Morning Headlnes

Iron ore hit, jobs to weigh on budget

The federal government’s revenue expectations will be downgraded significantly in the May budget due to falling commodity prices and a softening jobs market, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will reveal today. The Fin

Investors urge Glencore to keep coal and list on ‘pragmatic’ ASX

Australian investors have urged Glencore to abandon a plan to spin off its flagship coal business and shift its primary listing to the ASX, where a more ‘‘pragmatic’’ attitude to fossil fuels and the energy transition could add billions to its valuation. The Fin

Labor backs Rinehart on rare earths

The Albanese government is supercharging its push to break China’s stranglehold on global critical minerals supply with an $840 million package of loans and grants to help Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura Rare Earths develop its Northern Territory mine and refinery. The Fin

PwC Australia fires staff to cut costs

Embattled PwC Australia will enact a second round of job cuts in as many years, with 329 staff and as many as 37 partners to be forced out. The Fin

Move over boys, women are taking their rightful place among wealthy Top 10

Australia’s three richest women control business empires worth almost $100bn, this year’s edition of The List – Australia’s Richest 250 reveals. The Aus

Brookfield talks to buy into Optus

Australia’s second biggest telco Optus could be partially offloaded to Canadian private equity titan Brookfield in a blockbuster deal valuing the company at $16bn, after its Singaporean owner spent months secretly exploring a potential sale. The Aus

Museum hosts Cameron

Legendary filmmaker James Cameron is coming to Perth next weekend to launch his self-titled exhibition, James Cameron: Challenging the Deep, at the WA Maritime Museum. The West

Facebook gives Aussies the ‘middle finger’

Australians have been served the “middle finger” by Facebook, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland says, as the Federal Government attempts to force its parent company, Meta, to pay for local news content. The West

The Australian Financial Review

Page 3: Cult Australian fashion label Aje has made 20 of its 400 staff redundant, including the leaders of its wellness and activewear sub-brands and other senior managers.

Page 3: The future of more than $500 million in Australian beef exports to China remains in limbo with no sign Beijing is prepared to lift restrictions on eight Queensland abattoirs that industry insiders say have been overlooked by the Albanese government. 

Page 4: Woodside says Western Australia’s faltering nickel industry and the closure of Alcoa’s Kwinana alumina facility will allay some domestic gas shortfall concerns, with demand easing by up to 10 per cent in the state.

Page 5: The Albanese government has pulled in global support for its latest salvo against Facebook owner Meta Platforms. An 11-nation summit in London is backing Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones’ call for the company to rid its platforms of scammers and fraudsters.

Page 6: Mineworkers have made the first use of Labor’s ‘‘same job, same pay’’ laws in a bid to rectify claimed pay gaps of up to $20,000 a year for labour hire workers at a Queensland coal mine.

Page 6: Australians consider the National Disability Insurance Scheme to be a fundamental government service on par with Medicare and want fraud and waste to be fixed to ensure its sustainability, focus group research shows.

Page 7: NSW has threatened to derail federal government efforts at a meeting of treasurers tomorrow to get the states to pay for more of the ballooning cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as part of its push for urgent reform of the GST.

Page 9: An Australian Tax Office official who was paid bribes to reduce millions of dollars in tax assessments became the first scalp of the newly formed National Anti-Corruption Commission when he was sentenced to 30 months prison on Tuesday.

Page 11: The Environmental Defenders Office has commissioned an external review in response to the scathing findings of a Federal Court judge of its role in the Barossa pipeline case earlier this year.

Page 15: The $2 billion HR start-up at war with industry superannuation fund Hostplus appears to have bowed to pressure from its deep-pocketed backer in a feud sparked by Employment Hero’s determination to give paying funds priority placement over legacy accounts.

Page 15: The resumption of Australia’s once-roaring wine trade with China is set to deliver the country’s largest producer, Treasury Wine Estates, a $100 million profit boost by 2026 and reinvigorate a string of privately owned groups.

