BHP call for climate action – The Fin; Keep gas in WA, urges MP – The Fin; Gas hub opponents lobby Greens – The West; St John crisis as hospitals overflow – The West; Barnett drops fire compo deadline – The West
BHP call for climate action
BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers has called for the early introduction of a price on carbon, in a boost to the Gillard government's hopes of establishing a consensus on climate change policy. The Fin
Keep gas in WA, urges MP
The head of a West Australian parliamentary inquiry into the state's high gas prices has floated a radical idea: force energy companies to sell more of their gas at home. The Fin
Gas hub opponents lobby Greens
Greens leader Bob Brown has thrown his support behind campaigners trying to halt the compulsory acquisition of land at James Price Point for a $30 billion gas precinct, calling on Premier Colin Barnett to reverse his decision and project partners to find a new site. The West
St John crisis as hospitals overflow
Only one or two ambulances were available to respond to emergencies across Perth yesterday because more than half the St John fleet was tied up outside busy hospital emergency departments waiting to transfer patients. The West
Barnett drops fire compo deadline
Colin Barnett has backed away from his three-week deadline for settling compensation for the Toodyay fire victims, yesterday refusing to guarantee the issue would be settled by the end of the year. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Only one or two ambulances were available to respond to emergencies across Perth yesterday because more than half the St John fleet was tied up outside busy hospital emergency departments waiting to transfer patients.
Page 3: The Education Department has revealed the full extent of WA's looming teacher shortage, forecasting the State could need up to 3,000 extra teachers within four years.
Mining giant Alcoa was yesterday ordered to pay $50,000 after pleading guilty to breaching conditions of its Wagerup refinery licence in 2006 when clouds of red dust were blown on to surrounding farmland and the town of Yarloop.
Page 4: The City of Perth will pour an extra $410,000 into the Forrest Place upgrade in a bid to accelerate works ahead of looming traffic chaos in the city centre.
Page 6: Tourism WA chairwoman Kate Lamont knew about Oprah Winfrey's visit to Australia months ago as a director of Tourism Australia but she could not tell anyone, including state Tourism Minister Liz Constable, because of a confidentiality agreement.
Page 10: Luxury hotels around the world have slashed prices by up to 40 per cent during the global financial crisis, but price reductions in Perth would barely buy a cup of coffee.
Page 13: WA honey producer Wescobee risks losing contracts on the back of the rising Australian dollar, which is hurting exporters but will be a boon for importers, currency strategists say.
The spoils of an increasingly wealthy nation are not being shared equally, with new figures showing the gap between Australia's rich and poor growing over the past decade.
Page 14: Colin Barnett has backed away from his three-week deadline for settling compensation for the Toodyay fire victims, yesterday refusing to guarantee the issue would be settled by the end of the year.
Page 16: The Gillard government is set to lose more power over the way question time is run, with independent Rob Oakeshott putting up his hand to become Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Page 17: Tony Abbott has set himself an improbable task - convincing the independents to switch their allegiance to the coalition to make him Prime Minister without Australians having to return to the polls.
Greens leader Bob Brown has thrown his support behind campaigners trying to halt the compulsory acquisition of land at James Price Point for a $30 billion gas precinct, calling on Premier Colin Barnett to reverse his decision and project partners to find a new site.
Page 18: The coastal strip of fishing towns from Lancelin to Dongara is preparing for a major economic and tourism boom following the opening of the long-awaited Indian Ocean Drive this weekend.
Page 32: Housing Minister Bill Marmion yesterday denied he was caving in to publicity by giving a pregnant woman protesting in a tent the keys to State-owned home, despite his department ruling she did not deserve it.
Manjimup locals fear for the town's future after the owners of a sawmill revealed it would pull out of native forest sawmilling and woodchip exports.
Business: BHP Billiton chief Marius Kloppers yesterday urged Australia to reduce its reliance on coal as he joined other big bosses in backing a price on carbon.
Gold would continue to set new price records ass long as doubts persisted over the health of the global economy, analysts said yesterday.
Petrobras, the Brazilian state-run energy giant that is in the throes of a world record $US75 billion ($80 billion) equity raising, has secured its first move into WA's highly prospective Carnarvon Basin amid plans to drill a 12 trillion cubic feet gas prospect within two months .
Beijing has confirmed for the first time that it is closely watching global miner BHP's $US40 billion ($44 billion) bid to acquire one of the world's biggest producers of potash.
After nearly eight decades on the Paynes Find gold field, a Murchison family is cashing up through an $8 million stockmarket float.
As the remaining player left in the running for AXA Asia Pacific, it seems only a matter of time before AMP puts a fresh offer on the table for its wealth management rival.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers has called for the early introduction of a price on carbon, in a boost to the Gillard government's hopes of establishing a consensus on climate change policy.
Federal cabinet is expected to kick off a number of key decisions this month that will allow an accelerated rollout of the national broadband network as the Coalition has stepped up its pledges to "demolish" the project.
Concerns that the US Federal Reserve may be close to implementing another round of unconventional policy to bolster the world's largest economy lifted gold prices to record levels and the Australian dollar to a two-year high as traders dumped the ailing US dollar.
