Morning Headlines

States keep billions in royalty grab

Australia’s two powerhouse resource states have vowed to keep the multi-billion-dollar royalty hikes they introduced under the cover of federal Labor’s mining tax, rejecting industry calls for them to reduce their take. The Aus

Public listing won’t stop Hughes being hands-on

The proposed sharemarket float of John Hughes Group is said to involve the sale of 40 per cent of the $650 million-a-year car retail empire. The West

BCA seeks deal on domestic gas supply

The Business Council of Australia is looking to broker a possible deal on the contentious issue of cushioning manufacturers from higher energy prices by ensuring adequate supplies of competitively priced gas are available for local use. The Fin

Newcrest under further fire

The tide of protest against Newcrest Mining is building ahead of the gold miner’s annual meeting next week, with another two proxy advisers recommending against key resolutions to be pit to shareholders. The Fin

Rezoning a win for Stockland

Stockland is a step closer to bringing its 1800-home Calleya residential development in Perth’s south-west to market following the City of Cockburn Council approving the rezoning of land at the 145-hectare former Banjup quarry site. The Fin

Shorten signals carbon price fight

Labor leader Bill Shorten has warned there will be a “zero tolerance” approach towards disunity as he dug his heels in over support for a carbon price and unveiled a frontbench which included Tanya Pilbersek as deputy, six new faces, and 11 women. The Fin

Copy PM on boat people: Carr

Former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr has told the Labor Party it must mirror Tony Abbott’s hardline stance on boat people or face many years in Opposition.  The West

Ex-Rio exec to lead Gindalbie

Rio Tinto’s former chief operating officer of iron ore, Dale Harris, will take on the top job at Gindalbie Metals, with outgoing managing director Tim Netscher stepping down after almost three years in the role. The Aus

Legal threat looms over childcare funding backflip

Childcare providers across the country have been formally told the conditional funding offers they received under Labor to give staff pay rises have been revoked. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The tide of protest against Newcrest Mining is building ahead of the gold miner’s annual meeting next week, with another two proxy advisers recommending against key resolutions to be pit to shareholders.

Page 3: Australia’s militant construction union has pledged to defy tougher rules on right of entry for union officials to the workplace being imposed by federal and state governments, breaking the law if they deem it is needed to represent their members.

Gina Rinehart’s daughter Hope Welker has weighed into the family dispute at the eleventh hour, supporting her sister Ginia’s bid for an independent managing trustee within a structure that is owned by all four children.

Page 4: Labor leader Bill Shorten has warned there will be a “zero tolerance” approach towards disunity as he dug his heels in over support for a carbon price and unveiled a frontbench which included Tanya Pilbersek as deputy, six new faces, and 11 women.

Page 5: Key Nationals have vowed to fight Treasurer Joe Hockey’s suggestion an Abbott government could cave in and relax foreign investment rules to seal a free-trade deal with China.

Page 8: The Business Council of Australia is looking to broker a possible deal on the contentious issue of cushioning manufacturers from higher energy prices by ensuring adequate supplies of competitively priced gas are available for local use.

Page 12: Prominent pharmacy owner Terry White wants pharmacists to be allowed to receive Medicare rebates from the government for providing healthcare.

Page 13: Former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Warwick McKibbin says the Australian dollar could surge in the wake of a potential US government default as panicked investors scour the world for havens.

Page 19: iSelect chief executive Matt McCann has left the troubled company just four months after listing following disagreements over acquisition plans and his ability to communicate strategy to investors.

Nine Entertainment Co chief executive David Gyngell says the company’s buyout of Microsoft’s stake in online business Mi9 gives the media business more freedom to pursue deals such as subscription television with other digital businesses.

Page 21: Linc Energy chief executive Peter Bond is aiming to spin off the company’s coal business early next year on the Singapore stock exchange, just weeks after Linc switches listing from Australia.

Page 23: National Australia Bank has signed up 34,000 online traders during the year after it overhauled its stockbroking service to boost market share.

