Gillard holds line on big handouts – The Fin; Rogue Nat seeks GST shake-up from Liberals – The Aus; Buswell pushes ban on new SW coal mine – The West; Export surge lifts growth outlook – The Fin; Local miners losing ground – The Fin
Gillard holds line on big handouts
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has vowed not to offer independent MPs any promise that weakens the budget bottom line, limiting her room to negotiate as the Coalition reviews its policies in order to win the independents' support. The Fin
Rogue Nat seeks GST shake-up from Liberals
New West Australian Nationals MP Tony Crook has met Tony Abbott to demand a ''fairer'' carveup of GST funding for his state. The Aus
Buswell pushes ban on new SW coal mine
Vasse MLA Troy Buswell has called for a ban on plans for coal mining in Margaret River, saying the area from Busselton to Augusta should be protected as a wine and tourism region. The West
Export surge lifts growth outlook
The mining boom has shrunk the current account deficit to its narrowest level in nearly a decade, boosting growth in the local economy as the Reserve Bank of Australia warns there is now a risk the US will fall into a double-dip recession. The Fin
Local miners losing ground
West Australian iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart has warned that Australia's advantage as a low-cost supplier of the steelmaking material is ebbing as miners focus on newer prospects in West Africa and freight rates fall. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Hawthorn Football Club has accused the Australian Football League of letting it down and denying midfielder Travis Tuck the optimum support in his battle with drugs and depression through its controversial illicit drugs policy.
Page 5: A row has broken out over plans to build a mosque in Orange Grove which sparked more than 40 complaints from locals.
Page 6: Julia Gillard has portrayed Labor as a friend of the bush in an appeal to the kingmaker rural independents not to allow Tony Abbott to "uproot" improvements to broadband, health and education with savage cuts.
Page 7: WA's V8 economy is fracturing in tow, with the retail and housing markets stalling while the resources sector powers ahead.
Page 9: Huge swaths of the South-West have recorded their driest winter, sparking fears of water shortages in summer when dam levels drop.
Page 10: Vasse MLA Troy Buswell has called for a ban on plans for coal mining in Margaret River, saying the area from Busselton to Augusta should be protected as a wine and tourism region.
Page 11: A Perth train driver has warned that passengers could face a repeat of last week's chaos, revealing some drivers are increasingly agitated after not getting an acceptable pay rise for five years.
The deteriorating health of the Gnangara Mound has likely reached the point of no return, with scientists saying its problems cannot be fixed because not enough is known about the sinking water table.
Page 14: Diminishing space to bury Perth's dead has forced local authorities to plan four new cemeteries and investigate an alternative disposal method that involves essentially dissolving a body in hot water.
Perth lawyer Gus Lee-Steere, a member of one of WA's most prominent founding families, faces a possible "significant" ban from practising after admitting professional misconduct in relation to two complaint put before the legal profession watchdog.
Business: Nomad Building Solutions has sheeted home its dismal financial performance to "operating and management deficiencies" after yesterday missing yet another forecast and handing down a bigger-than-expected loss.
PotashCorp of Canada has delivered a vitriolic attack on its $US40 billion hostile takeover suitor, BHP Billiton, for having the cheek to ring around PotashCorp's fertiliser customers to "sow seeds of doubt and confusion".
Amadeus Energy founder and managing director Geoffery Towner has quit, 13 years after listing the Perth oil and gas company on the back of a small oil operation in onshore US.
The private equity owners of Mitchell Corp expect to field offers for the WA trucking group by the end of the financial year, after hiring Macquarie Capital Advisers to shop the business around to potential suitors.
Police & Nurses Credit Society has set its sights on 20 per cent growth across its loan book this year, after lower bad debts and a sharp improvement in interest margins helped the mutual more than double annual profit.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The mining boom has shrunk the current account deficit to its narrowest level in nearly a decade, boosting growth in the local economy as the Reserve Bank of Australia warns there is now a risk the US will fall into a double-dip recession.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has vowed not to offer independent MPs any promise that weakens the budget bottom line, limiting her room to negotiate as the Coalition reviews its policies in order to win the independents' support.
