Power price caps to be axed – The Aus; Producers deny gas shortages – The Fin; Libs torpedo Barnett's shires plan – The West; Query on Griffin trading – The West; Oakajee brave face fails to dispel doubts – The Aus
Power price caps to be axed
State governments are working towards a timetable for scrapping all price controls on electricity and gas within four years, giving utilities the ability to set their own rates for customers. The Aus
Producers deny gas shortages
Australia's peak petroleum lobby group has disputed West Australian government claims that, despite having some of the world's largest reserves, the state faces a decade of gas shortages due to a lack of new domestic gas projects. The Fin
Libs torpedo Barnett's shires plan
Colin Barnett's local government merger strategy was in tatters yesterday after the Liberal Party's governing State Council voted overwhelmingly on Saturday for a motion calling on amalgamation plans for South-West shires to be scrapped. The West
Query on Griffin trading
Administrators trawling through the billion-dollar collapse of Griffin Coal are investigating whether the WA miner traded while insolvent and potential breaches of the Corporations Act by directors, including its reclusive owner Ric Stowe. The West
Oakajee brave face fails to dispel doubts
A shadow is being cast across Western Australia's emerging iron ore province in the state's Mid-West region as doubts emerge over the willingness of foreign investors to back ambitious plans to allow the precinct to achieve its full potential. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 4: Homeowners could be slugged a surprise interest rate rise next month after Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stephens warned he had only one weapon to calm an economy now heading into a "robust upswing".
Page 5: A six-year-old has died in Geraldton District Hospital after his scarlet fever went undiagnosed for two days as it emerged yesterday that almost one-third of patients who visit emergency departments in country WA are not seen by a doctor.
Page 10: The third euthanasia Bill to come before the WA Parliament in 13 years looks doomed after most Upper House MPs declared their opposition before today's debate.
Page 12: Colin Barnett's local government merger strategy was in tatters yesterday after the Liberal Party's governing State Council voted overwhelmingly on Saturday for a motion calling on amalgamation plans for South-West shires to be scrapped.
Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has all but quit the race to be Speaker, instead pushing for Tony Abbott to nominate a Liberal MP for the plum job.
Page 14: Julia Gillard has announced her first overseas travel as Prime Minister with plans to visit at least four countries in coming weeks.
Page 16: A Sydney businesswoman claims her company was taken over by stealth and deception by former high-flying Peppermint Grove lawyer and convicted fraudster Rohan Skea.
Page 18: Pensioners in public housing will be charged extra rent as the WA Government prepares to claw back some of last year's $30 one-off increase.
Business: Administrators trawling through the billion-dollar collapse of Griffin Coal are investigating whether the WA miner traded while insolvent and potential breaches of the Corporations Act by directors, including its reclusive owner Ric Stowe.
A month after BDO's raid on accounting firm PKF's Perth office, rival MGI Perth has revealed a merger with a boutique practice to fill part of the gap left from the rapid consolidation in the mid-tier market.
Less than a week after BHP Billiton boss Marius Klopper called for immediate action on climate policy, a global report card has given his company a B grading for its carbon management policies, ranking the company lower than Rio Tinto.
Resolute Mining has made the most of a two-year high share price to raise $40 million and close out a gold hedge book that was $600 an ounce out of the money.
Canadian miner Cameco Corp has joined BHP Billiton in being subjected to the highest possible level of environmental scrutiny before being granted approval to develop a uranium mine in WA.
Decmil Group co-founder and chairman Denis Criddle has sold $10.8 million worth of stock in the company, cashing in on the Pilbara contractor's soaring share price, which has hit record highs.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson has stepped up pressure for a carbon price scheme to be specifically applied to the energy sector, declaring it to be an urgent political and economic priority.
Page 4: The pilots who recovered a Qantas A330 aircraft from two terrifying nosedives during a flight from Singapore to Perth in 2008 - incidents which caused more than 100 injusries - have joined a legal action filed in the US against the aircraft's manufacturer, Airbus, and the US manufacturer of the computer system that is thought to have caused the episode, Northrop Grumman.
Page 5: Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has dropped his bid to become Speaker of the federal Parliament and said he might back a Liberal MP for the job.
Page 6: There are several hurdles to securing private sector finance for industrial-scale carbon capture and storage projects, a new report shows.
Page 7: Australia's peak petroleum lobby group has disputed West Australian government claims that, despite having some of the world's largest reserves, the state faces a decade of gas shortages due to a lack of new domestic gas projects.
