Morning Headlines

MPs’ salaries targeted in Premier’s crackdown

The salaries of all politicians, public service bosses, judges, magistrates, the WA Governor and local council chief executives will be frozen for the next four years in the latest phase of the State Government’s crackdown on spending. The West

Hospital blockades cost CFMEU $800,000

Unlawful action at the Perth Children’s Hospital project has cost the construction union almost $800,000 after the Federal Court imposed penalties totalling $277,000 on the union and seven officials. The West

Labor push for 49.5pc top tax hit

Australia’s highest income earners will be slugged a top marginal tax rate of almost 50 per cent under an alternative proposal put forward by Labor to fully fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and which the government will be under pressure to adopt. The Fin

Banks warned tax rate could rise

The banks demanded the government at least delay the introduction of its $6.2 billion over four years tax hit after Treasury officials were unable to answer basic questions about the impost, including how the revenue estimate was calculated. The Fin

Quintis confession emboldens the bears

Sandalwood grower Quintis has sustained another day of heavy selling after long-time supporter Canaccord Genuity dropped research coverage, citing an ‘‘apparent lack of transparency’’. The Fin

Renewables policy a scandal, says Howard

John Howard’s description of the looming energy crisis as a “scandalous policy failure of the first order”, and his verdict that the renewable energy target should never have been lifted above 2 per cent, have reignited calls for a national overhaul of climate policy. The Aus

Internet isn’t up to speed: Telstra

Telstra has moved to clear the air for its NBN customers, admitting up to 10,000 of its customers were not receiving the speeds they had signed up for. The West

Scheme axing angers juniors

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies said it was blindsided by the Federal Government’s decision to dump the Exploration Development Incentive in Tuesday night’s Budget. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Australia’s highest income earners will be slugged a top marginal tax rate of almost 50 per cent under an alternative proposal put forward by Labor to fully fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and which the government will be under pressure to adopt.

The banks demanded the government at least delay the introduction of its $6.2 billion over four years tax hit after Treasury officials were unable to answer basic questions about the impost, including how the revenue estimate was calculated.

Page 3: Foreigners were allowed to buy $72.4 billion of residential property in 2015-16 compared to $60 billion previously and the number of approvals surged 9 per cent to 40,100, according to the Foreign Investment Review Board’s 2015-16 annual report.

Page 13: Blood products giant CSL is confident the federal government will modify changes to 457 visas for foreign workers that in their current form would be ‘‘devastating’’ for the company and other biotech firms, a senior executive said.

Tesla’s solar glass tiles convincingly mimic Tuscan-style terracotta, slate and American-style smooth and textured roofing shingles and outperform traditional tiles in hail-impact shatter tests. Aussie-style terracotta tiles are expected to be available next year.

Page 17: Myer chief Richard Umbers has defended the pullback on discounting, saying department stores dependent on markdowns will not survive as new players such as Amazon arrive.

Page 19: GrainCorp chief executive Mark Palmquist says droughts are no longer fatal to eastern Australia’s biggest grains handler as he handed down a market-beating interim profit that sent the company’s share price to its biggest one day gain in nearly five years.

Page 20: Sandalwood grower Quintis has sustained another day of heavy selling after long-time supporter Canaccord Genuity dropped research coverage, citing an ‘‘apparent lack of transparency’’.

The Australian

Page 1: John Howard’s description of the looming energy crisis as a “scandalous policy failure of the first order”, and his verdict that the renewable energy target should never have been lifted above 2 per cent, have reignited calls for a national overhaul of climate policy.

Page 4: Companies will be handed tax cuts worth $65.4 billion over the next decade as a result of a sharply higher cost estimate for Malcolm Turnbull’s flagship policy, in a revelation that is fuelling Labor warnings that taxpayers cannot afford the “handout” to employers.

Page 6: Unlawful action at the Perth Children’s Hospital project has cost the construction union almost $800,000 after the Federal Court imposed penalties totalling $277,000 on the union and seven officials.

Page 9: Recreational drone users could be required to undergo training and the aviation safety watchdog empowered to track all remotely piloted aircraft if a push by a Senate inquiry succeeds.

Page 20: Westpac is believed to be mulling a sale of the $3.9 billion vehicle finance portfolio it purchased from Lloyds Banking Group two years ago.

Page 21: Telstra has moved to clear the air for its NBN customers, admitting up to 10,000 of its customers were not receiving the speeds they had signed up for.

Page 23: The controversial US activist fund behind a sweeping attack on BHP Billiton is believed to have won “universal” support for its plan to strip out much of the giant’s petroleum assets during dozens of investor meetings in recent weeks.

Page 24: Snap, in its first quarterly report as a public company, showed it struggled to maintain strong user growth at its Snapchat vanishing messaging app, sending shares tumbling and sparking worries about its ability to challenge social media titan Facebook.

The West Australian

Page 1: The salaries of all politicians, public service bosses, judges, magistrates, the WA Governor and local council chief executives will be frozen for the next four years in the latest phase of the State Government’s crackdown on spending.

Page 6: As the banks fight the Federal Government’s new tax, an analysis by financial comparison website Mozo has revealed the four lenders have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in profit each from out-of-cycle rate hikes, hitting customers with higher variable rates on home loans.

Page 10: Premier Mark McGowan has made his first demand of the Productivity Commission review of the GST, calling for 25 per cent of WA’s iron ore royalties to be quarantined from the annual carve-up.

Page 17: Sports Minister Mick Murray is playing hardball with the West Australian Football Commission in talks about the new Perth stadium, signalling the State Government could pull a funding offer.

Business: The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies said it was blindsided by the Federal Government’s decision to dump the Exploration Development Incentive in Tuesday night’s Budget.

A partner in a development with Diploma Group has taken full ownership of a key project for no cost under a confidential deal struck before the builder-developer collapsed.

Two of the big Pilbara miners have responded to Premier Mark McGowan’s suggestion that they could counter hostility towards the resources sector by supporting local small businesses.