Determined Coalition labels Gillard 'whimsical' – The Fin; Trends go with Coalition as slow counting criticised – The Aus; Miners plan record spending – The Aus; Electricity rejig jolts Griffin – The Fin; Jakarta wants $1.4b Montara spill compo –The West
Determined Coalition labels Gillard 'whimsical'
The Coalition has vowed to resist demands from independent MPs for key Treasury briefing documents and costings in the next round of talks over a minority government, setting a negotiating strategy that risks deepening the frustrations aired by two of the independents. The Fin
Trends go with Coalition as slow counting criticised
The Coalition looks increasingly likely to finish with 73 seats and Labor 72 after the latest counting increased the Coalition's lead in the key seats of Brisbane in Queensland and Hasluck in Western Australia. The Aus
Miners plan record spending
The mining industry is planning to lift its investment this year by 60 per cent to a record $55 billion, despite the government's planned mining tax. The Aus
Electricity rejig jolts Griffin
The head of Western Australia's biggest private coal-fired electricity generator has warned the risk of investing in the state has increased significantly because of government plans to revamp the industry. The Fin
Jakarta wants $1.4b Montara oil spill compo
Indonesian Government officials have presented the company behind last year's Montara oil disaster off the Kimberley coast with a compensation claim understood to be more than $1.4 billion. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan has hit back at claims by fallen West Coast Eagle Ben Cousins that he was arrested in Northbridge in 2007 as "payback for things that happened in the past."
Page 3: A Perth Catholic school has apologised to parents who were offended by a Year 4 student pretending to be Adolf Hitler being awarded first place in his class on school dress-up day.
Page 6: The electoral map is close to being settled after the Liberals tightened their grip in the key seats of Hasluck and Brisbane and Labor shored up a vulnerable seat in Victoria.
Page 7: Tony Abbott would be "foolish" to assume he could win the support of the three independents to form government while withholding the coalition's election promises from Treasury scrutiny, one of the kingmakers said yesterday.
Page 9: The State Government will launch a $300,000 advertising blitz in the next fortnight telling smokers to butt out at beaches, alfresco cafes, playgrounds and in cars with children.
Page 11: WA's three-month winter sprinkler ban will not be extended despite critically low dam levels.
Page 14: Indonesian Government officials have presented the company behind last year's Montara oil disaster off the Kimberley coast with a compensation claim understood to be more than $1.4 billion.
Page 16: A WA finance broker accused of defrauding investors of more than $1.3 million was yesterday forced to hand over his passport after facing a Perth court in front of relatives of his alleged victims.
Business: Labour contractor Skilled Group has put Swan Contract Personnel on the market, just three years after paying $44 million for the WA recruitment business at the height of the resources boom.
A bumper $2 billion profit and a $700 million share buyback has enabled Woolworths to regain its status as a sharemarket darling, with boss Michael Luscombe showing the retailer's critics that it has plenty left in its armoury.
Millionaire WA engineer Max Begley has cashed in on his contractor Matrix Composites and Engineering's stunning sharemarket performance since listing less than a year ago, selling $16 million worth of stock yesterday.
Fortescue Metals Group, the biggest opponent of the Gillard Government's proposed minerals resources rent tax, says it expects to pay corporate tax this year after using up billions of dollars of accrued losses.
Peet will tap into growing demand for land in Perth's northern corridor with the launch of a land syndicate at Yanchep this year strong growth in its funds management business and rising property prices helped it to a 35 per cent lift in annual profit.
Iluka Resources is considering an expansion of its Jacinth-Ambrosia mine in South Australia, less than six weeks after hitting nameplate production, to take advantage of a zircon supply shortfall.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The Coalition has vowed to resist demands from independent MPs for key Treasury briefing documents and costings in the next round of talks over a minority government, setting a negotiating strategy that risks deepening the frustrations aired by two of the independents.
Business is planning an investment binge into 2011 as the China-led mining boom drives growth in an economy still troubled by weak consumer spending and home building.
Page 3: A Senate inquiry into the insolvency industry is expected to recommend stripping oversight of liquidators from the corporate regulator and handing it to the bankruptcy regulator.
Page 4: Paul Hogan will be forced to fight a new court battle with the Tax Office if he wants to return to California any time soon, lawyers said.
