Today's Business Headlines

PM braces for wave of asylum-seekers

Asylum-seekers will be issued with bridging visas to live in the community and have the right to work under immigration rule changes unveiled by Julia Gillard in the wake of the collapse of the Malaysia Solution. The West

Threat to intervene in Qantas row

The Gillard government has threatened to intervene in the escalating workplace struggle at Qantas after the airline grounded five aircraft and cut 100 flights a week, putting further pressure on Australia's already struggling $94 billion tourism sector. The Fin

Mining states in GST grab

The resource-rich states of Queensland and Western Australia have joined forces to call for an overhaul of the methodology used to allocate revenue from the goods and services tax. The Fin

Tax push by juniors gathering support

The call for junior miners to pay less than the majors when the controversial mining tax is introduced continues to gather pace with a proposal put to the government for a staged approach for the smaller end of the booming sector. The Aus

Shoppers spared carbon bite

Food and grocery manufacturers are poorly prepared for the carbon tax and face sharp cuts to operating profits, a study has found. The Fin

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Asylum-seekers will be issued with bridging visas to live in the community and have the right to work under immigration rule changes unveiled by Julia Gillard in the wake of the collapse of the Malaysia Solution.

Page 5: The Opposition has labelled the government's backdown on offshore processing as a capitulation to the Greens.

Page 6: The federal government may intervene in Qantas' industrial relations storm after the airline said it had to ground planes because of work bans by engineers.

Page 10: Experience, confident campaigning and the absence of a clear, alternative vision will see Lisa Scaffidi re-elected for a second term as Lord Mayor of Perth, key groups and analysts have predicted.

Page 14: A damning report into the environmental performance of WA mining companies has prompted the state's biggest conservation group to call for a ban on new approvals.

Page 16: Commonwealth leaders will discuss proposals to change the rules of succession for the British throne when they meet in Perth this month, British Prime Minister David Cameron says.

Page 17: WA and Queensland have record numbers of people in full-time work on the back of the resources boom but new figures show the national jobs market is barely growing.

Page 19: Construction union heavyweight Joe McDonald has reformed and wants to be let “back inside the tent”, according to a submission for the return of his right-of-entry permit.

Business: James Packer yesterday aired his regrets about missing the resources boat to China but also questioned whether the boom in resource-rich states like WA was having a statewide trickle-down effect.

Western Areas has tried to take the hype out of Kagara's sale of the Lounge Lizard nickel mine, for which it is the obvious buyer.

Rio Tinto is set to smash last year's record profit after yesterday confirming that its Pilbara iron ore division, the mining giant's biggest and most important contributor, has sold its highest-ever quarterly volumes of the steel-making commodity.

Mermaid Marine Australia and dock workers at its Dampier supply base have struck a deal which delivers more than 25 per cent in pay rises over three years.

Iluka Resources chief executive David Robb says a lack of Western political leadership, not market fundamentals, should take much of the blame for the current crisis of confidence.

Contractor turned junior miner Mineral Resources has backed its self-proclaimed strategy of striking while the iron is hot by snapping up three central Pilbara iron ore tenements for $42 million.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: The Gillard government has threatened to intervene in the escalating workplace struggle at Qantas after the airline grounded five aircraft and cut 100 flights a week, putting further pressure on Australia's already struggling $94 billion tourism sector.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has conceded that her offshore border protection plan would fail in Parliament and has been forced to adopt a softer policy on asylum seekers in the latest blow to her leadership authority.

Page 3: The company building Labor's national broadband network spent $161 million on legal and technical advice in the last financial year – twice as much as it spent on rolling out its delayed fibre-optic network.

Food and grocery manufacturers are poorly prepared for the carbon tax and face sharp cuts to operating profits, a study has found.

Page 4: The resource-rich states of Queensland and Western Australia have joined forces to call for an overhaul of the methodology used to allocate revenue from the goods and services tax.

Page 10: Australia would find it hard to avoid recession like it did during the first phase of the global financial crisis if there was a second severe worldwide downturn, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Page 11: The labour market strengthened unexpectedly in September and added the most jobs since March, helping push down the unemployment rate and dampening speculation of an interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Page 12: Two appeal decisions by Fair Work Australia have strengthened the clout of unions, including contentious workplace-entry rights of union officials.

Page 18: The West Australian National Party is close to scoring a major political coup by enticing a star Labor candidate to run for it in the seat of Kimberley at the 2013 state election.

Page 46: Rio Tinto has reported record sales of iron ore and hard coking coal in the September quarter and chief executive Tom Albanese assured investors the miner continued to sell all of the products it could produce.

Mineral sands miner Iluka Resources is on the way to meeting full-year profit expectations after delivering a strong quarterly production performance and flagging more price rises for its products.

