resources managing director Karl Simich says the company’s debt repayment schedule is “too aggressive” and needs to be restructured to give it more “headroom” as it moves to steady-state production at its DeGrussa copper and gold mine.
