WA is nation's people magnet – The West; Regulator to rein in energy bills – The Fin; Barnett threatens export ban over China coal deal – The West; Wharfie strikes to hit key products – The Aus; Barnett urges green groups to back away from gas protest – The Aus
WA is nation's people magnet
The rest of Australia has finally woken up to WA's huge demand for workers, with the state becoming the place of choice for jobseekers. The West
Regulator to rein in energy bills
The electricity regulator yesterday moved to stop power companies overspending on transmission networks and passing the extra cost on to consumers and business. The Fin
Barnett threatens export ban over China coal deal
Premier Colin Barnett has threatened to refuse to issue an export permit for coal in the wake of Wesfarmers' sale of Collie's Premier Coal to a Chinese company unless supplies to Government-owned generator Verve are guaranteed. The West
Wharfie strikes to hit key products
Delivery of critical mining equipment, steel, cars and agricultural products will be delayed after the maritime union deepened its industrial dispute with Patrick stevedores and embarked on a series of waterfront rolling strikes. The Aus
Barnett urges green groups to back away from gas protest
The campaign against a $30 billion proposed gas hub on the Kimberley coast is so marred by appalling tactics and racial slurs that responsible environmental groups must sever ties with it, West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said yesterday. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The rest of Australia has finally woken up to WA's huge demand for workers, with the state becoming the place of choice for jobseekers.
Page 3: A likeness of former WA premier Sir Charles Court will forever gaze out over St Georges Terrace after a keenly awaited statue was unveiled yesterday on what would have been his 100th birthday.
Page 5: Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan has entered the battle to keep Willeton Sports Club open, saying money is better spent on children's sports facilities than on security patrols cracking down on youngsters.
Page 6: States will come under pressure to slash stamp duties property developer charges at next week's Tax Forum amid warnings the Australian dream is being priced out of reach of ordinary people.
Page 10: Premier Colin Barnett has threatened to refuse to issue an export permit for coal in the wake of Wesfarmers' sale of Collie's Premier Coal to a Chinese company unless supplies to Government-owned generator Verve are guaranteed.
The WA mining warden yesterday ordered a company fighting to explore for coal between Busselton and Margaret River to give details of its impact on South West water sources.
Colin Barnett has signalled that the government's long search for a Corruption and Crime Commissioner is over.
Page 11: State government-owned facilities for elite sport will require extra money in the coming years as they are caught between rising expectations from sporting codes and declining condition because of age.
Page 19: A local council boss has been ordered to discipline staff for handing out flyers in support of council candidates who they hope will back their bid for a pay rise.
Page 32: Waters off metropolitan beaches between Woodman Point and Leighton will be closed to leisure and commercial boating during the 16 days of the ISAF Sailing World Championships in December.
Business: Andrew Forrest will live to fight another day as chairman of his $14 billion iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group, with the corporate regulator facing at least a nine-month wait to defend its misleading and deceptive conduct case against the pair in the High Court.
Leighton Holdings' long serving former chief, Wal King, stands to pocket $6 million in consultancy fees over the next three years as part of a severance package that could top $31 million.
German MPs last night approved the strengthening of a bailout fund in a major step toward tackling Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
Indian group Lanco Infratech's expansion plans for its Griffin Coal operations at Collie are on ice after Perdaman Chemicals won a WA Supreme Court appeal yesterday, complicating Lanco's attempts to raise fresh funds.
Aquila Resources chief executive has hinted the group is unlikely to meet tonight's self-imposed deadline to secure funding for its $6 billion West Pilbara project, saying he expects details of an agreement with China Development Bank to be released “over the next few weeks”.
Award-winning manufacturer Matrix Composites and Engineering has laid off 70 workers at a WA plant it is shutting down today despite many having believed they would be transferred to the company's new factory.
Paladin Energy chief executive John Borshoff has taken a swipe at the company's detractors, a day after revealing a surprise capital raising, saying the miner was still “one of the leading independent companies in the uranium sector”.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The electricity regulator yesterday moved to stop power companies overspending on transmission networks and passing the extra cost on to consumers and business.
Business leaders have welcomed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plan to develop a strategy on Australia's engagement with Asia.
Reserve Bank of Australia board member and Australian Securities Exchange director Jillian Broadbent is set to be appointed by the Gillard government to head its new $10 billion clean energy fund.
Page 3: The record dollar and natural disasters wiped $2 billion from the 2010-11 federal budget by slashing company profits and income taxes.
The country's population is growing at its slowest pace in more than five years and it has a lot to do with more of us dying – but no one knows why.
