East to put brakes on WA boom – The West; State carbon plan puts heat on PM – The Aus; Digging deep for new rosters – The Fin; Alinta in last-ditch rescue bid – The West; Demand to accelerate super rise – The Fin
East to put brakes on WA boom
The mining boom will drive up the costs facing east coast businesses and homeowners, putting pressure on the federal government to find new ways to slow the rapid growth of WA, economists have warned. The West
State carbon plan puts heat on PM
Pressure is growing on the Gillard government to come up with a price on carbon as NSW prepares a national launch of its carbon emissions abatement scheme. The Aus
Digging deep for new rosters
Employers are worried over the precedence set by two new workplace agreements covering offshore construction workers on oil and gas projects in Western Australia's north-west, which will deliver pay rises of about 38 per cent. The Fin
Alinta in last-ditch rescue bid
Debt-laden Alinta Energy was locked in talks with creditors last night in a desperate bid to hammer out a bailout plan ahead of today's deadline. The West
Demand to accelerate super rise
Resources minister Martin Ferguson says mining companies and unions must immediately write a "minimum" 12 month superannuation component into any new wage agreements in the booming sector. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Northam Hospital is under investigation after it was revealed a second child died soon after being assessed and leaving the hospital.
Page 4: The mining boom will drive up the costs facing east coast businesses and homeowners, putting pressure on the federal government to find new ways to slow the rapid growth of WA, economists have warned.
Queenmaker independent Rob Oakeshott will confront Tony Abbott today on whether the Opposition Leader will support him for the plum job as Speaker of Parliament.
Greens leader Bob Brown will press the Gillard government to come up with a new site for the $30 billion Kimberley gas development but has ruled out withdrawing his party's support if it is not moved.
Page 6: Details of Oprah Winfrey's visit to Australia have now emerged, revealing the plan to bring a celebrity show to Australia was hatched years ago but gained momentum in January to support a new national tourism campaign.
Page 10: The federal parliament is set to debate euthanasia after the Greens revealed it would be their first order of business.
Page 12: The state government has all but ruled out paying the legal fees of Toodyay bushfire victims should their battle for compensation go to the Supreme Court.
Page 14: Local Government Minister John Castrilli will be pushing in Cabinet for new laws to force a cut in the number of councils in WA, prompting resistance from the sector and claims the government misled people.
Page 16: A state government plan for a walk trail through the Fitzgerald River National Park will riddle the area with dieback and kill it as a biodiversity hotspot, leading environmental scientists say.
Business: Debt-laden Alinta Energy was locked in talks with creditors last night in a desperate bid to hammer out a bailout plan ahead of today's deadline.
Virgin Blue Holdings says it will go to any lengths to convince regulators to reverse decisions blocking its planned alliances with airlines in the US and New Zealand.
The Queensland government has kicked off pre-sales for the float of the country's biggest rail freight operator, unveiling a swathe of incentives to lure retail investors to QR National ahead of the formal release of its initial public offering on October 10.
Reed Resources' diversified nature has long been both a strength and a weakness for the WA junior, so it was interesting to hear managing director Chris Read touch on on the possibility of breaking up the company when speaking to reporters last week.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Resources minister Martin Ferguson says mining companies and unions must immediately write a "minimum" 12 month superannuation component into any new wage agreements in the booming sector.
Tensions are building over the future of federal-state reforms amid concerns that the rise of the independents and the new emphasis on regional development may stifle important national reforms in tax, health, transport, education and competition.
The United Nations has endorsed the Gillard government's $43 billion national broadband network, arguing that high-speed broadband was a "vital engine driving economic growth."
Page 4: Forestry veteran Tony Jack has launched an 11th hour bid to resurrect two defunct Great Southern timber schemes that collapsed last year owing $250 million.
The federal government could dodge a looming crisis in aged-care funding by giving nursing homes more financial flexibility, the peak body for the sector says.
Page 6: Independent MP Rob Oakeshott did not raise the prospect of becoming parliamentary speaker when he negotiated a package of parliamentary reforms with the two major parties, according to Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne.
Page 7: Employers are worried over the precedence set by two new workplace agreements covering offshore construction workers on oil and gas projects in Western Australia's north-west, which will deliver pay rises of about 38 per cent.
Page 8: The head of supermarket chain Coles believe shoppers dodged a bullet after rural independent MP Bob Katter spurned the opportunity to gain the balance of power.
