Morrison shrugs off iron bonus
The federal government will frame a May budget with tax increases or spending cuts to make up for its blocked omnibus bill, despite a potential $30 billion revenue windfall caused by a booming iron ore price. The Fin
Miners winning from China shift
Australia’s biggest iron ore miners are set to benefit from a ‘‘fundamental shift’’ in China’s demand for higher grade iron ore, which has sent spot prices rocketing and could keep them high for some time yet. The Fin
America-China trade deal ‘more likely’ than a trade war
The relationship between China and Donald Trump could deliver mutually beneficial trade outcomes experts say, defying fears that the billionaire US President’s ‘‘America first’’ platform will erupt in a protectionist spat and set back growth. The Fin
$13bn hole blown in budget
The Turnbull government is set to write off more than $13 billion in spending cuts after judging that it may no longer be able to book measures still being blocked in the Senate as savings in the budget. The Aus
Libs’ polling predicts election landslide
Liberal Party internal polling is showing a statewide swing against the Barnett government of about 14 per cent, a result that would hand the Labor Party more than 20 extra seats and make Mark McGowan premier in a landslide election victory next month. The Aus
Rio chief spruiks value over volume
Rio Tinto chief Jean-Sebastien Jacques says he will not put more iron ore on to the market to get the lowest costs out of expanded West Australian infrastructure if it puts pressure on prices, despite the miner’s delayed driverless ore train project now making strides. The Aus
Exclusive six months since Turnbull visited WA
Malcolm Turnbull has become the Prime Minister of eastern Australia, shunning WA for the past six months. The West
One Nation out to get a 20pc cull of MPs
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation wants to use its leverage in the coming Parliament to cull a fifth of WA MPs, reduce the salaries of remaining politicians by 20 per cent and fine them for making poor decisions. The West
Turmoil reigns on airnbnb rentals
WA homeowners who rent out their property as shortstay accommodation face increasing disparity and confusion depending on where they live, with some councils banning the practice and others allowing it. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The federal government will frame a May budget with tax increases or spending cuts to make up for its blocked omnibus bill, despite a potential $30 billion revenue windfall caused by a booming iron ore price.
Wesfarmers has pulled off a seamless leadership change, with shareholders expecting managing director-elect Rob Scott to drive acquisitions and asset sales to reinvigorate returns after taking the helm from Richard Goyder in November.
Australia’s biggest iron ore miners are set to benefit from a ‘‘fundamental shift’’ in China’s demand for higher grade iron ore, which has sent spot prices rocketing and could keep them high for some time yet.
Page 2: The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to resist urging from the International Monetary Fund to cut official interest rates ‘‘significantly’’ over the next few quarters, slashing the cash rate to 0.75 per cent, from its present level of 1.5 per cent
Page 3: The Sydney Swans chairman has backed embattled Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner to stay on the AFL club’s board as his high-profile affair engulfs Seven director Jeff Kennett, who is under fire for engaging in a Twitter spat with Mr Worner’s ex lover.
Page 5: Labor has seized on former trade minister Andrew Robb’s call for a royal commission into banks.
Page 7: A worker was being paid $80,000 as a national sales manager at another company while receiving $45,000 a year from Australia Post for being incapacitated at work, according to a former Australian Post manager.
Page 11: French-owned company Engie has not operated the second unit at Pelican Point – the gas-fired power station at the centre of last week’s South Australian blackouts – since 2015, making it even less likely to have provided backup for a struggling power network.
Page 12: The federal government has been in discussions with the White House on potential funding models for Donald Trump’s $US1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) infrastructure plan by sharing policy experiences in Australia and to help local firms identify opportunities in the United States.
Page 17: After Treasury Wine Estates’ Asian profits have jumped 16-fold in just three years, chief executive Mike Clarke will move to a new California base to try to repeat the trick in the United States.
The relationship between China and Donald Trump could deliver mutually beneficial trade outcomes experts say, defying fears that the billionaire US President’s ‘‘America first’’ platform will erupt in a protectionist spat and set back growth.
Page 22: Woodside chief financial officer Lawrie Tremaine has surprised the market by jumping ship to Origin Energy, where the same role is expected to provide him with a much bigger challenge.
The Australian
Page 1: The Turnbull government is set to write off more than $13 billion in spending cuts after judging that it may no longer be able to book measures still being blocked in the Senate as savings in the budget.
Scott Morrison has blasted Labor for endorsing an “intergenerational theft” that has quadrupled the public debt burden on Australia’s children to more than $90,000 each since the financial crisis a decade ago.
Only one of seven Closing the Gap targets to reduce indigenous disadvantage is now projected to be met, with child mortality rates joining the grim list of failing objectives despite $5.9 billion being spent annually on indigenous programs.