Page 6: When the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia meets on Tuesday to decide monetary policy, financial markets will still be questioning whether the eurozone can avoid sovereign default and if the global economy could then survive without another recession.
Page 10: Opposition leader Tony Abbott yesterday rejected calls from business groups and within the Coalition to scrap the renewable energy target amid growing concern in the energy sector about moves to water it down.
Page 12: Mining magnate Andrew Forrest will take his battle against the corporate regulator all the way to the High Court after the court agreed to hear his appeal against a finding that he was guilty of misleading investors.
Page 14: Trade unions have questioned the idea that Australia's business tax regime is internationally uncompetitive, and say business must continue to pay a fair share of tax.
Plans by Indian power giant Lanco Infratech to expand its West Australian mines to ship coal to India have been dealt a blow in the state's Supreme Court.
Page 44: Sandfire Resources has brushed aside concerns about falling commodity prices and global economic turmoil to secure a $390 million debt facility that will enable it to complete its Degrussa copper and gold development in Western Australia.
Page 45: Chinese frustrations over Australia's ability to respond to its booming demand for raw materials are growing despite the federal government's push to get closer to the economic powerhouse.
Page 46: Paladin Energy has hit out over the latest plunge in the company's share price and accused “fashionable” investors of talking down the stock with little regard to the uranium producer's long-term strategy.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The union movement will press the Gillard government to commit to raising the tax-free threshold to $25,000 at next week’s national tax forum, funded by cuts to the tax concessions for high-income earners.
Delivery of critical mining equipment, steel, cars and agricultural products will be delayed after the maritime union deepened its industrial dispute with Patrick stevedores and embarked on a series of waterfront rolling strikes.
The national energy regulator has moved to increase its power to crack down on companies increasing prices to pay for excessive upgrades to their poles and wires.
Page 3: Shops and restaurants may start slugging customers to use Eftpos under changes to the electronic payment system that come into effect tomorrow.
Page 4: A collapse in government revenue in the final weeks of 2010-11 will cause a blowout in this year’s budget deficit and make Labor’s promised return to surplus much more difficult.
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that governments must tackle global food security or risk wars, political chaos and large movements of ‘‘environmental refugees’’, including to Australia.
Page 5: Billionaire miner Andrew Forrest has convinced the High Court to hear an appeal against a ruling that he breached the Corporations Law by misleading investors in his Fortescue Metals Group.
Page 6: Tony Abbott has seized on warnings about fraud in international emissions trading schemes as a reason to dump Labor’s planned carbon tax.
Two senior Labor ministers have praised Julia Gillard’s willingness to tackle economic reform as the government moves to bury leadership speculation and focus on its own agenda.
Page 7: The campaign against a $30 billion proposed gas hub on the Kimberley coast is so marred by appalling tactics and racial slurs that responsible environmental groups must sever ties with it, West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said yesterday.
Business: The High Court has agreed to hear a landmark case expected to clarify Australia’s continuous disclosure laws after Fortescue Metals Group and its chairman, Andrew Forrest, won leave to appeal against a finding that they misled investors.
Former Leighton chief Wal King has walked away with a golden handshake of $15 million after quitting the company in January and could more than double the payout to $31m in the next three years.
Investors breathed a sigh of relief last night as the German parliament passed a beefed-up rescue fund for stricken eurozone countries by a large majority, in a vote seen as crucial to stem financial market turmoil.
Australian business leaders in China have criticised the government’s planned white paper on Asia as overdue, and say Australia is increasingly being beaten to business in China by other nations.
Australia's biggest domestic gas supplier, Santos, has given its most bullish prognosis yet of east coast gas prices, saying they could triple on the back of unprecedented demand.
BHP Billiton has eased concerns about the potential $US48 billion ($48.7bn) Port Hedland iron ore harbour expansion as it showed off its Pilbara region iron ore assets to investors this week.
Retail billionaire Gerry Harvey was one of the lowest-paid retail executives in Australia last year, with his $1.15 million pay packet amounting to less than one-fifth of the amount collected by the chief executives of other major listed retailers.
The merger plans of troubled property group Centro have hit a stumbling block in the NSW Supreme Court after one-time company auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers objected to a $167 million shortfall in the amount set aside for unsecured creditors.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: A ute driver has been shot dead by police in Castle Hill. A 16-year-old girl has been placed on an airport watch list to prevent an arranged marriage in Lebanon.
Medicare is investigating hundreds of dentists over possible misuse of government funds.