Page 10: The corporate regulator has warned that it plans to step up enforcement against liquidators and administrators, amid calls to strip it of its powers and create a new insolvency regulator.
Page 15: United States oil and gas major ConocoPhillips has put its stake in the Caldita and Barossa gasfields in the Timor sea up for sale, raising another question about the expansion plans for its Darwin liquefied natural gas plant.
Page 16: Australia's third-largest internet service provider has written to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy urging him to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the $43 billion national broadband network.
Page 17: Negotiations between the free-to-air television networks and large media-buying agencies over advertising rates and deals for 2011 are cranking up, and buyers are predicting the networks will ask for hefty ad rate increases.
Hardware retailer Bunnings has been buying more property and reducing its product range, but managing director John Gillam denied the moves were in response to Woolworth's entry into the $40 billion home-improvement sector.
Page 20: Woolworths will distribute about $260 million - or about 20 per cent of its franking credit account - to those shareholders who participate in its $700 million off-market share buyback.
Page 22: Three disparate groups of lenders to Alinta Energy were last night locked in negotiations over the recapitalisation of the ailing group amid threats that the company may be forced into administration.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Pressure is growing on the Gillard government to come up with a price on carbon as NSW prepares a national launch of its carbon emissions abatement scheme.
Queensland has guaranteed it will be hands-off in the management of the country's biggest rail freight hauler when investors get the ''opportunity of a lifetime'' to buy into the float of state-owned Queensland Rail.
Page 2: Muslim women have rallied in their hundreds to oppose moves to ban the burka in Australia, condemning the push as part of an orchestrated ''war on Islam'' in the West.
Australia's most senior military commander has hailed the performance of Australiantrained Afghan security forces in Oruzgan province during Saturday's violence-marred election as a significant mark of progress towards eventual selfsufficiency.
Page 3: Telcos are blaming technology-challenged customers for the surge in complaints about phone and internet services.
Gunmen opened fire on a tourist bus near New Delhi's main mosque yesterday, just hours after Australian Commonwealth Games officials advised athletes not to be alarmed as they prepared to depart for India.
Page 4: Julia Gillard has confirmed a conscience vote is likely to be offered to Labor MPs if the Greens push ahead with their plan to demand a ''full-on'' debate on euthanasia in the next parliament.
Miners will today be urged to get on the front foot against ''avenging angels'' such as Greenpeace and the Greens who, it is claimed, exploit genuine community concerns to advance an ideological agenda.
Page 5: Australia's longest-serving MP, Philip Ruddock, has said he does not ''covet'' the job of Deputy Speaker but is prepared to serve, condemning independent Rob Oakeshott's push for the Speakership as unlawful.
Labor's plan to privatise its $43 billion National Broadband Network is in jeopardy after Greens senator Scott Ludlam pledged to fight for the project to remain in public hands.
Julia Gillard has gathered almost twice as many pieces of legislation under her control as was the case under Kevin Rudd and John Howard.
Page 9: Ageing baby boomers will ensure the next generation sees none of the house price appreciation that they enjoyed.
The nation's property markets experienced a lacklustre weekend, with a dip in the number of successful auctions as the spring selling season generated more listings.
The West Australian government has launched an investigation into the death of a 16-yearold boy who was given junior strength Panadol by a nurse at a hospital emergency department and sent home without seeing a doctor.
Business: Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser yesterday gave the green light to the $5 billion-plus QR National float, Australia's biggest initial public offering since the final Telstra T3 selldown by the federal government in 2006.
The Reserve Bank believes the consumer restraint that is giving retailers such a difficult year is set to continue and has discounted the findings in the official national accounts of a big bounce in household spending in the June quarter.
Australia's big four banks have picked up 16 per cent of BHP Billiton's $US45 billion ($48bn) syndicated note facilities that would help finance a successful takeover of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan.
Hopes for a compromise deal to rescue distressed electricity and gas producer Alinta Energy Group were building last night on a rising tide of support for a recapitalisation plan led by private equity giant TPG.
Liquor giant Foster's is embracing internet wine sales as the domestic wine sector continues to struggle with excess supply.
The first monthly increase in Australian spending this year has been capped by poor performance in the retail sector and was unable to stem the biggest annual slump in at least six years, according to a Commonwealth Bank indicator.
Atlas Iron is loading its first shipment of iron ore at the new Utah Point port from its Wodgina and Pardoo mines in Western Australia's northwest Pilbara region.
