Greens fight Labor on uranium – The Aus; Unions push wages in West – The Fin; Environment watchdog warns against more logging in state forest – The Aus; Ammtec board backs Campbell – The Fin; QR National banks on WA rail track revamp – The West
Greens fight Labor on uranium
The Greens have threatened to use their historic alliance with Labor to stop billions of dollars of planned uranium projects from securing government approval, in the first sign of the party's push for greater influence over government policy. The Aus
Unions push wages in West
The West Australian government's policy to limit public sector wage growth to about 4 per cent a year is under threat from two high-profile union campaigns. The Fin
Environment watchdog warns against more logging in state forest
Climate change is causing major problems in Western Australia's iconic southwest forest area, with the state's environmental watchdog yesterday warning the Barnett government against continued logging in some parts. The Aus
Ammtec board backs Campbell
Mineral-testing company Campbell Brothers was poised to take control of Perth-based Ammtec, after securing a board recommendation from its takeover target yesterday. The Fin
QR National banks on WA rail track revamp
WA's biggest rail-freight operator., the Queensland government-owned ARG, is banking on much needed upgrades to the state's rail track network to drive further growth in its iron ore business as it prepares for life as a listed company. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: An expected 140,000 surge in children in WA in the next decade could require an estimated 312 new schools.
Page 4: WA's real estate industry association has called for tighter security over documents deende to sell property after a scam that led to the sale of a Wembley Downs retiree's investment property without his permission.
Dwindling rainfall has made the logging of native timber unsustainable in parts of the state, the Environmental Protection Authority has warned, but it will allow logging to continue.
Page 5: A row has broken out between high-profile car dealer John Hughes, his millionaire neighbours and the local council over his plans for a three-storey riverfront home.
Page 6: Australia's top soldier says key defence assets are so overstretched coping with the influx of boat people that day-to-day operations are being compromised.
Julia Gillard has baulked at her first opportunity to represent Australia overseas, instead agreeing to dispatch the man she deposed to address world leaders at the United Nations next week.
Page 10: Public hospital workers have threatened to escalate industrial action and strike if the state government does not heed their pay rise demands.
The Construction, Mining, Forestry and Energy Union has rallied behind the proposed Margaret River coalmine - claiming it will create hundreds of jobs - after yesterday meeting the company behind the proposed operation.
Page 13: WA farmers look set to quadruple potato exports in the next 10 years after the state was yesterday finally clear of the devastating potato cyst nematode.
Page 17: The parliamentary committee responsible for overseeing the Corruption and Crime Commission is likely to consider as early as tomorrow whether the suicide of a witness before a planned public hearing should be referred to the integrity agency's Parliamentary inspector.
Page 19: Flying on low-cost airlines within Australia can cost travellers more than flying Qantas if passengers pay for extras.
Business: Four months of boardroom brawling has come to an end, with Leighton Holdings confirming that its hugely successful chief executive of 23 years, Wal King, will be replaced by the chief operating officer, David Stewart, at the end of the year.
Tanami Gold has taken the unusual step of publicly lambasting investment bank UBS for allegedly misstating the Perth junior's valuation based on gold resources.
Troy Resources chief executive Trevor Benson has been recalled to the gold miner's board less than a year after quitting as part of a peace deal to end an acrimonious public battle with long-serving director John Jones.
It was a case of third time lucky for Campbell Brothers yesterday as another sweetened offer finally won the endorsement of the board of WA minerals testing house Ammtec, drawing the curtain on a four month takeover tussle.
WA's biggest rail-freight operator., the Queensland government-owned ARG, is banking on much needed upgrades to the state's rail track network to drive further growth in its iron ore business as it prepares for life as a listed company.
The Gillard government has warned Australian banks against using new rules designed to strengthen the global banking system as a cover to push through interest rate rises.
Australian shares hit a four-month closing high yesterday as investors took heart from China's latest economic data and new banking capital rules approved at the weekend.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Australian banks will meet new global capital rules but have warned that tougher requirements mean higher funding costs will be passed onto borrowers.
Wal King, the man who has run Leighton Holdings for 23 years, stressed he was leaving of his "own free will" after the construction group said yesterday he would step down at the end of the year and be replaced by co-chief operating officer David Stewart.
