Today's Business Headlines

Leaders bid to secure power
Australians will have to wait up to 10 days to learn if Julia Gillard or Tony Abbot will be able to form government as one of the most extraordinary election in the nation's history looks likely to deliver a hung parliament. The Australian

Single WA seat could hold key
Four seats remain on a knife-edge after the latest counting but the West Australian seat of Hasluck could hold the keys to The Lodge for either Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott. The Australian

Tuckey slayer demands a royalties deal from Canberra
The man who ended Wilson Tuckey's 30-year reign in the rural seat of O'Connor, the Nationals' Tony Crook, will not commit to supporting a Coalition government unless it can guarantee matching WA's Royalties for Regions fund which this year stands at $850 million. The West

Quick action urged to ease nerves
Business leaders have called for a swift resolution to end the election deadlock and fear a minority government will harm confidence in the economy and financial markets, and restrict economic reforms. The Fin

Critics claim voters killed the mine tax - whoever wins
The mining tax is dead and buried regardless of whether the Labor Party or the Coalition form a new Federal Government, according the WA's junior iron ore miners. The West

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 2: Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have begun jockeying for the support of independent and cross-bench Mps in their bid to scramble the numbers to govern Australia in minority.

Labor is blaming the disastrous election result on a series of anti-Gillard leaks during the second week of the campaign, as it tries to stop recriminations endangering its chance of reforming a minority government.

Page 4: Julia Gillard will use her planned National Broadband Network as a carrot to lure the six unaligned MPs - four independents, one green and one WA National - to help her form government.

Informal voting was at its highest in almost 30 years in the House of Representatives election.

Page 5: The man who ended Wilson Tuckey's 30-year reign in the rural seat of O'Connor, the Nationals' Tony Crook, will not commit to supporting a Coalition government unless it can guarantee matching WA's Royalties for Regions fund which this year stands at $850 million.

Page 7: Federal Labor's proposed resources tax was a "disaster" for the party in WA and the main contributor to its dismal showing in WA in the election, State ALP deputy Roger Cook said yesterday.

Alannah MacTiernan declared she would never again run for public office as she delivered an impassioned plea to her Labor Party to reform its broken campaign machine.

Page 9: The WA seat of Hasluck was last night officially the closest electoral contest in the nation, with Liberal Ken Wyatt about 360 votes ahead of sitting Labor member Sharryn Jackson.

The Royal Australian Navy has intercepted a second boat suspected of carrying asylum seekers in the past 24 hours.

Page 10: The Australian dollar and the sharemarket are set to be hammered today as investors and businesses grapple with the uncertainty over who will form government, the future of the mining tax and what the swing to the Greens means for big business.

Page 11: If Tony Abbott becomes prime minister he has a 10-month window to get contentious legislation through the senate before the Greens assume the balance of power next year.

Page 19: Victims of Toodyay's bushfires warned Colin Barnett yesterday they would forge ahead with a class action if they did not get sufficient compensation.

Business: The mining tax is dead and buried regardless of whether the Labor Party or the Coalition form a new Federal Government, according the WA's junior iron ore miners.

BHP Billiton has launched full page advertisements in the North American press and is preparing to start a global charm offensive to garner support for its $US40 billion ($44 billion) bid for Canada's Potash Corp.

Brewing giant SABMiller is reportedly plotting a £7 billion ($12.2 billion) takeover of the beer making arm of Foster's Group.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard is offering to reform Parliament while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has promised a "pragmatic" approach to policy, as both compete for support from independent MPs who will decide which leader will form the next federal government.

Independent members of the federal Parliament will seeks advice from Treasury secretary Ken Henry, and possibly credit agencies, as they weigh up whether Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott should be allowed to form the next government.

Page 3: State governments are preparing to go on a $550 million spending binge on consultants this financial year.

Page 4: Apache Energy, poised to become the biggest natural gas supplier in Western Australia, has taken a swipe at the state's domestic gas reservation policy, warning that instead of increasing supplies for local users, the policy has had the reverse effect and risks driving prices higher.

Page 5: The Fair Work Ombudsman raked in a record amount of court-awarded penalties last financial year as it stepped up action against firms breaching industrial laws.

Qantas Airways is facing unrest from its pilots, as budget carrier Jetstar continues its Asian expansion by hiring overseas-based pilots on lower pay and conditions than their Australian counterparts.

Page 6: Business leaders have called for a swift resolution to end the election deadlock and fear a minority government will harm confidence in the economy and financial markets, and restrict economic reforms.

Page 7: Labor is likely to be in a better position than the Coalition to form a minority government, with the likelihood of winning at least as many seats as the opposition, claiming the greater two-party preferred vote and offering policies which have been endorsed by existing backbenchers.

