Today's Business Headlines

Blueprint for building Asian ties

Julia Gillard has ordered a sweeping review of Australia’s engagement with Asia that will deliver a blueprint for the government’s strategic, economic and trade direction in the region for a generation. The Aus

Forrest faces judgement day

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest will find out as early as today whether the High Court will hear his appeal against a deceptive and misleading conduct finding. The Fin

Pay demand poses threat to projects

A wages breakout in the construction industry could put at risk every major project in the state, business has warned. The West

Business lobby touts ambitious reform agenda

Scrapping nuisance taxes such as the luxury car levy, improving the mobility of labour by updating rebates for remote mining workers, and Productivity Commission study to identify government waste to fund significant tax cuts are part of a broad-ranging submission to the Tax Forum by Western Australia's peak business group. The Fin

Resource bonanza 'to create 170,000 jobs'

BHP Billiton is predicting that Australia's resources industry will need an extra 170,000 workers in the next five years, underlining the jobs bonanza set to hit the mining states of WA and Queensland. The West

 

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Local councils are making their workers undergo random urine tests for drugs or risk suspension or dismissal.

Page 5: WA's entire output of coal is set to fall into foreign hands after a Chinese company agreed to buy one of Collie's two coal producers for $297 million.

Page 9: WA's public hospitals have run out, or their stocks are desperately low, of life-saving drugs used to treat cancer, heart attacks and organ transplant patients.

City of Vincent has rejected Optus' plans for a mobile phone tower at nib Stadium that would have been disguised as a giant palm tree.

Almost 50 per cent of Perth homeowners are living in a house worth twice what they paid for it.

Page 12: The first Aboriginal woman to be elected to an Australian parliament said yesterday she had “never crawled into the gutter” when responding to racial slurs.

The man at the centre of a series of anonymous racial slurs over the Kimberley gas hub claims he is the victim of a public smear campaign.

Page 13: Four Perth food outlets have been fined more than $20,000 each for being dirty, infested with vermin or serving out-of-date food.

Page 14: One of WA's biggest sporting clubs claims it is being forced to shut its doors because the local council will not guarantee a loan for urgent renovations.

Page 16: Julia Gillard has flagged a major realignment of how Australia engages with Asian neighbours to maximise economic and strategic opportunities.

Colin Barnett should have the power to impose income taxes on West Australians and the GST should be extended to food and increased, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry says.

Page 18: A wages breakout in the construction industry could put at risk every major project in the state, business has warned.

Business: BHP Billiton is predicting that Australia's resources industry will need an extra 170,000 workers in the next five years, underlining the jobs bonanza set to hit the mining states of WA and Queensland.

Tap Oil has put its stake in the big Zola gas discovery, which is likely to play a part in the expansion of Chevron's $29 billion Wheatstone LNG project, up for sale.

Paladin Energy has turned to institutional investors for a surprise $70 million equity raising to bolster its balance sheet against a background of speculation that the uncertainty dogging the uranium market may have the miner struggling to find a partner to develop its projects.

Patersons Securities has hung out its shingle in London in a bid to gain a bigger foothold in the UK institutional market.

The operators of a ship owned by Mermaid Marine Australia have been accused of cowardice and actions “tantamount to murder” in a US lawsuit launched by victims of a tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.

Yesterday's $296.8 million deal by China's Yanzhou Coal to buy one of WA's two big coal producers reinforces its intention to build a major presence in Australia.

Focus Minerals has warned dithering minority shareholders of Crescent Gold that it will move to delist the takeover target once next Wednesday's bid deadline has passed.

 

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: Superannuation funds will be required to adopt many of the governance practices of listed companies, hold capital in case mistakes are made and obtain permission to operate more than one default scheme, as part of a sweeping overhaul of the $1.3 trillion industry.

The federal government has ditched proposed reforms to insolvency laws that would have protected company boards attempting to work their companies out of financial troubles, scuttling a long-running campaign by the Australian director community.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has put her stamp on foreign and strategic policy by commissioning former Treasury secretary Ken Henry to produce a white paper on the social, economic, strategic and environmental implications of the Asian century for Australia.

Page 4: Mining magnate Andrew Forrest will find out as early as today whether the High Court will hear his appeal against a deceptive and misleading conduct finding.

One of Western Australia's richest men is suing the state government, claiming it failed to uphold a deal that allows a consortium he leads to build a new port south of Perth.

