Woodside land move to be felt 'around the world' – The Aus; Resource states reap $3.4bn royalty bonanza – The Fin; Rio keeps Pilbara JV options open – The West; Wesfarmers backs diversity – The Fin; Home targets to cost more – The West
Woodside land move to be felt 'around the world'
Aboriginal leaders and celebrity environmentalists have threatened to mobilise across Australia in a battle ''as big as Noonkanbah'' after the West Australian government yesterday began compulsory acquisition of land north of Broome to help kick-start Woodside's $30 billion gas project. The Aus
Resource states reap $3.4bn royalty bonanza
The soaring commodity prices that underpinned this week's robust economic growth numbers are also set to pump an extra $3.4 billion into state coffers over the next two years, thank to higher royalties. The Fin
Rio keeps Pilbara JV options open
Rio Tinto has not ruled out demanding BHP Billiton increase its $5.8 billion equalisation payment before Rio agrees to the miners' Pilbara iron ore joint venture. The West
Wesfarmers backs diversity
Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder says the Perth-based conglomerate may never achieve the 10 per cent-plus return on funds employed it enjoyed before its $20 billion acquisition of Coles Group. The Fin
Home targets to cost more
WA's leading land developer claims the State Government's bid to boost residential density will undermine affordability, with apartments costing up to six times more to build than the same floorspace in houses. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: Curtin University vice-chancellor Jeanette Hacket has warned that attempts by a former lecturer to trade grades for sex could harm the reputation of all Australian universities.
WA Police would charge almost $90 an hour for each officer attending festivals and sports events under proposed laws that could drive up ticket prices.
Page 5: Tighter bag limits for recreational anglers of popular fish species herring and tailor could be introduced after a Government study has questioned whether fishing on current stocks is sustainable.
Page 6: Tony Abbott has dismissed a black hole of up to $11 bilion in his election promises a "difference of opinion" but key independents appear to have backed the view of Treasury and Finance over the economic credentials of the Opposition.
Page 7: Julia Gillard has become the hot favourite to form a minority government after Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie backed her despite being offered $1 billion for a new hospital by a desperate Tony Abbott.
Fortescue Metals Group boss Andrew Forrest has backed a call for a taxation summit from one of the independent MPs central to negotiations over which party will form government.
Page 10: WA farmers have started writing off failed crops, blaming a severe lack of rain after one of the driest winters on record.
Page 11: An insurance scheme protecting farmers against crop losses should be underwritten by the Federal Government, according to newly elected Nationals MP Tony Crook.
Page 12: Anger among Aboriginal and community groups in the Kimberley erupted yesterday after Colin Barnett started the process of compulsory acquisition of land at James Price Point north of Broome, where the State wants energy giant Woodside and its partners to build a gas processing hub.
The author of a report which concluded that oil and gas development in the Kimberley would spell the end for tourism in the region said the government's own research on the issue was flawed and should not have been allowed to contribute to public debate.
Page 13: The historic Playhouse Theatre faces demolition early next year to make way for a $3 million music centre funded by an international donor as part of the redevelopment of the St George's Cathedral precinct.
Page 15: The state government will expand a controversial program in which at-risk babies are monitored while still in the womb and then seized soon after birth if a mother is considered a bad parent.
Page 16: WA's leading land developer claims the State Government's bid to boost residential density will undermine affordability, with apartments costing up to six times more to build than the same floorspace in houses.
Page 17: The manager of a tax minimisation scheme, which lured senior WA police as investors before collapsing and losing millions of dollars, has been convicted of stealing funds from his company's trust account.
Page 18: Motorists are under no legal obligation to pay $60 parking breach notices issued by private operator Wilson Parking, shadow attorney-general John Quigley says.
Page 30: Qantas will not rush to inspect all the Rolls Royce engines on its planes in the wake of the spectacular engine failure mid-flight from San Francisco before it has received guidance from air safety investigators and regulators about the likely cause.
Page 34: The company responsible for last year's massive oil spill off the WA coast said yesterday it had not accepted a compensation claim from the Indonesian government in a move that could set the scene for a legal battle.
Business: A long-standing backer of Fortescue Metals Group is suing the iron ore miner and its chief executive Andrew Forrest in a move that could delay the group's Pilbara growth plans.
Rio Tinto has not ruled out demanding BHP Billiton increase its $5.8 billion equalisation payment before Rio agrees to the miners' Pilbara iron ore joint venture.
Wesfarmers chief Richard Goyder has criticised the standard of economic debate during the Federal election, saying politicians spent too much time arguing over the budget deficit while ignoring the need for policy reform.
Two years of shock profit downgrades and poor continuous disclosure have left Nufarm facing an imminent shareholder class action over what lawyers have described as blatant misleading and deceptive conduct.