Page 3: Consumers are showing renewed signs of caution about the economic outlook, preferring to pay down debt rather than ramp up their spending or build new houses.
The Australian Taxation Office is taking a closer look at fringe benefits in a bid to catch employers failing to lodge returns or incorrectly reporting perks - particularly where luxury cars are part of a salary package.
Page 4: The head of a West Australian parliamentary inquiry into the state's high gas prices has floated a radical idea: force energy companies to sell more of their gas at home.
Page 5: The Gillard government should act on five priority areas in its first 100 days in office, including preparing a national infrastructure plan, releasing the Henry tax review modelling and committing to an energy security policy, says the Business Council of Australia.
Business leaders were disappointed with the quality of debate on many policy issues during the election campaign and particularly the spat over population growth and immigration levels.
Page 6: Former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull will continue his push for a market-based carbon price to target climate change and labelled the Coalition's current climate change policy as "not ideal".
Page 7: BHP Billiton chief executive Marius Kloppers expects few changes to the mineral resource rent tax as the details are thrashed out between government and the industry.
Page 10: The number of skilled job vacancies surged last moth as a result of the mining boom and a better outlook for the global economy, in another sign of growing pressure on wages.
Page 11: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett called on the federal government to release the report into the Montara oil spill.
Page 18: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to further delay a decision on whether to approve their proposed $US116 billion Pilbara ($123 billion) iron ore joint venture.
Page 18: The last of the gold majors with a significant hedge book, AngloGold Ashanti, has taken steps to close it out and capitalise on record prices for the precious metal.
Page 21: French oil giant Total, fresh from a $860 million investment in Santos's Gladstone liquefied natural gas venture in Queensland, is parachuting in one of its key global project experts to revive momentum at its second major Australian venture, the $23 billion Ichthys LNG project.
Page 48: Australia's $200 billion property funds industry has been hammered by the global financial crisis.
Page 53: Leading non-residential construction groups received a much-needed boost from government stimulus spending and the still-booming mining sector over the past year, according to Housing Industry Association figures.
Page 68: The 15-month-old plan by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to achieve $US10 billion of cost savings in their Pilbara iron ore operations through a joint venture is looking increasingly sick, despite the dramatic change in market dynamics that should prompt regulators to give the deal the go-ahead.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The world's biggest mining company, BHP Billiton, is urging the Gillard government to impose a tax on carbon before any international agreement, in order to protect Australia's long-term economic interests.
The pivotal role of Speaker in the hung House of Representatives has been thrown into confusion after rural independent MP Rob Oakeshott put his hand up for the job, forcing the government to seek legal advice about whether the new arrangement can work.
The Australian dollar surged to a two-year high yesterday as Japan moved to protect its economy from the yen's damaging surge.
Page 2: Soaring coal prices are undermining negotiations between big industrial energy users and power stations over crucial energy supplies, putting hundreds of jobs and billions of dollars worth of investment at risk.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations will investigate allegations that Fairfax Media's Melbourne broadsheet The Age misled advertisers over its circulation figures.
Page 3: Shoppers have become jaded by seemingly continuous discounting and are reluctant to spend despite the improving economic outlook.
Page 4: Tony Abbott says he will urge the rural independents to back a mid-term change to a Coalition government by using Malcolm Turnbull to expose waste in Labor's broadband program.
The nation's biggest energy retailer has warned that uncertainty about climate change policy would cost $2.1 billion a year by 2020, leaving consumers facing soaring power bills.
Page 5: Kevin Rudd, heading for flood ravaged Pakistan in a packed first trip as Foreign Minister, has vowed to raise awareness about the ''slow-burn humanitarian disaster'' there at an international meeting in New York on Sunday.
Page 6: Ross Garnaut, the author of the Rudd government's climate change review, has accused the ABC of airing a report into his mining links that was misleading, riddled with errors and an unwarranted attack on his character.
Page 8: Outback loan shark Sam Tomarchio has been charged with illegally operating a money lending business, eight months after The Australian revealed he controlled the welfare payments of hundreds of Aborigines.
Business: The head of the world's largest diversified mining company has warned that an emissions trading scheme should not be the main basis for tackling climate change and that the government should consider a range of initiatives, including a carbon tax and individual levies, to lower energy consumption.
When AMP's investor roadshow passes through New York later this month, the company's executives will be well advised to have rehearsed their lines about takeover target Axa Asia Pacific.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have again requested Australia's competition watchdog delay its decision on their proposed iron ore joint venture, adding fuel to speculation the deal is in trouble.
Anglogold Ashanti is to issue new equity and mandatory convertibles amounting to $US1.37 billion ($1.46bn) in an effort to unwind its gold hedge and gain full exposure to record high gold prices.
Discount department store Kmart is increasingly bypassing domestic wholesalers for imported merchandise, instead moving to a more efficient direct-sourcing model that allows it to cut shelf prices by around 30 per cent.
Virgin Blue has asked the US Department of Transportation for a three-week extension in order to prepare its response to plans by the US regulator to reject its alliance with Delta Air Lines.