Morning Headlines

Bens big bill shock

Power bills in WA will increase $169 a year as part of an overall hit to household budgets of almost $440 a year under changes announced by Treasurer Ben Wyatt yesterday. The West

Rio dumps contractor

Perth contractor Programmed Skilled Workforce has been kicked off Rio Tinto sites after the miner axed its 14-year relationship with the Chris Sutherland-led company. The West

Act of ‘economic vandalism’

The Business Council of Australia has warned that Australia is rapidly becoming a ‘‘laughing stock’’ in global investment circles because of new bank taxes as erratic decisions by both federal and state governments ‘‘carelessly undermine’’ the rules of doing business. The Fin

Sino took $1bn loss as iron rose

Citic’s Sino Iron project in Western Australia’s Pilbara lost more than $US1 billion ($1.3bn) last year and was propped up with billions in loans from related parties registered to the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands. The Aus

Ten’s fate left hanging on media reforms

Network Ten administrators KordaMentha is preparing to push back a crucial meeting to decide the fate of the free-to-air broadcaster as it waits to see if the government can pass new media ownership laws that would allow billionaire shareholders Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch to buy the company.The Fin

Banks challenge second levy

The nation’s major banks were seeking urgent advice last night about the constitutional legality of a shock move by the South Australian government to impose its own bank levy to raise $370 million over four years. The Aus

Fairfax ‘worth $4b if Domain lists’

A billionaire Fairfax Media shareholder believes the 186-year-old publisher could one day be worth $4 billion and urged management to push ahead with its plans to separately list Domain. The Fin

French submarine builder backs away from ‘90pc in Australia’ estimate

Questions have been raised over just how much of the $50 billion future submarines will be built in Australia by giant French company DCNS. The Aus

Health and tourism our bright lights

The WA jobs market is changing dramatically in the wake of the mining boom, with workers flooding into areas such as health care, tourism and education as they leave mining and manufacturing. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The Business Council of Australia has warned that Australia is rapidly becoming a ‘‘laughing stock’’ in global investment circles because of new bank taxes as erratic decisions by both federal and state governments ‘‘carelessly undermine’’ the rules of doing business.

Foreign investors with billions of dollars allocated to local companies have warned the Turnbull government’s shock $6.2 billion bank tax has made fund managers more hesitant to deploy capital to Australia, with one revealing he had cut his exposure since the bank levy was sprung on the industry.

Page 4: The federal government’s deal with the Senate crossbench to pass the Gonski 2.0 school funding reforms has held despite last-ditch attempts by the Catholic sector and the teachers’ union to peel away vital votes.

Page 7: As a senior Liberal staffer for the past decade, Andrew Hirst witnessed first hand the knifing of three of his bosses – Brendan Nelson in 2008, Malcolm Turnbull in 2009 and Tony Abbott in 2015.

Page 9: West Australian households will have to pay $169 more a year for electricity as part of tough changes to fees and charges the new Labor government says are needed to help repair the state’s tattered finances.

Page 14: South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said the state is losing an ‘‘anchor tenant’’ with the closure of car maker Holden in October and the rest of the economy needs to step up as he unveiled a $200 million Future Jobs Fund to try to add extra zip to a struggling economy.

Page 17:Network Ten administrators KordaMentha is preparing to push back a crucial meeting to decide the fate of the free-to-air broadcaster as it waits to see if the government can pass new media ownership laws that would allow billionaire shareholders Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch to buy the company.

Page 22: A billionaire Fairfax Media shareholder believes the 186-year-old publisher could one day be worth $4 billion and urged management to push ahead with its plans to separately list Domain.

The Australian

Page 1: The nation’s major banks were seeking urgent advice last night about the constitutional legality of a shock move by the South Australian government to impose its own bank levy to raise $370 million over four years.

Former ACTU president Martin Ferguson has called on the Labor Party to cut ties with the CFMEU’s construction division in Victoria and expel its leader, John Setka, while backing proposed laws to subject the union’s proposed merger with the maritime union to a new public interest test.

Page 2: Questions have been raised over just how much of the $50 billion future submarines will be built in Australia by giant French company DCNS.

Page 6: TAFE enrolments are collapsing and thousands of staff are being dumped from lecturing positions as students desert the sector.

Page 19: Google research director Peter Norvig has urged Australian companies to appoint at least one staff member who can assess the potential of artificial intelligence applications for their business.

Audrey Zibelman, chief executive of the Australian Energy Market Operator, is expected to push for billions of dollars of new power grid infrastructure under an expanded role for the operator recommended by the Finkel Review, in an effort to get better value out of the nation’s far-flung wind and solar power zones.

Page 20: Vocus co-founder James Spenceley is believed to have teamed up with global private equity firm TPG Capital to weigh a potential takeover of the listed telecommunications provider if the private equity firm’s $2.76 billion attempt to buy Fairfax falls flat.

Page 22: Citic’s Sino Iron project in Western Australia’s Pilbara lost more than $US1 billion ($1.3bn) last year and was propped up with billions in loans from related parties registered to the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands.

The West Australian

Page 1: Power bills in WA will increase $169 a year as part of an overall hit to household budgets of almost $440 a year under changes announced by Treasurer Ben Wyatt yesterday.

Page 4: Treasurer Ben Wyatt’s decision to increase power prices by 10.9 per cent — or $169 a year — from next month was a “penalty” on households with solar panels, energy experts said yesterday.

Page 7: WA’s biggest natural gas supplier is seeking to exploit the increase in electricity prices by offering fixed-price gas payment plans.

Page 11: Senate powerbroker Nick Xenophon has suggested national competition laws need reforming to ensure online giant Amazon does not wipe out local retailers when it arrives in Australia.

Page 14: The WA jobs market is changing dramatically in the wake of the mining boom, with workers flooding into areas such as health care, tourism and education as they leave mining and manufacturing.

Page 17: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will start the new financial year with a $10,500 pay rise — and a near $7000 tax cut.

Page 73: WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt has left the door open to joining South Australia in slapping the major banks with a State-based tax.

Perth contractor Programmed Skilled Workforce has been kicked off Rio Tinto sites after the miner axed its 14-year relationship with the Chris Sutherland-led company.

Page 74: Three fragmented State Government initiatives supporting WA agriculture will be picked up by the Department of Agriculture and Food when it becomes part of the new Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development next month.