Reith urges Abbott to go hard on IR – The Fin; Imports hit manufacturing jobs – The West; WA sitting on vital Port Hedland report – The Aus; Industry, unions try to work it out – The Fin; Harvey axed – The West
Reith urges Abbott to go hard on IR
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been warned that Labor could still win the next election and that he must have a “credible” industrial relations policy to anchor the Coalition's claim to superior economic management. The Fin
Imports hit manufacturing jobs
WA's manufacturing sector is shedding almost 150 jobs a day as the strong dollar makes imports cheaper and workers chase higher wages at the state's mines. The West
WA sitting on vital Port Hedland report
The West Australian government is ‘‘considering’’ a report on the expansion of Port Hedland’s port capacity, which could unlock billions of dollars more in iron ore exports from the Pilbara. The Aus
Industry, unions try to work it out
The pressures of managing the resources boom amid a squeeze on skilled labour have led business and unions to reach cautious agreement on greater co-operation. The Fin
Harvey axed
St Kilda's Ross Lyon is set to become Fremantle's next senior coach, possibly as soon as today, in the wake of Mark Harvey's stunning sacking yesterday. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: St Kilda's Ross Lyon is set to become Fremantle's next senior coach, possibly as soon as today, in the wake of Mark Harvey's stunning sacking yesterday.
Page 3: The state government has hired two internationally-renowned paleontologists to study dinosaur footprints at the site of the proposed gas precinct near James Price Point.
Page 6: More than a quarter of Western Power's wooden power poles are at risk of falling over and will need to be replaced or reinforced over the next five years.
Page 7: WA's manufacturing sector is shedding almost 150 jobs a day as the strong dollar makes imports cheaper and workers chase higher wages at the state's mines.
WA's struggling manufacturing sector has suffered another blow with multinational SRXGlobal becoming the latest employer to close its local workshop.
Page 19: Qantas is dragging passengers into a pay dispute with its workers as the airline's baggage handlers prepare for a strike next week, the Transport Workers Union says.
Business: Australia's fraught retail trading environment “ain't getting any better” but it may have finally stopped getting worse, with the head of the country's biggest department store chain betting on flat sales in the year ahead.
The pieces of Rio Tinto's $US14.8 billion ($14.5 billion) iron ore puzzle are gradually falling into place after the mining giant yesterday sanctioned more infrastructure work required for its massive Pilbara push.
A court has ordered the corporate regulator to tell the founder of the failed Westpoint group of companies, Norm Carey, which Australian Securities and Investments Commission officers recommended winding up the Perth-based property developer in late 2005.
Chinese and Indian companies are thought to be among potential suitors for Aquila Resources' Washpool coking coal project in Queensland.
Telstra chief executive David Thodey used a shareholder forum in Perth yesterday to urge investors to put financial sense before feelings when voting on the group's multi-bilion-dollar deal with NBN Co next month.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been warned that Labor could still win the next election and that he must have a “credible” industrial relations policy to anchor the Coalition's claim to superior economic management,
The $2 million a year partner is now a reality in the top Australian law firms, as intense competition for talent between large national and foreign players drives a recruitment war.
The federal government has intervened to curb the central bank board's role in setting pay for future governors after it lifted annual remuneration for Glenn Stevens by 82 per cent in five years to more than $1 million, five times what US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke is paid.
Page 3: BHP Billiton is threatening legal action against unions over advertisements and an internet video that claim coalminers could be forced to work on Christmas Day under an industrial agreement proposed by the company.
Page 7: Concerns over job losses because of the strong Australian dollar are starting to spread, with white-collar workers increasingly gloomy about their employment prospects, according to a new survey.
Page 11: The pressures of managing the resources boom amid a squeeze on skilled labour have led business and unions to reach cautious agreement on greater co-operation.
Australia's earnings from resources and exports surged 27 per cent to a record of $175 billion last financial year as strong prices for iron ore, liquefied natural gas, coal and copper outweighed the rising dollar.
Page 14: Despite mounting evidence of cost blowouts in Western Australia's major resources projects, the head of the state's electricity transmission network says conditions are nowhere near as stretched as during the 2007 boom.
Page 17: Tensions are rising ahead of a strike by baggage handlers and refuelling staff next week at Qantas, with the Transport Workers Union warning the airline not to use strikebreakers.
Page 49: Department store retailer Myer will scale back markdowns, ramp up customer service and revamp its e-commerce and customer loyalty programs in a desperate bid to protect sales and profits this year in the face of higher costs and weak consumer spending.
Page 50: Rio Tinto's board continues to push investment in its iron ore business but will build in incremental adjustments rather than commit to a firm development cost, as a way of blowout-proofing its business.
Page 51: China's National Development and Reform Commission will have a hard time finding a new acquirer for iron ore explorer Sundance Resources if it rules out companies associated with allegations of insider trading, experts say.
Page 52: Blackthorn Resources managing director Scott Lowe says the company is not in takeover talks with Glencore International, its largest shareholder and partner in the Perkoa zinc project in Burkina Faso.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard will today attack the dominance of Labor’s factions by proposing to broaden the party’s base through online memberships and trialling US-style primaries to choose candidates.
Page 2: Industries trying to win exports or fend off imports have shed 90,000 jobs in the past three months as they try to deal with the high Australian dollar.
Senior bureaucrats were warning four months ago — before the debate over Australia’s manufacturing future and the need to increase productivity escalated — that the number of companies at risk of collapse was rising.
Australia's resource and energy export earnings soared 27 per cent to a record $175 billion in 2010-11 as strong commodity prices overcame the impacts of the summer floods and a high Australian dollar.