Page 7: Slashing the most inefficient state taxes would increase gross domestic product by nearly 2 per cent and leave the nation $500 million better off each year.

Scrapping nuisance taxes such as the luxury car levy, improving the mobility of labour by updating rebates for remote mining workers, and Productivity Commission study to identify government waste to fund significant tax cuts are part of a broad-ranging submission to the Tax Forum by Western Australia's peak business group.

Page 8: Mining companies in Western Australia are shirking environmental requirements and could be damaging Aboriginal heritage sites, according to a report by WA Auditor-General Colin Murphy.

Page 11: Senior cabinet ministers have rebuffed Greens leader Bob Brown and the independent MPs agitating for significant changes to the government's proposed mining tax before the tax forum next week.

Page 16: BHP Billiton says China will produce a massive 1.1 billion tonnes a year of steel by 2025, helping to quell concerns about the global iron ore market becoming oversupplied by 2015.

Page 17: Wesfarmers faces opposition to the $300 million sale of its Premier Coal operations to Chinese interests after Premier Colin Barnett indicated he may ask the Foreign Investment Review Board to block the trade on energy security grounds.

Embattled uranium producer Paladin Energy has tapped investors for $70 million as the Perth-based company strives to secure vital funding to develop its two producing assets in Namibia and Malawi.

 

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Julia Gillard has ordered a sweeping review of Australia’s engagement with Asia that will deliver a blueprint for the government’s strategic, economic and trade direction in the region for a generation.

In typical blunt fashion, Australia’s first female indigenous MP has labelled some of the environmentalists fighting Woodside Petroleum’s $30 billion gas hub in the Kimberley ‘‘a lazy mob of bludgers and liars’’.

Page 3: Australians anxious to stay connected on the road have for the first time pushed wireless ahead of copper as the most common form of broadband used in Australia.

Page 6: The Gillard government has flatly rejected Greens proposals to include gold in Labor’s proposed mining tax to make up for lost revenue, and is prepared to face down Bob Brown in the Senate.

The unprecedented fall in Australia’s productivity has more to do with the mining boom and the 10-year drought than with any shortcomings in economic reform, research by the Productivity Commission has shown.

The third-largest mobile carrier has joined the chorus of telecommunications providers urging the competition watchdog to reject proposals that are crucial to the $11 billion deal between the government, Telstra and the NBN Co to make Labor’s broadband rollout faster and cheaper.

Page 7: Tony Abbott is facing a new internal challenge over his support for a renewable energy policy, as he comes under growing pressure on industrial relations as a result of his decision to rule out reinstating individual contracts.

Wholesalers are resisting budget department store Target’s demands for a blanket 5 per cent discount on all deliveries for the next three months, as the competition watchdog warned it was paying close attention to the retailer’s tactics.

Page 8: Mortgage holders could face an equity crisis as research shows more than 300,000 homes nationally are today worth less than their owners paid for them.

Business: Western Australia’s entire coal industry is poised to fall into foreign hands after Wesfarmers agreed to sell its Premier Coal mine to a Chinese state-controlled entity, prompting Premier Colin Barnett to raise concerns about security of supply.

National Australia Bank has taken aim at Moody’s after the ratings agency downgraded NAB’s Clydesdale subsidiary in Britain due to doubts about NAB’s commitment to the British market.

The corporate career of one of Australia’s most prominent business leaders, Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest, will hang in the balance today when the High Court decides whether he can appeal against a finding that he misled investors seven years ago.

China's enormous appetite for iron ore will continue to grow, with major ore producers expecting the country’s imports to hit one billion tonnes a year by 2015 — a 60 per cent increase on last year’s total.

The gold industry has hit out at a Greens proposal to extend the mining tax to the volatile precious metals sector, saying a new levy would destroy emerging goldminers in Australia.

 

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has commissioned a white paper to guide government policy over the next decade as the nation gears for an Asian growth spurt. BHP Billiton has predicted Australia's resources industry will need an extra 170,000 workers in the next five years.

Page 2: The NSW government is likely to allow private colleges and universities to compete with TAFE providers and garner public funding for every student they attract.

Page 3: Hospitals operate with less than a month's supply of many essential medicines. Hungry Jacks will start serving a side of vegetables with their hamburger meals. A three-year-old boy was killed after his mother accidentally reversed the family car into him.

