Abbott sets China FTA deadline
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has backed fast, practical trade deals with individual countries, including China, in an apparent shift away from the last government’s efforts to win comprehensive international agreements. The Fin
Risk to $110bn asset sell-off
Australia’s peak infrastructure body has warned the Abbott government not to jeopardise sales of up to $110 billion in government-owned assets that could help pay for nation-building road, rail and port infrastructure. The Aus
Abbott warns MPs on travel claims ‘doubt’
Some federal MP’s, including ministers, spent $5.6 million on taxpayer-funded foreign travel between July and December 2012, including study tours that took in Dublin’s Guinness plant and Amsterdam’s bicycle infrastructure. The Fin
WA Liberal pays back expenses
WA Federal Liberal MP Steve Irons was forced to repay almost $11,000 in wrongly claimed airfares and car transport fees this year. The West
ISS calls for scalps of Newcrest heads
Newcrest Mining faces a challenge keeping its board intact at its annual general meeting this month after an influential proxy adviser recommended against the re-election of three directors for their role in the disclosure drama that rocked the goldminer in June. The Fin
FMG rail dispute on track for court ruling
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group is refusing to cede ground in its battle to keep junior Brockman Mining off its Pilbara rail network, taking new concerns to the Western Australian Supreme Court. The Fin
Subsidies, federation ‘stifle next big sectors to boom’
Wasteful industry subsidies, a lack of skilled migrants and a ‘‘creaking’’ federation are stopping businesses from reaping maximum benefit from five ‘‘supergrowth’’ industries that can bolster Australia’s enviable prosperity as the mining boom wanes. The Aus
Wheat price holds up for bumper crop
The WA grains industry could reap almost $4 billion through high wheat prices and a bumper harvest this season. The West
Beware hidden NBN costs, warns TPG
TPG Telecom boss David Teoh has backed the new government’s review into the National Broadband Network, urging it to address hidden costs that could laden consumers with high broadband prices. The Aus
Juniors explore FLNG potential
As the likes of Woodside Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell grapple with the technical challenges and political fallout from their floating liquefied natural gas project proposals, Australia’s juniors are beginning to eye the opportunities that could flow from a broader rollout of the revolutionary technology. The Aus
WACA project likely to fold
The ambitious WACA redevelopment is on the verge of collapse and may not survive the end of the year. The West
ERM rejects takeover claims
The tit-for-tat sniping between Empire Oil & Gas and ERM Power has escalated, with ERM rejecting the smaller company’s claim that a planned board spill at Empire was a takeover by stealth The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Prime Minister Tony Abbott has backed fast, practical trade deals with individual countries, including China, in an apparent shift away from the last government’s efforts to win comprehensive international agreements.
Treasurer Joe Hockey, on the eve of meetings with the heads of the US Federal Reserve, IMF, and World Bank, has raised concerns that the US budget and debt-ceiling impasse will damage the Australian economy unless resolved soon.
Page 3: Some federal MP’s, including ministers, spent $5.6 million on taxpayer-funded foreign travel between July and December 2012, including study tours that took in Dublin’s Guinness plant and Amsterdam’s bicycle infrastructure.
Casino and resort operator Crown has extended its sponsorship with Chinese tennis star Li Na for a further two years in a multi-million dollar deal to promote the company to its Asian customers.
Page 4: Warnings a taxpayer-funded loan body for exporters, which assisted Leighton Holdings, should tighten its rules on bribery were ignored by the Labor federal government and will be revisited in a parliamentary push by the Greens.
Russell Waugh, one of several Leighton Holdings alleged to have known about bribes to secure Middle East contracts, signed a statutory declaration before joining contractor UGL that he had not been involved in any misconduct, sources said.
Page 5: Australian construction rose to its highest level in almost 3 and a half years in September as house and apartment building expanded.
Page 7: The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party’s unexpected election success has turned into a bitter internal dispute that has ruptured the party.
The head of Australia’s largest warship construction project, Rod Equid, will launch a spirited defence of the troubled $8 billion undertaking, lauding a new contracting approach as helping avoid costly commercial disputes, ahead of the government’s consideration of more spending on navy ships.
Page 8: Business and university leaders have united in support of the Abbott government’s new $100 million student exchange program, which is being billed as a modern Colombo Plan.
Page 15: Newcrest Mining faces a challenge keeping its board intact at its annual general meeting this month after an influential proxy adviser recommended against the re-election of three directors for their role in the disclosure drama that rocked the goldminer in June.
Global energy flows are set to be transformed by the $US5.3 billion ($5.6 billion) expansion of the Panama Canal, vastly expanding the volume of gas that will reach Asia from the United States and raising pressure on the $100 billion-plus of proposed Australian liquefied natural gas projects to lift competitiveness.