Page 17: Qantas is close to finalising the biggest shake-up of its loyalty program, allowing travellers to book more flights using fewer Frequent Flyer points for the first time.

Page 19: Liontown Resources has secured a $550 million loan from big Australian commercial banks and taxpayer-funded agencies in a crucial boost for the lithium developer’s hopes of delivering first production this year.

The Australian

Page 2: Cyber security agencies are on track to recruit up to 1900 new staff under the $9.9bn REDSPICE program, as the Australian Signals Directorate reports a lower workforce churn amid a surge in cyber defence activity.

Page 2: Anthony Albanese has given an assurance that Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS partnership will not be set back after the US Defence Department halved production of Virginia-class submarines for 2025.

Page 3: Police found four children and three elderly adults stranded in a flooded pocket of Western Australia’s Great Victoria Desert late on Wednesday just as hopes for their survival were beginning to dim.

Page 3: Two miners were feared trapped at the Ballarat Gold Mine on Wednesday night after a reported collapse.

Page 5: Fruit and vegetable growers are leaving the industry because “unethical” supermarket giants are not paying them enough to cover the costs of producing food and poor regulations mean farmers are too scared to bargain for a better price.

Page 7: Employers have criticised a union push to grant new rights to millions of workers to request to work from home as a “power grab” that would create more rep tape and make its harder to do business in Australia.

Page 16: The chief executive of the Swedish-based Volvo Group, Martin Lundstedt, has called for a national strategy to encourage the use of electric trucks in Australia.

Page 16: Australian listed infrastructure companies are among some of the world’s most attractive takeover targets due to a comparatively small amount of government intervention, according to Principal Asset Management.

Page 18: Lego sales increased last year as the toy-brick maker’s Harry Potter and Fortnite play sets boosted its popularity, helping it outperform and take market share from its rivals despite a slump in global demand.

Page 20: Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show pets and related costs have climbed 22 per cent in just two years, while veterinary costs rose 14.5 per cent.

Page 20: Perth-based Core Lithium’s $167.6m loss and resignations come as the company’s share price has crumbled in the past year from $1.20 to 20c at the close Tuesday. It slumped 9.1 per cent for the day, making it the worst performer on the benchmark S&P/ASX 200.

The West Australian

Page 7: State planners have approved a $30 million mid-rise apartment development in Scarborough.

Page 8: Police Minister Paul Papalia has blamed job-hopping millennials for his failure to deliver on an election pledge to boost the force by 950 officers by mid-2024.

Page 9: WA-based private hospital operator St John of God will scrub the use of high carbon-emitting anaesthetic agent “desflurane” from 17 hospitals nationally.

Page 10: WA’s highest-paid fat cat received an eye-watering $300,000 rental allowance for his London home last year, as Western Australians deal with a dual cost of living and housing crisis.

Page 10: More than $1 million in Government-funded rent relief has been paid to 255 families in three months in the latest sign of the depth of WA’s housing crisis.

Page 15: The parents of a schoolgirl killed in a helicopter crash in Broome are suing the dead pilot’s company.

Page 49: Microscopic water bugs are threatening to infest another mining giant as a multibillion-dollar Rio Tinto Australian iron ore expansion comes in the firing line — and not for the first time.

Page 50: Mineral Resources says the Onslow haul road at the centre of a $1 billion sale process was never part of a dispute with a contractor.

Page 50: A Senate inquiry into regional bank closures has lashed Bankwest’s consultation with affected communities as “an insult” and flagged tougher measures to enforce compliance with the recommendations of a banking task force two years ago.

Page 51: Popstar Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has failed to boost overall consumer spending in Australia as households battle with elevated cost-of-living pressures.

Page 51: State regulators have axed the registration of Beyond Builders, citing financial grounds.

Page 52: Yusuf and Ismail Khan are among creditors wanting almost $1.8 million from the failed business which ran The Library Nightclub.