Trade win boost for PM
Sugar growers and cattle farmers are the first beneficiaries of a newly restored friendship between Australia and Indonesia, expected to result in a wide-ranging trade deal by the end of the year. The Fin
Iron ore heir claims betrayal over billions
Perth businessman Julian Wright has issued extraordinary court proceedings accusing his sister, Perth billionaire Angela Bennett, and his deceased brother, Michael Wright, of engaging in fraud to cheat him out of his share of one of Australia’s most famous iron ore fortunes. The Fin
Navitas makes big bet on disruption
Australia’s biggest education company, Navitas, will invest up to $10 million a year to secure its future against game-changing digital disruption. The Fin
China reaches peak demand for iron ore
China has reached peak iron ore usage, which will force lower-grade producers such as Fortescue Metals Group to offer increasingly large discounts to steel mills, according to participants at China’s main iron ore industry conference. The Fin
Libs slide as voters turn to Hanson
The Coalition has taken a battering from voters amid deepening tensions between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, with the government trailing Labor by 45 to 55 per cent in two-party terms as the Prime Minister suffers another blow to his personal standing. The Aus
Heartland of Hanson hit by crime, poverty
Economic and social indicators in One Nation heartland in rural Australia paint a bleak picture of falling or stagnating wage growth, rising welfare dependence, spikes in crime and plummeting house prices. The Aus
NBN Co bristles at cost risk
The company rolling out the National Broadband Network is warning that proposals to overhaul the scheme that compensates Telstra to the tune of billions of dollars for providing basic phone services to the bush could add to the costs of Australia’s biggest infrastructure project. The Aus
Tourism the key to unlock Bunbury
The pre-election banter around barber shops in Bunbury is all about tourism, and how to get more of it. The West
Labor coy over Budget fix plan
Opposition Leader Mark McGowan appears to be softening WA households up for higher power and water charges as part of attempts to fix the State’s finances. The West
WA can gain from blockchain
WA’s resource companies have been urged to get aboard blockchain or risk being left behind in the “inevitable” global take-up of what is widely viewed as game-changing technology. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Sugar growers and cattle farmers are the first beneficiaries of a newly restored friendship between Australia and Indonesia, expected to result in a wide-ranging trade deal by the end of the year.
Perth businessman Julian Wright has issued extraordinary court proceedings accusing his sister, Perth billionaire Angela Bennett, and his deceased brother, Michael Wright, of engaging in fraud to cheat him out of his share of one of Australia’s most famous iron ore fortunes.
Page 4: Treasurer Scott Morrison will argue this week that half the benefits from the Turnbull government’s 10-year tax cut plan will flow through to workers through higher wages, as Labor prepares a ‘‘Work Choices’’ style campaign against last week’s penalty rate cuts to low-income workers.
Page 5: The man widely credited with controlling the NSW Liberal Party, lobbyist Michael Photios, has stepped down as chairman of the party’s dominant Left faction and said he would no longer participate in party politics.
Page 6: Almost 10 per cent of Australia Post employees were put on slimmed-down work duties after filing workers’ compensation claims, and most were in the heavily unionised Postal Services division, which delivers mail.
Page 7: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is on a collision course with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority over his government’s crusade for Australia’s $10 billion green bank to invest in ‘‘clean coal’’ power stations, experts say.
Page 12: Australia’s biggest education company, Navitas, will invest up to $10 million a year to secure its future against game-changing digital disruption.
Page 13: China has reached peak iron ore usage, which will force lower-grade producers such as Fortescue Metals Group to offer increasingly large discounts to steel mills, according to participants at China’s main iron ore industry conference.
Page 15: Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Group has been unable to shake off doubts about regulatory approval for its $7.4 billion cash takeover of DUET Group despite confidence among some investors that the deal will go through.
Page 17: Mergers and acquisitions in the alternative small business lending sector are inevitable in 2017 as investors in fledgling start-ups push for scale to achieve profitability faster, according to David Goldin, global chief executive of one of those online lenders, Capify.
The Australian
Page 1: The Coalition has taken a battering from voters amid deepening tensions between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, with the government trailing Labor by 45 to 55 per cent in two-party terms as the Prime Minister suffers another blow to his personal standing.