Page 27: NBN Co’s executive chairman, Ziggy Switkowski, has begun meeting television communications veterans, including national broadband network critic Henry Ergas, as part of a review into potential changes to the network.

Page 42: Stockland is a step closer to bringing its 1800-home Calleya residential development in Perth’s south-west to market following the City of Cockburn Council approving the rezoning of land at the 145-hectare former Banjup quarry site.

The Australian

Page 1: Australia’s two powerhouse resource states have vowed to keep the multi-billion-dollar royalty hikes they introduced under the cover of federal Labor’s mining tax, rejecting industry calls for them to reduce their take.

Labor colleagues have clashed over personal promotion in a venomous fight that undercuts Bill Shorten’s plea for party unity as the new leader vows to ‘‘draw a line’’ under the divisions of the past.

Page 2: Former communications minister Stephen Conroy was the ‘‘root cause’’ of Labor’s ‘‘abysmal’’ handling of the National Broadband Network, according to construction industry heavyweight David Chandler.

The public company majority owned by Clive Palmer and led by his Palmer United Party senator-elect Zhenya Wang is in financial trouble and has been saved from the risk of insolvency in the past three months by cash injections from the resources tycoon totalling $421,000.

Page 3: A judge will appoint a new head of the Rinehart family’s $5 billion trust after lawyers for Australia’s wealthiest person accused her two eldest children of embarking on a ‘‘kamikaze mission’’ to damage the entity that controls a quarter of Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.

Page 4: Delays to scrapping the carbon tax threaten to hit stricken industries the hardest, a business leader has declared, as electricity generators warned of investment paralysis and uncertainty in the national market.

Page 5: James Packer has won his push to open up competition for a new casino in Brisbane, with the Newman government calling for expressions of interest for the development of three ‘‘integrated casino resorts’’ in Queensland.

Page 6: Childcare providers across the country have been formally told the conditional funding offers they received under Labor to give staff pay rises have been revoked.

Page 7: The federal government expects a $300 million permanent accommodation facility for 1600 asylum-seekers and staff, to include a gymnasium, games room and library, can be built on Manus Island within nine months, according to tender documents.

Page 19: A Remarkable one-third increase in revenue has helped deliver a $225 million swing back to profitability for the private equity-owned power company Alinta Group, just as crucial parts of the listed rump of the company, Redbank Energy, falls into the hands of receivers.

Page 20: Woodside’s giant Leviathan joint venture gas project will eventually be allowed to export up to 50 per cent of output and the company will remain tied to the project, an Israeli oil and gas expert said yesterday.

Page 21: Rio Tinto’s former chief operating officer of iron ore, Dale Harris, will take on the top job at Gindalbie Metals, with outgoing managing director Tim Netscher stepping down after almost three years in the role.

Page 31: Supporters of a fibre-to-the home National Broadband Network agree that Labor’s targets for the NBN were flawed and ‘‘overly ambitious’’.

The West Australian

Page 4: Former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr has told the Labor Party it must mirror Tony Abbott’s hardline stance on boat people or face many years in Opposition.

Rank-and-file involvement in selecting the parliamentary leader of the WA Labor Party could be on the cards after State Opposition Leader Mark McGowan and factional heavyweights gave their in-principle support.

Page 15: Health Minister Kim Hames says WA’s public hospitals are not an “employment haven” for staff – but he could not say yesterday exactly how many jobs would be cut from Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan accused Treasurer  Troy Buswell of “talking a lot of crap” after he said the Government’s planned change to public sector hiring rules would be a test of Labor’s resolve.

Business: The proposed sharemarket float of John Hughes Group is said to involve the sale of 40 per cent of the $650 million-a-year car retail empire.

Empire Oil & Gas managing director Craig Marshall has broken his silence in the bitter battle with ERM Power, describing his disappointment and anger at a move by his biggest shareholder and joint venture partner to try to have him sacked.

A Jordanian company which operates out of WA is at the centre of allegations from Animals Australia which have rocked the live sheep export industry.

Pastoralists and the State Government look set for a legal showdown over leases covering 90 million hectares of agricultural land in WA.