Page 4: Building approvals for new homes rose for the first time in four months in July, but industry groups say the figures mask a depressed construction sector that is not building enough homes to meet demand.
Page 5: The Federal Court has frozen $30 million in assets owned by five offshore companies trading in Australian shares, picked up by the Project Wickenby tax haven probe.
Page 6: GM Holden has unveiled the first locally made car that can run on up to 85 per cent ethanol, in a national political envrionment that has taken a turn towards biofuels.
Page 14: Business has made its first appeal to independent MPs to back a minority coalition government by blasting Labor's plans for a $43 billion national broadband network.
Page 15: The battle for the bush is intensifying as both major parties make their pitch to the regions in the hope of winning the support of the three country independents.
Coalition frontbenchers are working on policy changes in a bit to entice independent MPs to back the Coalition as Tony Abbott told his team they are no longer the opposition and could be a government-in-waiting.
Independent West Australian nationals MP Tony Crook has a message for federal Nationals leader Warren Truss: leave the Coalition and join him on the crossbenches.
Page 47: West Australian iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart has warned that Australia's advantage as a low-cost supplier of the steelmaking material is ebbing as miners focus on newer prospects in West Africa and freight rates fall.
Page 51: Sandalwood producer TFS Corp said managed investment scheme (MIS) sales halved in 2010, reflecting the poor state of the market, but that plantation sales would at least equal 2010 this year.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard has drawn her first line in the sand on policy concessions to remain in office, flatly rejecting raising tariff barriers to curry favour with protectionist independent MP Bob Katter.
The strongest set of international accounts in 30 years, powered by a booming resources sector, has cemented Australia's reputation as the best performing developed economy.
Page 2: Stingy shoppers are undermining the retail recovery as the nation's biggest stores report stagnant or falling revenues over the past year.
A mining industry chief trying to raise $600 million to build Australia's first stainless steel refinery has a criminal conviction for stealing from a bank to buy gold coins for himself and disgraced former West Australian premier Brian Burke.
The wage gap between male and female graduates widened in the three years to last year, with women earning $7200 less a year than their male counterparts.
Page 3: The cricket bookie scandal has widened with revelations that Australian Test players Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were approached by an Indian underworld figure with links to illegal bookmakers in England last year.
Page 4: West Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter has warned that international treaties signed by Australia will soon have a direct impact on the way he runs the state's jails.
Page 6: Julia Gillard will support an independent Speaker in the lower house of parliament in a bid to secure the backing of the crossbenchers who will decide which party forms government.
Spring sunshine proved infectious as Coalition MPs awoke to the happy news that Labor could no longer claim to have won the popular vote.
Page 7: A group of telecommunications executives yesterday made an 11th-hour plea to independent MPs to weigh the benefits of Labor's $43-billion National Broadband Network plan carefully.
The Coalition's plan to reintroduce temporary protection visas could fall victim to the uncertainty of a hung parliament if Labor, the Greens and the independents combine to block the controversial measure.
New West Australian Nationals MP Tony Crook has met Tony Abbott to demand a ''fairer'' carveup of GST funding for his state.
Page 8: Perth has had its second-driest winter on record, rain returned to Victoria and the Top End was wet during its dry months, the Bureau of Meteorology said yesterday at the season's end.
Business: Commonwealth Bank has set the ambitious target of slashing the cost-to-income ratio for its retail banking business to the lowest in the world, due to its $750 million ''real-time banking'' technology investment.
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has ramped up the hostilities as it fights BHP Billiton's $US40 billion ($45bn) takeover bid, accusing it of ''inappropriate and highly unethical'' behaviour.
Minara Resources, whose managing director Peter Johnston is the new chairman of the Minerals Council of Australia, has reported first-half net profit of $39.3 million, as improved nickel prices helped it switch from a loss a year earlier.
Engineering services group UGL will consider appointing a director based offshore as it continues with a board renewal program to accommodate its international expansion plans.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The David Jones sexual harassment claim was almost settled with an $850,000 offer. A lease for a waterfront building owned by taxpayers was signed over to a politically-connected Sydney family.