Eddy Groves, the founder of ABC Learning, is taking legal action against Austock Group, alleging the stockbroker's failure to execute a sell order on his Austock stake resulted in him losing $10 million.
Chinese interest in taking on BHP Billiton in its $US40 billion takeover bid for Canada's PotashCorp is on the rise, according to overseas reports.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The soaring commodity prices that underpinned this week's robust economic growth numbers are also set to pump an extra $3.4 billion into state coffers over the next two years, thank to higher royalties.
Julia Gillard has gained the crucial vote of Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie by bringing forward up to $1.8 billion in health funding, including an upgraded Hobart hospital and agreeing to speed up a crackdown on poker machines.
Page 3: Fears that Woodside would drop a $30 billion liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia's remote north have prompted the state government to decide to compulsoril acquire the proposed site against the wishes of the traditional owners.
Page 5: Australia has posted four consecutive trade surpluses for only the fifth time in the past 30 years as commodity exports to Asia buoyed the economy.
Page 10: The US government could scale back its order of the aircraft planned to take the Royal Australian Air Force into the 21st century, the F-35 joint strike fighter, increasing the price for Australia.
Page 15: Independent Rob Oakeshott has suggested a taxation summit to examine broad reforms, amid unease over the process and potential effects of Labor's mineral resource rent tax.
Page 16: The Coalition has claimed a difference of opinion on data and costing assumptions is the key reason why Treasury has identified up to a $10.6 billion shortfall in its election commitments.
Page 17: Julia Gillard's promise to open up a funding round of $1.8 billion for hospitals in exchange for the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie has sparked concerns the bidding process could favour large city hospitals.
Page 18: A surprise pick-up in the pace of expansion of the US manufacturing sector in August has eased fears that the world's biggest economy might be headed into a double-dip recession, despite lingering challenges on the job and housing fronts.
Page 43: Fortescue Metals Group's long-time partner, Leucadia National,has accused the miner's chief executive, Andrew Forrest, of "misleading and deceptive conduct" in his efforts to raise new funds for expansion.
Emerging iron ore producer Atlas Iron plans to spend $178 million on a project to more than double production from its northern Pilbara mines by 2012.
Page 44: A United States anti-trust investigation could drag out the time frame of BHP Billiton's $US40 billion hostile takeover of Canada's Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan just as the potash price starts to rise.
Contract iron ore prices will plunge by more than 13 per cent in the last quarter of this year, Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh says.
Page 45: Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder says the Perth-based conglomerate may never achieve the 10 per cent-plus return on funds employed it enjoyed before its $20 billion acquisition of Coles Group.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Labor has moved within two seats of retaining government after winning Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie's allegiance in exchange for extra health funding and poker machine reform.
Julia Gillard has been accused of breaking a promise to Australia's 4000 registered clubs after cutting a deal with independent Andrew Wilkie that will mandate smartcard technology to limit gamblers' losses in return for his support in the hung parliament.
Page 2: The Department of Immigration has denied there is overcrowding at the Darwin Immigration Centre, despite hundreds of detainees staging a violent riot and a brazen breakout from the facility in the past five days.
Page 3: The nation's biggest money laundering case brought as part of the tax fraud probe Project Wickenby has collapsed, with authorities due to drop a key charge today.
Darren Moore, the West Australian killed in the plane crash in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, had worked hard at improving the appalling safety record plaguing that nation's aviation industry.
Page 4: Independent Andrew Wilkie has angered senior Coalition powerbrokers, who feel betrayed after he rejected an offer from Tony Abbott that will see the Tasmanian MP's local hospital receive $1 billion.
Defeated Labor MP Arch Bevis has warned that Labor's federal alliance with the Greens could mean voters move back and forth between the two parties at future elections.
The nation will have to wait until early next week for a decision on who will form government, after the three country independents indicated they would return to their electorates at the weekend to consider their verdict.
Page 5: The coal-seam gas industry has labelled the Greens' policy to seek a moratorium on CSG exploration as hypocritical, arguing that gasfired power plants are cleaner and greener than coal-fired plants.
The country's biggest miners have downplayed concerns that Julia Gillard will renege on her mining tax pledge to maintain the support of the Greens and Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie.
Aboriginal leaders and celebrity environmentalists have threatened to mobilise across Australia in a battle ''as big as Noonkanbah'' after the West Australian government yesterday began compulsory acquisition of land north of Broome to help kick-start Woodside's $30 billion gas project.
Page 6: Australia must develop its regional economies and industries beyond mining if it is to prosper from our greatest economic opportunity, Wayne Swan says.
The $10.6 billion hole in the Coalition's election policy costings identified by Treasury was mainly caused by a breach of basic budgeting principles.
Fewer than one in two Australians are aware of the substantial state and federal government subsidies available to install energysaving hot water products, according to a new survey.