The danger that the United States economy is sliding into another recession is the biggest worry for many of Australia's chief executives, a sign of how businesses outside the resources sector have been spooked by the ominous economic signals emerging from the world's largest economy.
Page 3: Flawed dividend laws rushed through parliament before the federal election need urgent attention, legal authorities said yesterday, as boards wrestle with dividend payments.
Page 4: Accountants can look forward to higher salaries after new human resources budgets, looming regulatory changes and a pick-up in business confidence boosted demand for number-crunchers.
The Australian Taxation Office has emerged from months of technological teething problems and looks likely to uncover almost twice as much potential tax fraud and overstatement of refunds as last year, as well as significant identity fraud, by the end of the processing season.
Page 5: The West Australian government's policy to limit public sector wage growth to about 4 per cent a year is under threat from two high-profile union campaigns.
Page 8: Competition and consumer advocates have slammed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's decision to regulate competition policy and consumer affairs portfolios in her frontbench shakeup.
Bill Shorten will be kept busy in his new roles as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation if the industry's list of reforms is any indication.
Page 9: Employers and training groups have welcomed the Gillard government's shift in focus in the education portfolio towards skills and jobs, saying this placed the increased focus on business needs.
Page 10: State ministers have backed a Gillard government plan to create a new model for billions of dollars spent on regional Australia, confirming that changes under way in Canberra could force a similar shake-up across the states.
Page 19: Labor has leapt to Telstra's defence over the national broadband network after Future Fund chairman David Murray lambasted the telco for the lack of disclosure in its $11 billion heads of agreement with NBN Co.
Page 22: Mineral-testing company Campbell Brothers was poised to take control of Perth-based Ammtec, after securing a board recommendation from its takeover target yesterday.
Page 49: Aevum has told shareholders to hold off on taking up a sweetened "final and unconditional" offer from Stockland Group.
Page 53: Australian office vacancy levels are forecast to shring as low supply levels and rising demand keep occupancy rates high.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The Greens have threatened to use their historic alliance with Labor to stop billions of dollars of planned uranium projects from securing government approval, in the first sign of the party's push for greater influence over government policy.
Voters have validated the decision of the independent MPs to back Labor to form a minority government, although the ALP's primary vote has fallen to a five-year low and an election held now would be likely to deliver another hung parliament.
He hasn't even been sworn in as Foreign Minister but Kevin Rudd, one of the nation's most travelled prime ministers, is back on the road.
Page 2: Mental health experts are warning that Labor needs to recast the $277 million suicide prevention policy it took to the federal election, both by increasing the funding and focusing it more tightly.
Page 4: The federal government last night sought to open talks with the chief proponents of a scheme to protect journalists' sources that Labor rejected throughout its first term of office.
By the end of the month, TV viewers will have an extra two channels -- one for the male of the household and one for the female.
Climate change is causing major problems in Western Australia's iconic southwest forest area, with the state's environmental watchdog yesterday warning the Barnett government against continued logging in some parts.
Page 5: The Prime Minister's office has denied that the failure to appoint a minister for education was designed to change the focus of the portfolio to jobs and skills to the detriment of pure learning.
Page 6: New West Australian Nationals MP Tony Crook has lashed out at the Coalition for failing to accommodate his demands for Western Australia while trying to buy the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie.
Tony Abbott is delaying forming his front bench because of strategic surprises in Julia Gillard's ministry and portfolio changes that will stretch opposition frontbenchers facing numerous ministers.
Business: The banking industry is concerned that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will lock in tougher domestic banking capital rules than those outlined in the new global banking regime.
The 24-year-reign of Wal King at the helm of construction giant Leighton Holdings will end on January 1 after he agreed yesterday to hand over to chief executive-elect David Stewart.
Virgin Blue, already reeling from planned rejections of its proposed alliances with Air New Zealand and Delta Air Lines, faces a new attack from rival Qantas on the third leg of its battered international strategy.
Companies valued at nearly $14 billion remain on course for sharemarket listings in 2011, as brokers and underwriters hope a bounce back in sentiment and global conditions will continue into the new year.
The battle for retirement village operator Aevum intensified last night after listed property trust Stockland added $54 million to its offer in a last-ditch effort to win swift support from the target board.