Page 10: Independent MP Tony Windsor has put both parties on notice he will not be swayed by offers of prestigious and highly paid parliamentary positions, such as the Speaker's role, if he and other crossbenchers hold the balance of power.

Page 12: The West Australian Nationals will demand at least $850 million a year in regional spending in WA from the federal government after the upset victory of Tony Crook in the seat of O'Connor.

Page 21: Mining companies, banks and small businesses face uncertainty as the future of a suite of Labor tax policies hangs in the balance.

Business groups have called on both sides of politics to take the time to form a workable government, while urging the Greens and independents not to penalise the private sector for some short-term political gain.

Page 22: The Greens will take over the balance of power in the Senate from July 1 as they are on target to pick up seats in at least three states, bringing their total to nine.

Page 24: This federal election result in Western Australia neatly mirrored the 2008 state campaign: the rise of the Greens as a major political force, the emergence of independent Nationals as kingmakers and a poorly run Labor pitch which saw the party throw away almost certain victory.

Page 50: Business fears independent "kingmakers" who will decide which party holds government for the next three years will have disproportionate power over business and economic policy.

Australia's telecommunications industry is on hold while it awaits the final outcome of the closest federal election since 1940.

Page 51: The mining industry was breathing a cautious sigh of relief yesterday, with expectations the contentious mining tax would be scrapped regardless of who forms a minority government.

Page 52: Health services in regional Australia are expected to be a major focus of the sales pitch presented by both parties to the independents in an attempt to win their support for a minority government in coming days.

Page 54: Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan is expected to lodge a formal response to BHP Billiton's $US40 billion ($45 billion) hostile takeover as early as this week after the Anglo-Australian miner filed more than 250 pages of documents relating to its offer and its financing arrangements late on Friday evening.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Australians will have to wait up to 10 days to learn if Julia Gillard or Tony Abbot will be able to form government as one of the most extraordinary election in the nation's history looks likely to deliver a hung parliament.

Australia is now divided into three zones by political and economic culture - one conservative, one progressive and one split down the middle.

Page 2: The Greens seem set to hold the balance of power in the Senate from July 1 next year with up to nine members in the upper house.

The chief executive of the nation's biggest department store retailer has warned that fragile consumer confidence will be further damaged by the prospect of a minority government and the associated uncertainty about economic policy.

Page 3: Four seats remain on a knife-edge after the latest counting but the West Australian seat of Hasluck could hold the keys to The Lodge for either Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott.

Tony Abbott has revealed he is prepared to alter his election promises - including on his proposed broadband network - in an effort to be "pragmatic" and win over the crucial independent Mps who are weighing up their support for him.

Page 4: West Australian National Tony Crook has dealt himself into the role of kingmaker after a stunning upset win over Liberal hard man Wilson Tuckey, putting an $850 million price tag on his vote to form a minority government.

Page 5: Greens leader Bob Brown has moved to deal the party back into negotiations over who will take power, despite his new member for the lower house seat of Melbourne, Adam Bandt, already indicating he is inclined to back Julia Gillard.

Page 10: The west has again proved a graveyard for Labor, but the unexpected demise of Wilson Tuckey and the probable election of Australia's first indigenous lower house MP have given an added twist to the conundrum facing Julia Gillard.

Colin Barnett has walked Tony Abbott through the tribulations of minority government, advising his federal counterpart on how to deal with a new West Australian National MP who refuses to sit with the Coalition.

Page 11: Election bookmaker Sportingbet has installed Tony Abbott as $1.55 favourite to negotiate his way into The Lodge.

Business: Business believes the prospect of a hung parliament and the Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate could damage the prospects for vital economic reform and cause ongoing uncertainty for local and international investors.

Foster's Group remains on a war footing as predators including the London-listed SAB Miller circle the iconic $12 billion beer and wine group.

Mining industry chiefs are celebrating Labor's poor showing in the election, buoyed by rising hopes that the government's $10.5 billion mineral resources rent tax faces the axe even if Julia Gillard manages to retain the prime ministership.

The Australian financial market is gearing up for the busiest week of the reporting season, with investors set to scrutinise a set of blue-chip earnings.

Australia's peak superannuation bodies have warned that Labor's proposed increase to the superannuation guarantee levy from 9 per cent to 12 per cent is in jeopardy in the wake of the expected hung parliament.

The three rural independents likely to decide the outcome of the 2010 federal election are expected to demand concessions for regional industries and local services to secure their support

A shifting customer landscape and a string of poor financial results had prepared Telstra to adapt to the advent of the National Broadband Network, but the election outcome has left the telco in uncertain territory.