Page 7: A Perth lecturer found to have pressured failing Chinese students for sex is unlikely to be the only academic to exploit the vulnerability of students caught up in Australia's visas-for-degrees trade, according to the WA Corruption and Crime Commission.
The fall in international student commencements accelerated in July as numbers from India plummeted with the crackdown on student visa fraud and tougher migration policies.
Page 8: An underground coal mine planned for Western Australia's world-class wine region of Margaret River has infuriated and mobilised locals, forcing Premier Colin Barnett to hint that the state government may oppose the controversial project.
Business: Andrew Forrest and Fortescue Metals Group are being sued by major shareholder Leucadia National for alleged misleading and deceptive behaviour after a brash move by Fortescue that could secure billions of dollars of interest-free funding for iron ore expansions.
Credit providers face strict new compliance reviews and applicants for new licences will be subject to rigorous checks to ensure their applications are accurate as the corporate regulator steps up its enforcement of a new national credit regime.
BHP Billiton will soon get a sense of the regulatory hurdles facing its $US38.7 billion ($42.5bn) hostile bid for Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, and whether it will need to sell $US8bn of equity investments, with US competition regulators to decide by Tuesday whether the bid warrants extra scrutiny.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Sam Walsh will not rule out the prospect of BHP Billiton needing to increase the $US5.8 billion ($6.3bn) equalisation payment it agreed to make as part of the planned Pilbara joint venture.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: A powerful Sydney property baron arranged more than $6000 worth of business-class airline upgrades for a Labor minister. Julia Gillard won a vital advantage on Thursday when Labor ended the day with 74 seats on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Page 2: Property tycoon Ron Medich has been granted an interim apprehended domestic violence order over the behaviour of his wife, Odette.
Page 3: Brisbane's Leonard Brown wins Blake Prize.
World: Middle East peace talks in Washington have opened to notes of cautious optimism. (Jerusalem)
Business: ABC Learning founder Eddy Groves is taking legal action against Austock Group, alleging the stockbroker's failure to execute a sell order on a stake he held in the financial services company resulted in him losing $10 million.
Sport: Fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur has defeated fellow Australian Anastasia Rodionova in the third round of the US Open.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Tony Windsor, one of the key independents holding the future of the federal government in his hands, had considered retiring before the 2010 election. Julia Gillard's poker machine deal with independent MP Andrew Wilkie has angered the clubs industry.
Page 2: Reverend Fred Nile says his staff clicked on porn websites purely for research purposes.
Page 3: A friend of Sydney identity Fadi Ibrahim has become a police witness over an alleged conspiracy to kill a family enemy, John Macris.
World: At least three people were killed and dozens injured today when Typhoon Kompasu hit South Korea, cutting power to tens of thousands of homes and disrupting transport.
Business: James Packer's foray into China's gambling enclave could yet come up trumps for the Australian casino tycoon.
Sport: Three Pakistan cricketers should face a life ban if they are found guilty of being involved in a betting scam, Shane Warne says.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard has edged closer to winning power after snaring independent MP Andrew Wilkie with a $100 million handout to fix his local hospital.
Page 2: World champion boxer Barry Michael is expected to be hit with a gun charge.
Page 3: Alcohol will be served in shatterproof glasses at high-risk CBD nightclubs to try to curb drunken violence.
World: Smoke and drink more, Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin has urged citizens, explaining that higher consumption would help lift tax revenue for spending on social services.
Business: A sharp drop in one of the nations key exports wasn't enough to stop Australia banking a fourth straight monthly trade surplus, confirming the economy is in the grip of "commodity boom mark II".
Sport: Football fighters Steven Baker and Steve Johnson step back into the ring at the MCG tonight.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Julia Gillard is just two seats away from being able to form government after Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie rejected a $1 billion offer from Tony Abbott for a new hospital in Hobart and agreed to throw his support behind Labor; A plan to crack down on the supply of alcohol to minors by people other than their parents has been rejected by the Brumby government.
Page 2: Qantas says it will not rush to inspect all Rolls-Royce engines on its jumbos before it has received guidance from air safety investigators and regulators about the likely cause of a midair engine explosion on a flight out of San Francisco.
Page 3: Australia will soon open an embassy in Ethiopia in what is widely seen as an attempt to bolster its campaign to win a prized seat on the United Nations Security Council.
World: Though the barriers to a Middle East peace remain huge, fortified
still by two days of terror attacks on Israelis in the West Bank, US-brokered peace negotiations in Washington have opened to notes of cautious optimism.
Business: Two years of shock profit downgrades and poor continuous disclosure have left Nufarm facing an imminent shareholder class action over what lawyers have described as "blatant misleading and deceptive conduct".
Sport: Adelaide has made a bold offer to entice highly talented prospect Jack Viney to reject Melbourne and instead stay in Adelaide and join the club where his father works.