Distressed power company Alinta Energy Group has received a number of bids for its whole business and individual assets.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: ANZ Bank may have acted illegally by harassing debtors.
A small group of astronomers in NSW is probing one of the most profound puzzles of science.
Sydney student Mark Scarcella is heading to Switzerland to work at the Large Hadron Collider.
The Ambon-based unit of Detachment 88, accused of brutality, will be disbanded.
Thousands of family court orders could be invalid after a landmark High Court decision.
Ian Macfarlane was exposed as a lousy mafioso when he told Julie Bishop that Andrew Robb wanted to be deputy leader.
Page 2: A terrorist cell preparing to attack Holsworthy Army Barracks sought approval from Somali clerics.
Page 3: One of Australia's best-selling painkillers should be banned, an author of a study says.
World: (Jerusalem) US officials are working frantically to prevent the collapse of peace talks.
Business: The federal government has warned Australian banks against using new rules designed to strengthen the global banking system.
Sport: Wests Tigers' centre Blake Ayshford has been quarantined after coming down with a mysterious illness.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: The family of Constable William Crews have forgiven the officer who accidentally shot him. The three independent champions of parliamentary reforms did not front for 500 votes in the House of Representatives during the first term of the Labor government.
Page 2: The family of Constable William Crews have forgiven the officer who accidentally shot him.
Page 3: Oprah is coming to Sydney.
World: (London) A mother neglected her three children because she became obsessed with a computer game.
Business: Leighton Holdings is to get a CEO after 23 years.
Sport: Tigers backrower Simon Dwyer took out one of rugby league's toughest men.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: The hulking thug who beat little Daniel Valerio to death in one of Australia's most shocking child abuse cases will make his bid for freedom tomorrow.
Page 2: A war between factions linked to an alleged Melbourne Lebanese crime family may have led to the fatal shooting of a man in a western suburbs industrial park.
Page 3: A newborn foal is finding her feet after losing her mum and almost losing her life in the big wet.
World: An American convicted in the death of a Melbourne Jewish scholar during race riots in the 1990s has been stabbed in the head with an ice pick in a possible road rage attack.
Business: Hundreds of companies littering the Australian Securities Exchange register are too small and idle to justify their listing, according to a critical report.
Sport: Geelong last night scored bragging rights over preliminary final rivals Collingwood with six of its stars named in the All-Australian team.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plan to turn East Timor into a regional hub to process refugee claims has been boosted after the government in Dili identified a possible site to house asylum seekers. ANZ Bank may have acted illegally by harassing debtors and seizing money from their accounts in breach of consumer laws.
Page 2: The Defence Force chief has pre-empted a parliamentary debate on Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan, warning against a premature withdrawal of troops.
Page 3: An increasing number of Victoria's sickest patients are waiting too long for urgent surgery because hospitals cannot keep up with soaring demand, a state government report shows.
World: Thousands of Tea Party supporters have marched to the foot of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, declaring their determination to topple the Democratic majority in Congress in November's mid-term elections.
Business: Leighton Holdings has confirmed the worst-kept secret in corporate Australia - that its hugely successful chief executive of 23 years, Wal King, is to be replaced by chief operating officer David Stewart at the end of the year.
Sport: Jealousy of Geelong is not necessarily a sin, according to Collingwood midfielder Scott Pendlebury, while warning that honesty must be injured teammate Sharrod Wellingham's policy ahead of Friday night's preliminary final against the reigning premier at the MCG.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Defence policy will suffer as a result of Labor's decision to move MP Mike Kelly from the portfolio. The ACT government has unveiled its scheme to turn Canberra into the nation's solar power leader.
Page 2: One in three young Australians are drinking alcohol for the sole purpose of getting drunk, a survey has found. Four firefighters will be recommended for bravery awards after they tried to save a man trapped in a submerged car.
Page 3: The Arctic is warming at a rate almost twice the global average, a report says.
World: The construction of more than 13,000 new homes for Israeli settlers in the West Bank has been approved.
Business: An ecotourism specialist wants the federal government to commit $10 billion over 10 years to restore Australian tourism to its former glory.
Darwin is set to be the floating LNG capital of the world, the NT government says.
Sport: Raiders coach David Furner faces a major selection headache this week should captain Alan Tongue prove his fitness for Friday night's NRL semi-final against the Wests Tigers.