The three rural independents have signalled they will give their decision by as early as Friday.
Page 2: The NSW corruption watchdog has launched two investigations involving employees of the state-owned Sydney Water corporation.
Page 3: Debate on Clover Moore's same sex adoption bill has been rushed forward to begin on Wednesday.
World: (Beijing) The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, has promised North Korean leader Kim Jong-il help to develop his economy.
Business: A 13-month dispute with the corporate regulator has ended in a victory for Lance Rosenberg.
Sport: Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson rebuffed approaches from a Mumbai gangster who targeted other players for information.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were approached by match-fixers during last year's Ashes series. An Australian is dead after a plane crash off Papua New Guinea. Julia Gillard made her big pitch to the three men who will decide if she can form government.
Page 2: The F3 was again brought to a standstill when a truck crashed into a wall.
Page 3: The conscience vote over gay adoption is dividing major parties.
World: South African rugby union player Bees Roux was charged with murder on Tuesday.
Business: Cafes and restaurants had the biggest monthly rise in trade in more than 18 years.
Sport: Robert Finch will step down as NRL referees coach at the end of the season.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: The AFL is engulfed in another drugs crisis after Hawthorn's Travis Tuck last night became the first player to record a third strike under the league's controversial drug code.
Page 2: Bored public servants are drawing $50 million a day in wages as they wait for the political deadlock to end.
Page 3: Paul Hogan has come out fighting against the tax man, declaring he will risk bankruptcy before he pays.
World: US Vice-President Joe Biden flew into Iraq yesterday to oversee the official end to combat operations in Iraq.
Business: Australia's economy appears to be firing on all cylinders, with the nations trade deficit shrinking at its fastest pace in years and consumers finally returning to the shops.
Sport: Top-secret information about St Kilda's finals campaign has been stolen during a break-in at the club's headquarters.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has failed in an initial bid to win the backing of key Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie, as negotiations intensify over who will form the next Australian government; The David Jones sexual harassment claim was on the verge of being settled for $850,000 only a few days before Kirsty Fraser-Kirk launched her record $37 million damages claim against her employer and its former chief executive, Mark McInnes.
Page 2: Prosecutors are under instruction to call for harsher penalties for aggravated burglaries, meaning criminals caught breaking into homes while the occupants are present are likely to face higher sentences.
Page 3: The Victorian government has given its strongest indication yet it is preparing the ground for a second casino at the same time as newly elected independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie is pushing to reduce community harm from poker machines.
World: Seven years after his predecessor sent US troops into Iraq, President Barack Obama will formally mark the end of the combat mission today with a televised address to the nation.
Business: A 13-month secret dispute with the corporate regulator has ended in a victory for Lance Rosenberg, whose Tricom Equities was embroiled in the collapse of Opes Prime.
Sport: Hawthorn is confident it does not have a drug culture among its players and the problems confronting Travis Tuck do not extend to the broader playing group.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Canberra Airport managing director Stephen Byron says the nation's capital should replace Sydney as Australia's main passenger entry point.
Canberrans will be welcoming the start of spring after the coldest winter in a decade. Independent MP Andrew Wilkie is sitting on a decision, and has failed to rule out his fellow independents going separate ways in their support for the next government.
At least one Australian has been killed in a plane crash in Papua New Guinea.
New economic data suggests the commodity boom is finally beginning to pay dividends for Australian households.
Page 2: The Bureau of Meteorology is set to undergo technology upgrades, meaning changes to the way Canberra weather is forecast.
Page 3: The ACT government defends itself over last month's Barton Highway bridge collapse following reports it was warned about project problems in 2007.
World: Five US troops have been killed in Afghanistan after a roadside bomb detonated.
Business: A Canberran cyber security firm has been named the Australian Business of the Year at the 2010 Telstra Business Awards.
Sport: Raiders hooker Glen Buttriss is keeping his options open, hoping for a better deal than the one-year offer the Raiders have put on the table.