A bitter split between senior members of Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet is now threatening to drag the Prime Minister into a Victorian factional war being fuelled by a push to recruit Howard minister Peter Reith in a challenge to state president Michael Kroger.
The ABC is facing declining and ageing audiences for its TV news and current affairs programs, with ABC News reaching just 31 per cent of audiences each week via television.
Page 3: Clive Palmer’s million-dollar mystery woman lives in upmarket inner-city Bishkek, in Kyrgyzstan, enjoying a luxury lifestyle and pampering her young daughter.
Page 4: Labor will move to hobble the powers of the industrial umpire by stripping it of the ability to make future penalty rate cuts, with Bill Shorten writing to Malcolm Turnbull demanding government support for the push.
Page 5: Economic and social indicators in One Nation heartland in rural Australia paint a bleak picture of falling or stagnating wage growth, rising welfare dependence, spikes in crime and plummeting house prices.
Page 6: The Australian Workers Union will launch legal action to combat the dumping of cheap Chinese steel on to the Australian market, warning that the practice had put local manufacturing “on the brink of collapse”.
Page 17: The company rolling out the National Broadband Network is warning that proposals to overhaul the scheme that compensates Telstra to the tune of billions of dollars for providing basic phone services to the bush could add to the costs of Australia’s biggest infrastructure project.
The nation’s iron ore miners, which only a year ago were classed as villains because of their falling share prices and evaporating dividends, have become the unlikely heroes of the 2017 reporting season after rewarding investors with supercharged payouts thanks to recovering commodity prices.
Page 19: The Australian economy is expected to dodge a technical recession when the national accounts are released on Wednesday, with the nation’s GDP tipped to grow by 0.6 per cent after stumbling in the September quarter and falling into negative territory, startling some analysts in the leadup to Christmas.
Medibank is beefing up its health services offering with plans to double the operating profit of that division as it looks to be more than a health insurer.
Page 21: Shares in British developer Intu jumped nearly 7 per cent after shopping centre giant Westfield Corporation revealed it had increased its stake and Intu said it may look for partners for some of its £6.6 billion of British malls.
The West Australian
Page 1: Home burglaries have hit a 13-year high, with police statistics showing an average of 90 WA homes a day were broken into last month.
Page 3: Surfing legend Kelly Slater has called for sharks to be culled at an Indian Ocean island territory after a horror spate of attacks.
Page 4: The pre-election banter around barber shops in Bunbury is all about tourism, and how to get more of it.
Colin Barnett has lashed out at media coverage of the WA election, telling reporters they need to lift their game.
Page 5: A poll conducted on the day after the leaders’ debate last week has found only three in 10 voters in 15 marginal seats across WA will vote for Premier Colin Barnett’s Liberal Party.
Page 6: The past week has not been a good one for the two of the closest watchers of the WA economy and the State Budget — Treasurer Mike Nahan and shadow treasurer Ben Wyatt.
Private power companies want whichever party wins the election to drastically reduce the footprint of State-owned electricity supplier Synergy in a bid to boost competition.
Page 7: Opposition Leader Mark McGowan appears to be softening WA households up for higher power and water charges as part of attempts to fix the State’s finances.
Page 12: There is a “dire need” for resources to help veterans and emergency services deal with the debilitating effects of posttraumatic stress disorder and feel supported in the community, according to researcher Gail MacDonell.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged Malcolm Turnbull to intervene to protect Sunday penalty rates, saying it would be “extraordinary hypocrisy” if he didn’t.
Today, every Australian will get an answer to the biggest question about the NBN rollout: when do I get it?
Page 16: The Turnbull Government is under pressure to find new Budget savings and come up with ways to boost the economy as it prepares for a showdown over $13 billion worth of so-called zombie cuts.
Page 17: WA’s nursing union claims the next State government could have an extra $2.3 million a year to spend on more nurses if it scrapped annual performance appraisals.
Page 50: WA’s resource companies have been urged to get aboard blockchain or risk being left behind in the “inevitable” global take-up of what is widely viewed as game-changing technology.
Insolvency and restructuring firm Cor Cordis sees WA’s softer economy, together with proposed law reforms, as an opportunity for fleet-footed operators to take out revenue-generating but financially distressed rivals.