Page 2: A young police officer says he feared for his life before Adam Salter was shot in the back by a policewoman.
Page 3: The chance of getting a job in mining regions is steadily improving. A leaked minute from the military stating support for 14 regimental bands across the country to be removed has caused uproar. Carl Williams' killer is found guilty of murder.
World: The German chancellor Angela Merkel survived a tough test of her authority last night.
Business: Rupert Murdoch's two sons, James and Lachlan, should be voted off the News Corp board along with four others, according to the superannuation industry's advisory body.
Sport: Rugby league's newly formed independent commission will not hesitate to dump the NRL finals format if it decides the AFL system is better.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Kevin Rudd could resurrect the Labor vote. Harry Blencke was the joy of his parents' lives.
Page 2: The new Hurstville mayor has sold his mayoral car to fund a children's playground.
Page 3: A 16-year-old girl has won the right to be placed on an airport watch list to stop her parents taking her to Lebanon for an arranged marriage.
World: The last days of Michael Jackson were filled with adoring fans, his doctor Conrad Murray's trial has heard.
Business: A leading American investment analyst has criticised Australia for allowing China to buy large areas of its natural resources.
Sport: Warriors players have emotionally dedicated their charge at this year's NRL premiership to fallen teammate Sonny Fai.
THE AGE:
Page 1: A Victoria Police taskforce is investigating a new lead in the murder of Carl Williams that points to Melbourne underworld figures ordering his slaying from outside Barwon Prison.
Page 3: Medicare is investigating hundreds of dentists over possible misuse of government funds as it tries to recoup almost $20 million of benefits paid in the past four years.
Page 3: Rupert Murdoch's two sons, James and Lachlan, should be voted off the News Corp board along with four others, according to the superannuation industry's advisory body dismayed at the phone hacking scandal and dominance of the mogul's family to the detriment of other shareholders.
Page 4: Matthew Johnson once wanted to turn over a new leaf, but he seemed destined to remain one of Victoria's most dangerous criminals and feared prisoners.
World: Palestinian frustration with Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair has spilled over into outright hostility, with officials saying they cannot trust anything the former British prime minister says.
Business: Fremantle-based Mermaid Marine is one of three companies accused of actions tantamount to murder at sea in a US lawsuit filed by the family of one of four oil workers who died last month during a violent storm in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sport: Mick Malthouse says Collingwood selected first-year player Alex Fasolo for the grand final after teammate Dayne Beams followed the example of Simon Prestigiacomo and expressed doubt about whether he was physically able to perform on Saturday.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 3: A 16-year-old girl secretly took legal action against her parents to escape an arranged marriage.
Page 4: No prison officers have been disciplined even though the fatal bashing of Carl Williams was captured by a live CCTV feed that was not picked up.
Page 5: Detectives plan to use Carl Williams' words from beyond the grave to try to solve two infamous gangland killings.
World: A man has been charged over a plot to attack the US Capitol and Pentagon using large remote-controlled aircraft laden with explosives.
Business: Billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest has won leave to appeal against a Federal Court ruling that he misled investors seven years ago.
Sport: Geelong and Collingwood have picked their teams for the AFL grand final.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: Two of the state's largest dams will remain close to full as the Bligh government gambles on not suffering another major wet season.
Page 5: Insurers are considering cheaper car insurance premiums for young people who allow a GPS tracking device in their vehicle that monitors speed and night-time movements.
Page 7: Olympic swimming hopeful Kenrick Monk may miss the Games after being knocked off his bike.
World: The FBI has foiled a remote control plane bomb attack on Washington.
Business: Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest is in a legal battle with the corporate regulator.
Sport: Manly captain Jamie Lyon is in a Test eligibility dispute after it was revealed he is available for Australia's Four Nations campaign.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: The Emergency Alert system, which is used by every state and territory except WA, had systematic flaws on the morning of the Mitchell fire. More than a third of the price of a new house in Canberra goes to tax. The federal government will reveal on Friday that revenue was $2 billion lower than expected in the past financial year.
Page 2: New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show Australia's population growth is continuing to slow.
Page 3: Medicare is investigating hundreds of dentists over possible misuse of government funds.
World: A US man has been arrested on charges of planning to fly explosives-packed, remote-controlled aircraft into the Pentagon and the Capitol in Washington.
Business: Australian shares closed almost one per cent lower, after making back some of the day's losses, with investors worried before last night's critical German vote on the EU's rescue fund.
Sport: Manly coach Des Hasler has dismissed any suggestion that returning forward Glenn Stewart will be short of a gallop in Sunday's NRL grand final.