Australian miners are set to emerge with a strong presence in the new mining province of Mongolia, as the damage done to the local sector by the mining tax crisis is yet to clear.
The world's biggest aluminium producer, Rusal, is forecasting that China will become a net importer of the product next year -- boosting the price for Australian producers.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Explosive documents and phone tapes reveal an investor's worst nightmare about stockbrokers.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has opened the way for fresh debate on legalising euthanasia.
Islamic values are superior to western secular values, a rally against proposals to ban the burqa heard.
Gunmen have shot two people on a tourist bus in Delhi.
Page 2: A Korean tiler working in NSW died because he was too afraid to go to hospital in case authorities discovered he was working here illegally.
Page 3: China's biggest airline says it's punting its future on a boom in Chinese tourists to Australia.
World: Pope Benedict was believed to be preparing to make an historic offer to Anglicans disaffected by women's ordination.
Business: The punt on Alinta Energy by Sir Ron Brierley may pay off.
Sport: Saturday night's blockbuster between the Tigers and the Dragons will continue the epic rivalry between Tim Sheens and Wayne Bennett.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Some of the state's biggest employers are planning to leave NSW after rises in power and gas bills.
Page 2: John Singleton and Kevin Weldon will launch an all-Australian publishing house on Australia Day.
Page 3: Phone companies are charging for free-call numbers.
World: A former lover of Mel Gibson says the mother of his love child, Oksana Grigorieva, planned to extort millions from the actor.
Business: Credit card data shows an increase in spending in August.
Sport: St George Illawarra fans should turn out in their droves for Saturday night's grand final.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: St Kilda's greatest living premiership player, Darrel Baldock, has made an emotional plea from his hospital bed for his beloved Saints to beat arch-rival Collingwood in Saturday's blockbuster grand final.
Page 3: Households are set to get electricity discounts for letting power companies turn appliances on and off by remote control to avoid blackouts in heatwaves.
Page 5: Collingwood has won permission to stage an extraordinary open training session for up to 20,000 fans at the MCG in the build-up to this Saturday's grand final against St Kilda.
World: Pope Benedict was to beatify a 19th century Catholic convert at a huge mass on Sunday as he wrapped up his historic visit to Britain.
Business: Qantas has been accused of hiding behind the competition watchdog to protect its bottom line from rivalry on flights between Australia and Europe.
Sport: St Kilda midfielder Nick Dal Santo faces double trouble in his bid to play in the Grand Final against Collingwood on Saturday.
THE AGE:
Page 1: The terminally ill could be granted the right to die after Prime Minister Julia Gillard backed a conscience vote on restoring the authority of territories to legalise euthanasia.
China's biggest airline says it's punting its future on a boom in Chinese tourists to Australia, starting with a fourfold increase in direct flights.
Page 2: The Magpies displayed their supreme finals confidence by storming into this week's AFL grand final with a stirring Friday night victory.
Page 3: Victorian hospitals are being given two days warning of spot audits that were supposed to stop them fudging their figures, auditors say.
World: The US soldiers floated a plan as simple as it was savage: to randomly target and kill an Afghan civilian, and to get away with it.
Business: Rail freight business QR National will be sold in the second-largest float in Australia's history as its owner, the Queensland government, bets a continuing resources boom will overcome investor wariness of sharemarket offerings.
Sport: Two common views of St Kilda are myths, according to Nick Riewoldt - that it relies on him firing to win, and that the club's 44-year premiership drought weighs heavier than ever as the Saints strive yet again for the breakthrough victory.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has vowed to give her Labor colleagues a conscience vote on a Greens proposal to let the territories legalise euthanasia.
Page 2: Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has flexed his party's new political muscles, reaffirming his key political priorities before the federal parliament convenes and Prime Minister Julia Gillard faces a likely no-confidence motion from the opposition.
Page 3: All Australians planning to go to the Commonwealth Games in India can be fully briefed on security and the potential for terrorism, federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib says.
World: Pope Benedict XVI elevated a famed 19th century Catholic convert to the final stage before sainthood at a huge mass on Sunday.
Business: Australia's largest rail freight company QR National has launched the pre-registration phase for one of the nation's biggest public share offers.
Sport: Any heartache Jarrod Croker still feels could turn into ecstasy on Monday if he earns a shock call-up to join his first Australian squad.