Page 7: The head of Western Australia's biggest private coal-fired electricity generator has warned the risk of investing in the state has increased significantly because of government plans to revamp the industry.
Page 9: Small retailers hit hard by a drop-off in trade have traded in fancy plans for bare-bones business management.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has sent its second-ranking official to the US for a crucial gathering of policy-makers from around the world, amid worrying signs that a faltering US recovery may taint the global recovery.
Page 11: Former Treasury boss John Stone says Tony Abbott is right to refuse to agree to a demand by the independents to see Treasury costings of the Coalition's policies, because bureaucracy cannot accurately cost parties' policies.
Page 14: Federal politics may be in turmoil after the election result, but minority governments are common at the state and territory level and 10 have been formed with the support of independent and Green MPs over the past 11 years.
Page 15: The Coalition was closing in on having the most seats to form minority government yesterday, with counting favouring it in the hotly contested seats of Brisbane and Hasluck.
Page 17: A Coalition minority government could spark a rally in the share prices of financial services companies, which are in reform limbo, facing either sweeping superannuation changes under Labor or the status quo under the Coalition.
Page 18: Economists are again marking down their forecasts for September-quarter growth in the US economy amid signs that business spending, one of the otherwise ailing economy's bright spots, is also losing steam.
Page 40: Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group has showed its capacity to fund its near-term expansion plans from internal cash flow and impressed the market with its annual profit result.
Page 41: Debt-laden utility Alinta Energy posted a drop in full-year net profit, hit hard by an impairment charge including increases in forecast gas prices in Western Australia.
Page 43: Transfield Services reported declining sales in all regional divisions due to weaker demand for its contracting services, even as pretax profits moved back into the black at $79.3 million.
Page 45: James Packer-backed Crown is confident it can win back customers who abandoned its gaming floors in 2010 following renovations to its Melbourne and Perth casinos.
Page 46: Mineral sands miner Iluka Resources assured investors 2011 would be the first full year of a "new Iluka" as it benefits from strong commodity prices and higher production following the commissioning of two new growth projects.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The Senate is emerging as a new threat to a stable minority government, as Steve Fielding is threatening to put a Labor government in gridlock next year and Nick Xenophon is vowing to force a new national crackdown on poker machines.
Page 2: Australian aid workers in Pakistan's flood-devastated southern Punjab region face the stress of militant attack following new intelligence that the country's Taliban insurgents plan to target foreign relief operations.
Page 4: The Coalition looks increasingly likely to finish with 73 seats and Labor 72 after the latest counting increased the Coalition's lead in the key seats of Brisbane in Queensland and Hasluck in Western Australia.
Treasury's secret assessment of the budget outlook under a Coalition government is likely to show a surprise saving of more than $1.5 billion from not proceeding with more than 100 Labor pork-barrel promises.
Page 5: A policy expert has warned of a time bomb ticking over education, with increasing demand for places likely to lead to students being turned away, or squeezed in with consequent deterioration of standards if funding is not increased.
Page 6: The company behind last year's Montara oil spill off Western Australia's Kimberley coast is facing a potential multi-billion-dollar compensation claim from the Indonesian government.
Page 7: The mining industry is planning to lift its investment this year by 60 per cent to a record $55 billion, despite the government's planned mining tax.
Business: Australia's largest retailer will return a surprise $700 million to investors through a share buyback program, having emerged from the economic downturn with a strong balance sheet and firm plans to bolster earnings while keeping supermarket shelf prices down.
Toll Holdings is banking on a recovery in demand in the retail sector by the start of the next calendar year to lift earnings after revealing a fall in net profit for the 12 months to June 30.
Virgin Blue Group will challenge Qantas with widebody A330-200 aircraft on the lucrative Perth route and is restructuring V Australia to enter an alliance with Abu Dhabi's Etihad, as it seeks to further boost its bottom line after returning to profitability.
TPG Opportunities Partners has broadened a consortium seeking to fashion a rescue package for Alinta Energy Group, bringing in private equity funds from its parent and hedge fund investors from Oaktree Capital and Anchorage Advisers.