Page 8: Commonwealth and state governments have been urged to stick to their massive co-operative reform agenda, despite making slow progress on some of their most ambitious changes.
Page 9: Prime Minister Julia Gillard will attend several international leaders' meetings in October and November, a move designed to stamp her authority on foreign-relations policy.
Page 10: Segments of the resources industry fear unions will use calls to immediately increase the superannuation component of new mining wage deals to negotiate higher salaries for the sector rather than accept a trade-off.
Page 11: Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said it was "remarkable" that differences in growth across the country resulting from so-called economic shocks were not especially large.
Page 13: James Hardie is appealing against a $390 million capital gains tax ruling that cast a cloud over its ability to meet asbestos compensation claims.
Page 14: A new West Australian coalition of local councils, universities and renewable energy and mining companies has called on the state government to adopt a policy of having 5 per cent of the state's energy supplied by solar power by 2020.
Page 18: QR National's earnings will rise 22 per cent to $1.1 billion in the first year after its float, research released before the group's planned $5 billion initial public offering later this year.
Qantas pilots are preparing for a showdown with chief executive Alan Joyce over his strategy to drive international growth through low-cost carrier Jetstar rather than the flying kangaroo.
Private equity group TPG moved closer to securing support for its plan for debt-laden utility Alinta Energy as the lending group backed away from a rival proposal from Bahrain's Arcapita.
Page 45: Nine network has signed the first sponsor of its coverage of the 2012 London Summer Olympics, just under two years before the Games start.
Page 52: Charter Hall's Core Plus Office Fund has bought out its co-owner, the Perron Group, to acquire the remaining 50 per cent of an office tower in central Melbourne for $76.5 million.
The board of retirement living takeover target Aevum has recommended that shareholders with a "short to medium term investment horizon" accept Stockland's $1.80 per share offer.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: State governments are working towards a timetable for scrapping all price controls on electricity and gas within four years, giving utilities the ability to set their own rates for customers.
Glenn Stevens has declared he will not let the new political power of regional Australia stop the Reserve Bank from putting up interest rates to keep control of inflation.
Independent Rob Oakeshott has walked away from his bid to become Speaker of the House of Representatives and backed a Liberal to fill the role, to avoid a Mexican stand-off in parliament and the threat of a fresh election.
Page 2: Glenn Stevens is putting Australia on notice that he is about to lift interest rates in response to the fast-speed mining boom, even if this hits slow-lane sectors in the politically re-empowered bush.
Page 3: Chris Judd last night admitted he was lucky to be eligible to win his second Brownlow Medal after he ran away with Australian football's most prestigious player award at a ceremony at Melbourne's Crown casino.
Page 4: Political conflict intensified yesterday over the float of Queensland Rail's coal and freight business, with state Treasurer Andrew Fraser accusing the opposition of attempting to sabotage the $5 billion-plus privatisation.
Lawsuits against Qantas are due to be filed in Australia today on behalf of more than 20 passengers who were injured when an Airbus A330 jet nosedived twice over Western Australia in 2008.
Page 5: The Australian head of security for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi has dismissed a private security assessment predicting an 80 per cent chance of a terrorist attack during the Games, but says Australians travelling to the event should be vigilant about their personal safety.
Page 6: Key agreements between the states and the commonwealth to end indigenous disadvantage are yet to be finalised and made public nine months after they were due to be released.
The committee designing the Gillard government's mineral resources rent tax will face angry mining executives when it visits Perth, Brisbane and other centres in coming weeks.
Page 7: Mobile phone users are being stung with high per-minute charges for ''free calls'' to government and charity hotlines, consumer groups claim in the first ''super-complaint'' to the telco regulator.
Business: The future of Alinta Energy Group remains in the balance, despite a recapitalisation plan known as Project Amber passing significant milestones yesterday with key stakeholders.
The Australian dollar has surged close to a two-year high on the back of mounting speculation of an interest rate rise, prompting analysts and traders to suggest that record levels would be tested in coming weeks.
A shadow is being cast across Western Australia's emerging iron ore province in the state's Mid-West region as doubts emerge over the willingness of foreign investors to back ambitious plans to allow the precinct to achieve its full potential.
Directors of takeover target Aevum reluctantly recommended last night that investors should accept Stockland's $320 million offer for the retirement village company.
One of Australia's biggest wind farms, the 80-megawatt Emu Downs project in Western Australia, is generating strong interest from potential buyers after being put up for sale following the collapse of Ric Stowe's Griffin Group.
