Morning Headlines

Support much higher than poll stats: Hanson

Pauline Hanson is confident she can secure the balance of power in Western Australia, warning the major parties that support for her One Nation party is far larger than recent polling suggests. The Fin

World awaits Trump presidential debut

Donald Trump’s inaugural address as the 45th president of the United States in Washington on Friday US time will be closely watched by investors and governments around the world for any signals about the new administration’s economic and foreign policy priorities. The Fin

Poor jobs figures erode Coalition ‘growth’ drive

Fewer than 100,000 new jobs were generated across the country last year, the poorest result since the final year of Labor government, undermining the Turnbull government’s election message of ‘jobs and growth’. The Aus

Senate to assess Centrelink’s automated welfare crackdown

Centrelink’s debt recovery system will be scrutinised by a Senate inquiry, as Liberal MPs join Labor and social services groups in complaining about the automated welfare crackdown. The Aus

Mining jobs are back in demand

Demand for resource jobs jumped last year as confidence grew that the worst was over for the sector, with further gains tipped this year from growing investment and Adani’s Carmichael coal project planned in Queensland. The Aus

Labor takes green risk

WA Labor has set itself on a collision course with industry after revealing it could remove the environment minister’s ability to approve projects and hand the powers back to a third umpire. The West

AFL chairman backs WA utility sell-off

Mike Fitzpatrick - the WA-born chairman of the AFL and one of Australia’s highest profile businessmen - has given in-principle backing to privatising Western Power. The West

McDonald’s ‘time of disrepute’

The Master Builders Association has lashed out at the ongoing national president of the construction union, Joe McDonald, accusing him of having brought the sector into disrepute. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: NSW Premier Mike Baird, who is retiring from politics after just three years in the job, said his biggest regret in office was the failure of a national push to overhaul the taxation system, which appeared to be a parting criticism of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The head of Rio Tinto’s Boyne Island aluminium smelter has accused Queensland’s state-owned generators of being ‘un-Australian’ after soaring power prices forced the company to slash production and cut jobs.

Page 3: Pauline Hanson is confident she can secure the balance of power in Western Australia, warning the major parties that support for her One Nation party is far larger than recent polling suggests.

Page 4: Men are increasingly taking on casual work while women are gradually shifting away from part-time jobs and towards full-time jobs.

Page 6: Startups are concerned that the revolving door of ministers in charge of the innovation portfolio will prevent smart policy decisions being made.

Page 10: Senior Liberals say NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian, in line to replace Mike Baird as the next NSW premier after a party-room vote next week, has all the right elements to be a good premier but is missing one key ingredient - a public profile.

Page 12: Donald Trump’s inaugural address as the 45th president of the United States in Washington on Friday US time will be closely watched by investors and governments around the world for any signals about the new administration’s economic and foreign policy priorities.

Page 15: Woodside Petroleum is in ‘great shape’ to make further acquisitions but its enlarged portfolio has paved the way for five years of growth without any further deals, according to chief executive Peter Coleman.

The Australian

Page 1: Mike Baird has taken a parting shot at Australia’s failure to embark on tax reform and warned that states face a health funding ‘cliff’ after a shock resignation that paves the way for Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian to become the state’s seventh premier in 12 years.

Fewer than 100,000 new jobs were generated across the country last year, the poorest result since the final year of Labor government, undermining the Turnbull government’s election message of ‘jobs and growth’.

Page 2: Victorian taxpayers will partially fund the building of a $150 million solar plant to be used to power Melbourne’s tram network.

Pauline Hanson fought back tears as she unveiled 40 One Nation candidates who will contest the West Australian election on March 11, amid predictions that surging support for her party will enable it to hold the balance of power in the state’s upper house.

Page 8: The Queensland government has given preliminary approval for a $750 million resort despite it being in protected koala habitat and proposed by a Chinese developer who made more than $60,000 in political donations to the local mayor.

Centrelink’s debt recovery system will be scrutinised by a Senate inquiry, as Liberal MPs join Labor and social services groups in complaining about the automated welfare crackdown.

Page 17: Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman has all but closed the door on the company’s M&A phase, declaring the company will focus on developing its existing acquisitions rather than chasing other assets to fill its declining production base.

Contrarian investor isn’t a description most would give to the $20 billion Hostplus superannuation fund, which looks after the savings of Australia’s hospitality and tourism workers, but chief executive David Elia believes his fund’s contrarianism is the source of its industry-beating performance.

Page 18: Demand for resource jobs jumped last year as confidence grew that the worst was over for the sector, with further gains tipped this year from growing investment and Adani’s Carmichael coal project planned in Queensland.

The West Australian

Page 1: WA Labor has set itself on a collision course with industry after revealing it could remove the environment minister’s ability to approve projects and hand the powers back to a third umpire.

Page 3: Fringe World has been unleashed on WA for the sixth year.

An Increasing number of schools have more than half of their students failing to get a university entrance score.

Page 6: Mike Fitzpatrick - the WA-born chairman of the AFL and one of Australia’s highest profile businessmen - has given in-principle backing to privatising Western Power.

Page 9: One Nation’s election campaign in WA turned to farce within hours of its candidates being named and endorsed yesterday, with one candidate insisting he wasn’t running in the electorate the party chose for him.

Page 12: The Master Builders Association has lashed out at the ongoing national president of the construction union, Joe McDonald, accusing him of having brought the sector into disrepute.

Page 17: WA will take a diverse team of four nominees to the Australian of the Year Awards in Canberra on Wednesday.

Page 20: WA’s jobs market has stopped bleeding but job seekers remain discouraged about their prospects, the latest employment data indicates.

Page 54: Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman is putting his hopes on the ramp-up of Wheatstone going well as the Perth-based group braces for a big reduction in its domestic gas sales this year.

The fate of one of the biggest lithium deposits in WA is set to rest on whether the Supreme Court finds the content of an email exchange and telephone call constitutes a contract for the sale of lithium rights to Kidman Resources’ Earl Grey deposit.

Page 55: BHP Billiton and Vale hope to conclude negotiations with the Brazilian government by the middle of the year to put to bed a $63.1 billion damages claim over the Samarco tailings dam disaster.

A carpentry subcontractor has been placed into liquidation after it was unable to recover $71,000 it says it is owed by commercial and residential builder Builton Group.

Committee for Perth chief executive Marion Fulker will have even more leverage in her anti-Dullsville campaign pitch with her appointment to the state’s infrastructure planning committee.

Page 56: America should brace for a final blow-off surge in stock markets akin to the last phase of the dotcom boom or the ‘Gatsby’ years of the Roaring Twenties, followed by a cathartic crash and day of moral judgement, according to a Nobel prize-winning economist.