Page 17: Agribusiness investor Doug Shears, who has a net worth of $345 million according to the latest BRW Rich List, has lost an eight-year legal battle to extract an extra $3.47 million in dividends from the sale of fruit juice group Berri in late 2005.
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group is refusing to cede ground in its battle to keep junior Brockman Mining off its Pilbara rail network, taking new concerns to the Western Australian Supreme Court.
Page 18: Telstra customers are taking up 4G devices faster than previously expected, thanks to the rise of compatible smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 5s, says Telstra’s head of networks Mike Wright.
Page 19: Ben Bucknell it as a natural evolution for the sharemarket, but for some investors, it may be more of a revolution. From Tuesday, equity investors will be able to participate in capital raisings and initial public offerings through the Australian Securities Exchange in much the same way as trading shares.
Page 23: An author of the original National Broadband Network implementation study says the number of wireless-only homes could shrink in coming years, as fast fixed-line broadband is rolled out.
Page 28: On the fifth local trading day since the United States halted non-essential spending, the Australian sharemarket fell with the biggest banks and miners all sold off in thin trading.
The Australian
Page 1: Tony Abbott wants Australia’s stalled free trade agreement with China finalised within 12 months and is prepared to pursue a pared-back deal with Australia’s biggest trading partner to ensure a swift resolution.
Joe Hockey has outlined plans to lure billions of dollars into major infrastructure projects, raising the prospect of giving private investors a government guarantee to cut their risks.
Page 4: Wasteful industry subsidies, a lack of skilled migrants and a ‘‘creaking’’ federation are stopping businesses from reaping maximum benefit from five ‘‘supergrowth’’ industries that can bolster Australia’s enviable prosperity as the mining boom wanes.
Page 6: In the 1980s and 90s Anthony Albanese was not only fighting Tories, he was fighting to extend democracy throughout the ranks of the Labor Party. And he was fighting the Hawke-Keating Labor government.
In a 1991 article written for Labor Left magazine Challenge, the then 28-year-old called for a radical overhaul of the party at a time when Labor, led by Bob Hawke, was ‘‘in political crisis’’.
Page 7: Fuel supplies in Australia’s three biggest states are in jeopardy after investigations into the transport company involved in a tanker explosion that killed two people in NSW led to nearly 300 defect notices, including for faulty brakes.
Page 17: Australia’s peak infrastructure body has warned the Abbott government not to jeopardise sales of up to $110 billion in government-owned assets that could help pay for nation-building road, rail and port infrastructure.
Leighton Holdings has again moved to hose down the latest allegations of bribery and corruption at the construction and mining giant and vowed to fight a fresh class action that was launched following $1 billion worth of sharemarket losses late last week.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce believes the arrival of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners can help the airline slash domestic mainline costs by 10 percentage points and narrow the competitive gap with rival Virgin Australia.
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group has launched legal action against Western Australia’s Economic Regulation Authority after accusing the government agency of procedural unfairness and making errors in law.
Page 18: As the likes of Woodside Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell grapple with the technical challenges and political fallout from their floating liquefied natural gas project proposals, Australia’s juniors are beginning to eye the opportunities that could flow from a broader rollout of the revolutionary technology.
Page 27: TPG Telecom boss David Teoh has backed the new government’s review into the National Broadband Network, urging it to address hidden costs that could laden consumers with high broadband prices.
The West Australian
Page 1: Transperth is looking to bring politeness back into train and bus travel. Rude and annoying behaviour – including those who talk too loudly or sneeze without putting their hand over their mouth – is the target of a new comic book style campaign known as Two Hoots.
Page 3: The ambitious WACA redevelopment is on the verge of collapse and may not survive the end of the year.
Page 4: Australia will not be used as a platform to “grandstand” against Indonesia, Tony Abbott says.
Page 6: WA Federal Liberal MP Steve Irons was forced to repay almost $11,000 in wrongly claimed airfares and car transport fees this year.
Page 9: The Water Corporation wants to build a major pipeline between Perth and Lancelin under a long-term plan that would drought proof Perth’s northern suburbs but cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Page 14: The WA grains industry could reap almost $4 billion through high wheat prices and a bumper harvest this season.
Business: Fortescue Metals Group’s infrastructure arm has put Brockman Mining’s financial capacity firmly under its guns, seeking a Supreme Court ruling that it is not require4d to negotiate a rail access agreement with the iron ore hopeful.
Energia Minerals has upped the ante in its takeover battle with Tony Sage’s Cauldron Energy, laying claim to three of Cauldron’s exploration tenements and arguing its suitor had failed to meet minimum expenditure commitments.
The tit-for-tat sniping between Empire Oil & Gas and ERM Power has escalated, with ERM rejecting the smaller company’s claim that a planned board spill at Empire was a takeover by stealth
The Woodside Petroleum-run North West Shelf joint venture has defied criticism that the local LNG industry is too costly, delivering its $5 billion North Rankin redevelopment on time and within the initial budget.