Casino operator Crown has reassured investors with a stronger-than-expected start to the financial year, after a slowdown in consumer spending, weak corporate hospitality market and renovations constrained its recent earnings.
Japan's second-largest brewer, Asahi Breweries, has stepped up its push into the Australian market, spending $364 million to acquire P&N, the nation's third biggest soft drink company.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The Director of Military Prosecutions wants to take the unprecedented step of charging several Defence Force commandos with the deaths of five children during a raid in Afghanistan last year.
Page 2: Mining executives appear to have been saying one thing and doing another during May and June, as they negotiated with the government over the resource super profits tax.
Page 3: The state government's plan to revisit its decision to slash developer levies is in doubt, and Treasury is believed to be stalling on proposals before cabinet.
World: A US warning that the Pakistani Taliban are planning attacks on foreigners participating in flood relief will not deter hundreds of international aid workers.
Business: Woolworths has powered through the global financial crisis to rack up its 11th consecutive year of profit growth, underscoring its balance sheet strength by treating investors to a $700 million share buyback while still holding a war chest to expand in hardware.
Sport: The National Rugby League is investigating a highly unusual betting plunge on what is normally a low-interest option in last Saturday's meaningless game between North Queensland and Canterbury at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Two of the people responsible for the royal commission that caught dozens of corrupt NSW cops are turning their sights on the state government - running as independents at next year's election.
Page 2: It only takes three minutes to rob a pub. Just ask Craig Bower, latest victim of the gangs terrorising our hotels.
Page 3: The Australian Tax Office has issued an ultimatum to Paul Hogan, telling him it will not even meet him until he satisfies a long list of demands.
World: An attack on a Muslim taxi driver has been widely condemned by New Yorkers, their city mayor and race groups.
Business: Woolworths yesterday delivered its 11th straight year of double-digit profit growth and promised more was in store this year.
Sport: After prying the critics' claws from their backs with a big win over Souths, the Panthers appear to have turned on themselves.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: The Herald Sun reveals details of the official report into the death of gangland killer Carl Williams.
Page 2: The simple low-cost MySuper plan has come under fire from critics who say it will lose workers money, not boost their savings.
Page 3: The Australian Taxation Office has issued an ultimatum to Paul Hogan, telling him it will not even meet him until he satisfies a long list of demands.
World: Heavy fighting between troops and Islamist rebels gripped Somalia's capital for a third day yesterday, with 10 civilians killed a day after insurgents mowed down 33 people in a raid on a hotel.
Business: Woolworths has delivered its 11th straight year of double-digit profit growth and promises more is in store this year.
Sport: Football saved Carlton's star goal-sneak Eddie Betts from a life of crime.
THE AGE:
Australia's top military prosecutor wants to lay criminal charges against a group of Defence Force commandos over the deaths of five children in Afghanistan last year.
Tony Abbott has changed his reason for defying the three independents demand to have his policies costed by the public service, while accusing Prime Minister Julia Gillard of flouting political convention in a desperate bid to hold on to power.
Page 2: Victoria's top child safety advocate has launched a scathing attack on Victoria Police in the wake of the police failure to tell child protection authorities that hundreds of children were in regular contact with known sex offenders.
Page 3: The casualty list from a probe into pornographic and racist emails, discovered in the Victoria Police computer system, could grow after four officers were sacked, two demoted and others disciplined.
World: International aid agencies in Pakistan have vowed to continue distributing aid to flood victims despite a US warning that the Pakistani Taliban are planning attacks on foreigners involved in disaster relief.
Business: Public affairs and lobbying executives are on standby for what one commentator predicts will be a golden age in the new political landscape.
Sport: Terry Wallace has been invited back to Richmond for the first time since his 2009 sacking and will attend the Tigers last game of the season as a guest of the club.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: Bali Nine heroin courier Scott Rush has begged an Indonesian court to spare his life and told of his nightmares about the firing squad.
Page 3: A swine flu vaccine for children is being withdrawn because it is no longer potent enough to be effective.
Business: Chilean officials yesterday broke the news to a desperate group of trapped miners that they could be stuck in their collapsed mine for months before being rescued.
Sport: The 10 raw Broncos set to be tossed into battle against the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium tonight were given a heart-to-heart message from coach Ivan Henjak yesterday: "You must believe."