World: The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is determined to push ahead with the construction of over 1000 homes in East Jerusalem. (Jerusalem)

Business: The proposed takeover and subsequent removal of Foster's and ConnectEast shares from the board of the ASX will shrink the universe of large liquid stocks fund managers can invest in.

Sport: Australian Rugby Union chief John O'Neill has backed his New Zealand counterpart's call that the future of the World Cup is under threat if no changes are made to the current financial structure.

 

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

 

Page 1: Motorists are being urged to fill up their tanks ahead of a bank holiday weekend price gouge.

Page 2: Complaints against newspapers and online media could be taken to a new tribunal under proposals flagged by the federal government's media inquiry. Prime Minister Julia Gillard turns 50 today.

Page 3: The carbon tax will be a "honeypot" for criminals, a fraud conference was warned. A cardboard cutout of a police officer is at the forefront of a new drink-driving campaign.

World: A convicted killer who escaped prison and hijacked an airliner was captured in Portugal after 40 years as a fugitive. (New York)

Business: Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes has hinted at fewer Myer outlets in the future if the retailer's online business continues to grow at a rapid pace.

Sport: Warriors whiz kid Shaun Johnson was nearly lost to the NRL when he attracted the interest of AFL scouts in 2006.

 

THE AGE:

 

Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has signalled that Australia's destiny lies in closer links with China, asking former Treasury boss Ken Henry to deliver a White Paper for an Asia strategy.

Page 3: Australia needs to start preparing for more possible critical drug shortages, after authorities yesterday worked to find emergency sources of penicillin supplies.

Page 5: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has insisted a coalition government would not introduce new statutory individual workplace contracts.

World: Burma's military-dominated civilian government is believed to be preparing to release 300 or more political prisoners, including key supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Business: BHP Billiton has predicted Australia's resources industry will need an extra 170,000 mining and construction workers in the next five years in the mining states.

Sport: AFL premiership contender Collingwood's forward press game plan has been worked out by the other AFL clubs.

 

THE HERALD SUN:

 

Page 1: Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt says he is shocked by a Federal Court decision finding he breached the Racial Discrimination Act.

Page 3: Coles supermarkets are now cutting meat prices in their price war with competitor Woolworths.

Page 5: Rain, hail, icy winds and a maximum of 13C are forecast for Saturday's AFL grand final.

World: Egypt's military has announced a series of parliamentary elections starting on November 28, the first elections to be held since a popular revolt ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Business: Australia's housing market is in a prolonged downturn, with Victoria expected to be the worst performer for the next two years, according to a string of reports.

Sport: Injured AFL Collingwood players Bruce Matthews, Darren Jolly and Ben Reid have trained comfortably and are hoping to play in Saturday's grand final.

THE COURIER MAIL:

Page 1: Premier Anna Bligh and five of her frontbenchers are heading overseas on trade missions in the coming months, dubbed as a "farewell tour" before the next election which is due by March.

Page 3: A New Farm woman has injections for lyssavirus after being attacked by three bats on her balcony.

Page 5: Empty-nesters could be given tax incentives to move into smaller homes to free up dwellings for first-home buyers.

World: Michael Jackson's death was the result of the perfect storm of drugs, an LA court was told during a trial into the popstar's death.

Business: Cracks in Australia's property market are starting to appear as the economic slowdown takes its toll.

Sport: Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens says Manly defender Daly Cherry-Evans is in contention to win a green and gold jersey if he plays well in Sunday's NRL grand final.

 

THE CANBERRA TIMES:

Page 1: Gillard's birthday wish is for the polls to match her age.

A development application lodged for the new suburb of Coombs in the Molongo Valley is expected to have strict bushfire protection features.

Health Services Commissioner Mary Durkin has resigned in dismay from the CPSU over the union's bitter opposition to a needle and syringe program at Canberra's prison.

Page 2: Complaints against the press and online news media could be taken to a new tribunal with tough legal powers.

Page 3: The strengths women bring to the police force are finally being recognised.

World: Israel has approved a plan for 1100 new homes in an east Jerusalem settlement, in a move the Palestinian leadership said snubs a proposal for new peace talks. (Jerusalem)

Business: The Australian housing market is being plagued by a number of problems including a drop in the number of new homes being built.

Sport: The Warriors arrived in Sydney on Wednesday conceding they "haven't got much hope" in the NRL grand final against Manly. (rugby league)