The recent ACCC proposal to lower the price Telstra charges its rivals to access its copper network will further decay the telco's already rotting telephony revenues, put its dividend at risk and raise questions over the telco's $11 billion NBN deal, a leading analyst has warned.
Investors have given a positive welcome to the Queensland government's planned float of a majority stake in QR National rail, seeing it as a positive exposure to future earnings growth in that state's mining industry.
Sundance Resources chairman George Jones is moving quickly to line up project partners and financiers for the $3.4 billion Mbalam iron ore project in Cameroon, as he accelerates development of the project he has taken charge of after the June flight that killed the company's entire board.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The state government agency responsible for investigating workplace bullying is harbouring a serious bullying problem in its ranks.
The Reserve Bank governor has spelled out plans to push up interest rates. Two Chinese navy ships have arrived in Sydney.
The state will seek to restrict spending during election campaigns by trade unions and business groups.
Page 2: The life of Constable William Crews is celebrated at his funeral.
Page 3: A senior NSW police officer has been accused of behaving corruptly.
World: (Beijing) The standoff between China and Japan over an incident in the East China Sea has flared up.
Business: The Future Fund has plunged almost $10 billion into a suite of hedge funds in the United States.
Sport: Wes Giles, the father of terminally ill Lleyton, knows the Tigers are playing for more than a grand final berth this Saturday.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: An Australian soldier has broken ranks to reveal diggers are dying in Afghanistan because of misinformation and lack of support on the front line.
Page 2: A Villawood Detention Centre detainee has killed himself.
Page 3: The NSW government has delayed 60 major road projects.
World: (Los Angeles) Members of an apocalyptic religious sect have been found after a frantic search.
Business: Australia could remain bogged down for years in an era of consumer stinginess.
Sport: A demand from coach Tim Sheens for his Wests Tigers to get tough has been revealed as the team's inspiration for 2010.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Carlton's Chris Judd wins the 2010 Brownlow Medal.
Page 3: Shock jock Derryn Hinch has liver cancer and will undergo an urgent operation to save his life.
Page 5: Colour piece on the Brownlow Medal award night.
World: Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd spoke for less than three minutes at a top-level UN meeting on Pakistan yesterday as he made fresh pledges of aid for the flood-stricken nation.
Business: Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has given fresh impetus to speculation of a looming interest rate rise, warning that the resources boom is threatening to over-stimulate the economy.
Sport: St Kilda midfielder Nick Dal Santo was handed a double dose of positive reinforcement yesterday to start another Grand Final week.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has flagged plans to push up interest rates to manage the largest minerals and energy boom since the late 19th century and made it clear he will not hold off to protect states such as Victoria despite their distance from the big mines.
A Liberal MP could be considered for the role of Speaker of the House of Representatives after independent Rob Oakeshott pulled out of the race, citing constitutional, practical and political concerns raised.
Page 2: Hard-hitting television advertisements that demonstrate the horrendous impact of bushfire should be aired every summer to remind Victorians of the dangers of bushfires, according to a top lawyer who assisted the Bushfires Royal Commission.
Page 3: The national curriculum is not up to scratch and will not be ready to be introduced in Victorian schools in 2012, a state principals' body says.
World: A bloody attack on tourists in Delhi two days before athletes start arriving for next month's Commonwealth Games has reinforced fears that the city is at "high risk" of an attack by local jihadis.
Business: Australia's Future Fund poured billions of dollars into US hedge funds and developed markets last financial year, despite the poor economic outlook for those regions, with smaller increases in property and infrastructure investments taking its total asset pool to $67 billion.
Sport: Collingwood defender Tyson Goldsack has been charged with rough conduct, although he will be free to play in Saturday's grand final against St Kilda if he makes an early guilty plea.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: A man accused of murdering two people, including a Rebels bikie, has told a court he was "like a scared bloody chook" before the shooting.
Page 2: The Greens plan to force the ACT Treasury to stop investing in "unethical" industries such as tobacco and gambling.
Page 3: Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says it is "odious" that federal parliament should have the power to override the ACT on gay marriage and euthanasia.
World: The anti-immigration far right will take a key position in Sweden's hung parliament as final results show the ruling centre-right coalition has won the most votes but has fallen short of a majority.
Business: Oxford University's Cameron Hepburn, a leading climate change economist, says Australia must introduce a carbon price to remain competitive.
Sport: Carlton captain Chris Judd has polled 30 votes to win his second Brownlow Medal.