Page 2: Internet heavyweights Google and Twitter have been drawn into the escalating legal stoush between Kerry Stokes’s Seven West Media and Amber Harrison, removing material posted by the former lover of Seven chief Tim Worner from their sites.
Page 3: Qantas passengers will have access to Foxtel, Netflix and Spotify from 30,000 feet when the airline launches its free in-flight Wi-Fi services later this year.
Page 4: The annual cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will jump by $10 billion to $32bn at the end of the first decade after it becomes fully operational, with the bulk of the increases borne by the federal government of the day, data from the Department of Social Services shows.
Page 5: Bill Shorten is demanding an apology over another Coalition attack on his links to Melbourne billionaires as he comes under scrutiny over flights to South America in Richard Pratt’s private jet almost two decades ago.
Liberal Party internal polling is showing a statewide swing against the Barnett government of about 14 per cent, a result that would hand the Labor Party more than 20 extra seats and make Mark McGowan premier in a landslide election victory next month.
Page 6: The number of Australians with hospital cover continues to decline, adding pressure on the health insurance industry and the federal government to respond to value-for-money concerns.
Page 19: Former Olympic medallist Rob Scott has declared he will keep faith with Wesfarmers shareholders by aiming for improved long-term returns as he prepares to takes charge of the 103-year-old conglomerate as it faces its most challenging period since it spent $20 billion buying Coles.
Billionaire Kerry Stokes has packed up his skis and returned to Australia — just in time for Seven West Media’s interim results today.
Rio Tinto chief Jean-Sebastien Jacques says he will not put more iron ore on to the market to get the lowest costs out of expanded West Australian infrastructure if it puts pressure on prices, despite the miner’s delayed driverless ore train project now making strides.
Page 21: Accounting giant PwC has launched a new food safety assurance capability for the agribusiness industry to advise Australian firms on the standards expected from food products targeting the nation’s biggest export markets in Asia.
The West Australian
Page 1: A high-level government consultant has warned Premier Colin Barnett that the Department of Corrective Services was wasting more than $200 million a year and that some “activities” his company uncovered “bordered on corruption”.
Malcolm Turnbull has become the Prime Minister of eastern Australia, shunning WA for the past six months.
Page 3: Primary school principals want panic buttons linked to police stations installed in every WA public school to combat violence from parents.
Page 4: A former Rossmoyne Senior High School student who won a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics has been named to succeed Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder, maintaining the WA corporate giant’s remarkable tradition of homegrown chief executives.
Page 6: Pauline Hanson’s One Nation wants to use its leverage in the coming Parliament to cull a fifth of WA MPs, reduce the salaries of remaining politicians by 20 per cent and fine them for making poor decisions.
Colin Barnett believes John Howard will give his blessing to the Liberals’ extraordinary preference swap with One Nation, as the former prime minister heads to WA to join the State campaign.
Page 9: Motorists have identified a 150m Kelmscott road as WA’s most dangerous.
Page 14: Andrew Forrest wants an Operation Sovereign Borders-style approach to addressing indigenous disadvantage after it was revealed national efforts to close the gap are falling drastically short.
Page 19: Perth researchers have uncovered a potential way to combat antibiotic-resistant superbugs that cause 700,000 deaths a year globally.
Page 20: WA homeowners who rent out their property as shortstay accommodation face increasing disparity and confusion depending on where they live, with some councils banning the practice and others allowing it.
Page 21: Perth is on the nose with holidaymakers, with thousands now preferring to visit Brisbane, Hobart and Canberra. Even Broome and Margaret River have lost their shine.
Page 30: A multibillion-dollar hole has been punched in the Budget as the Federal Government scrambles to salvage welfare savings to pay for its childcare package and fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Page 77: Incoming Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott has flagged a seamless leadership transition, recommitting to the group’s conglomerate model and the investment philosophies that have underpinned its success.
Page 78: Woodside chief financial officer Lawrie Tremaine has surprised observers by quitting the oil and gas producer for smaller rival Origin Energy.
The worst of the downturn could be behind WA’s resources industry, with demand in the State’s mining and resources employment market hitting its highest level in almost two years.
Page 79: Cameco Australia boss Brian Reilly will leave Perth next month after six years in charge of the uranium giant’s Australian operations.
Page 80: Iron ore’s meteoric rise above $US90 a tonne was tempered last night when prices softened slightly.
Page 81: Laurie Fitzgerald, cited by Builton Group managing director Troy Felt as a mentor and “very influential”, has distanced himself from the collapsed construction company and his former protege.
Page 85: Rosewood will be hoping its $65 million aged-care redevelopment plan will win development approval at today’s Metro West Joint Development Assessment Panel hearing.