Qantas intends to use its overseas-trained staff to replace striking baggage handlers and ground staff when the Transport Workers Union holds a four-hour strike at the nation’s airports next Tuesday.
The Coalition has chosen the climate change sceptic George Christensen to sit on the key committee that will inquire into the government’s carbon tax legislation amid growing acrimony in parliament about the handling of the debate.
Business: A rogue trader at UBS has racked up about $2 billion in losses, a surprise blow that emerged hours after British police arrested a 31-year-old man in London on suspicion of fraud.
Department store group Myer has warned annual profit could fall by as much as 10 per cent this financial year as consumers keep a tight rein on spending and the company shuts down underperforming stores.
Rio Tinto has approved another $US833 million ($813m) of spending on the $US16 billion-plus expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia.
The West Australian government is ‘‘considering’’ a report on the expansion of Port Hedland’s port capacity, which could unlock billions of dollars more in iron ore exports from the Pilbara.
The Reserve Bank has forecast Australia’s liquefied natural gas sales could triple in the next five years, putting the industry on par with iron ore and coal in terms of export contributions to the economy.
The National Australia Bank expects the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates six months later than previously expected, after changes were made to a key measure of inflation.
Wayne Swan has argued the introduction of covered bonds next year will increase competition among the major retail banks to the benefit of consumers.
A Chinese mining executive facing allegations of insider trading in Sundance Resources and Bannerman Resources has returned to Sydney to be quizzed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Union boss Michael Williamson failed to disclose that his son was using a Health Services Union building to run his own business. Danielle Spencer, Russell Crowe and Olivia Newton-John attend the reopening of the Star casino complex in Sydney. Malaysia's home affairs minister has criticised the coalition's policy of sending asylum seekers to Nauru, saying it was unlikely to stop human traffickers.
Page 2: The plight of the former mistress of the billionaire Richard Pratt has been likened to the tragic fall of Emma Hamilton - the mistress of the British hero Lord Horatio Nelson. Tony Abbott insists that he won't spend one dollar more than the budget which has been allocated for his direct action plan.
Page 3: New labour force figures show health care and social assistance is Australia's biggest employer and is its second fastest-growing employer. A lack of funding has meant that more than 50,000 children in NSW are missing out on vital English language teaching.
World: Pakistan has called on the world to speed up relief efforts after floods have killed 270 people and left 200,000 homeless.
Business: British police have arrested a man for rogue trading, after he allegedly racked up as much as $US2 billion in losses for UBS.
Sport: Shaun Johnson and Benji Marshall will rely on the skills they learnt while playing touch football as they face off in Friday night's semi-final.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Chief planner Nick Greiner says electricity should be privatised in NSW in order to give the state more than $20 billion to spend on infrastructure. Olivia Newton-John and Russell Crowe unveil the new Star casino in Sydney.
Page 2: Tim Mathieson says Julia Gillard gets a "hard time" from women. Thousands of people have posted the federal government's brochures on the carbon tax back to Climate Change Minister Greg Combet.
Page 3: The next governor of the Reserve Bank will take a pay cut, following Treasurer Wayne Swan's move to take away the bank's power to set its chief's salary. Olympic hopeful Michael Klim takes his three-month-old daughter for a swim.
World: The FBI is looking into allegations that a number of Hollywood celebrities have been the target of hacking, after Scarlett Johansson had semi-naked photos of her leaked on the internet.
Business: Myer warns that its profits might fall by 10 per cent.
Sport: Wayne Bennett drives to Newcastle to hold talks with a number of key players and officials.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Former drug squad detective Paul Dale paid gangland murderer Carl Williams $150,000 to kill police informer Terence Hodson, a court has been told.
Page 3: The National Gallery of Victoria is poised to slash services, it has told parliament in a report tabled just days after the surprise resignation of its longserving head, Gerard Vaughan.
Page 5: The head of Victoria's police watchdog has lashed out at the Baillieu government and critics of the organisation as it prepares to be shut down permanently.
World: Libya's new rulers have met British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Business: Myer shareholders will have to wait until at least 2013 for a rebound in consumer confidence, after it warned that the malaise gripping retailers would drag earnings down as much as 10 per cent.
Sport: Ross Lyon will be announced as Fremantle coach today following the stunning sacking of Mark Harvey as Docker coach.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Carl Williams was paid by disgraced former police officer Paul Dale to hire a hitman to murder a key witness, the Supreme Court has been told.
Page 3: Man bans are spreading as two more council functions are declared off-limits because it is not appropriate for men to mix with Muslim women.
Page 5: Former detective Paul Dale once shared information about a drug investigation with Carl Williams during a rendezvous in a swimming pool, according to a statement read to the Supreme Court.
World: US and Australian officials have decided to include co-operation on cybersecurity as part of their defence treaty.
Business: Myer will overhaul its online business in a bid to claw back sales.
Sport: St Kilda coach Ross Lyon last night sensationally quit the Saints to take over at Fremantle after the Dockers dumped Mark Harvey.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has ruled out an early election in the wake of Paul Lucas announcing he will step down as her deputy and retire at the next election.
Page 3: Brisbane's nightclub district is determining how best to handle a lack of public toilets in the area.
Page 5: Mental health patients are spending up to 100 hours in Cairns Base Hospital waiting to be admitted.
Page 7: Accused collar bomber was acting out a bizarre fantasy, sources allege.
World: NASA has unveiled plans for a new rocket which can propel manned space flights beyond Mars.
Business: Myer expects its annual profit to fall about 10 per cent this year.
Sport: Wayne Bennett's mentor says the Dragons coach is the game's greatest.