Page 48: Mineral Resources picked up three tenements from the Kerry Stokes-controlled Iron Ore Holdings yesterday as the scramble to build iron ore resources in the Pilbara continues.

Page 57: Perth-based investment company Sirona Capital and developer Luke Saraceni have been given a significant leg-up by the City of Fremantle to secure a major contract for an inner city redevelopment with an estimated end value of $80 million.

TFS Corporation, a timber company with backing from a Middle East sovereign wealth fund, has snapped up $7 million worth of timber land in north Queensland.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Julia Gillard has predicted an increase in boat arrivals after yesterday being forced to abandon offshore processing and softening the treatment of asylum-seekers who arrive by sea.

Labor has threatened to break up the war between Qantas and its unions, in what would be the first intervention by a federal government in an industrial dispute in the aviation industry in more than 20 years.

Page 2: Employers are still hiring in the mining states, bringing a fall in the jobless rate last month and easing fears of an economic downturn.

Employers have lost a bid to overturn a landmark workplace agreement that requires a company to promote union membership and pay contract labour the same rate as direct employees.

Page 3: The NBN Co has paid its top executives an extra $2.3 million after creating a private sector-style bonus pool.

Page 4: The food and grocery industry will press the federal government for an accelerated-depreciation scheme, in addition to a $150 million industry assistance fund in the carbon tax package, after new research showed the carbon price would cut operating profits in the sector by an average 4.4 per cent.

Business: The Bank of Queensland has called for an interest rate cut to ease the cost of living for struggling homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgage repayments and denting the regional bank’s profitability.

Australian retail investors will finally have affordable access to fixed-interest products thanks to seven new indices announced yesterday.

Eminent economist Larry Meyer is confident the US will avoid a double-dip recession, but forecasting has never been more difficult in a two-speed world.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has hit new quarterly production records for iron ore and coking coal as it continues to operate at full capacity to fuel the commodity appetite from the Asian region.

The call for junior miners to pay less than the majors when the controversial mining tax is introduced continues to gather pace with a proposal put to the government for a staged approach for the smaller end of the booming sector.

Extract Resources’ response to an ASX query as to when it knew that its major shareholder Kalahari Minerals had resumed takeover talks with the state-owned China Guandong Nuclear Power raises as many questions as it answers.

Junior MOD Resources’ plan to rapidly transform into a significant miner has been boosted by a deal in which it could own the majority of New Zealand’s largest undeveloped gold resource.

Kmart managing director Guy Russo is the latest retailer to warn of continued trading difficulty as the sector readies for a subdued Christmas trading period.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: Scores of federal MPs flew aboard luxury VIP jets as thousands of passengers were stranded at airports across Australia.

Page 2: State MPs voted down a motion to sack magistrate Brian Maloney on the grounds of mental illness.

Page 3: Jackie Dimitrovski was sipping martinis in Texas unaware she was about to be sprung for a $500,000 theft.

World: A busy afternoon at an upscale California hair salon turned into a bloody massacre when a lone gunman killed eight people.

Business: Rising employment levels have all but killed off the chance of an interest rate cut on Melbourne Cup Day.

Sport: Manly chairman Scott Penn made a left-field power play for control of the rugby league club.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: The government has all but abandoned hope of sending asylum seekers offshore and is making preparations for an expected surge of arrivals, including letting more people into community detention.

Page 2: The federal government has blocked a parliamentary committee from recalling Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens to face questions about allegations some of his most senior officials covered up corruption at the bank's subsidiaries.

Page 3: Australia has created so few jobs in the past three months that at the present rate it would take a quarter of a century to reach the 500,000 promised in the federal budget.

World: The Obama administration is ramping up its diplomatic campaign against Iran, giving UN diplomats detailed intelligence to support charges it plotted to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US.

Finance: James Packer has regretted missing the China resources boom.

Sport: The Wallabies believe their defence will stop the New Zealand All Blacks winning the World Cup on Sunday.

THE CANBERRA TIMES:

Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard forced into asylum seeker backdown. Parkes Observatory to have budget slashed by 40 per cent. Police officer sacked for flushing drugs down toilet.

Page 2: Belconnen may get 20-storey towers.

Page 3: Qantas cuts flights as government says it may step in.

Business: Salvage team on standby to board stricken ship off New Zealand.

Business: Rio Tinto's iron ore sales set new record.

Sport: Wallabies believe they can cover for loss of Kurtley Beale.

THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:

Page 1: Passengers on domestic flights will pay more because it is cancelling 100 flights a week due to industrial action.

Page 3: Researchers think they can reverse damage associated with emphysema.

World: Public urged not to interfere with clean-up from stricken ship in NZ.

Business: Iluka will smash its revenue records this year.

Sport: Brenton Sanderson is banking on a revival with promising youth at Adelaide.