Carbon price to be double the world's – The Fin; Europe stocks in sea of red as debt focus shifts to Italy – The West; WA to take dispute to tribunal – The Fin; Gillard lifts Labor off floor – The Aus; Shell may move on Woodside swap deal – The Aus
Carbon price to be double the world's
Labor's pact with the Greens is set to lock Australian business into paying up to double the global carbon price following sharp falls on international carbon trading markets. The Fin
Europe stocks in sea of red as debt focus shifts to Italy
Stocks across Europe opened in a sea of red last night, gold rose to a six-week high and Italy's borrowing costs reached an all-time record as fears that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will fail to win a majority for a parliamentary vote overshadowed Greece's plan to form a unity government. The West
WA to take dispute to tribunal
The West Australian government will ask Fair Work Australia to force an industrial action threatening the state's biggest container port to arbitration, to prevent a protracted brawl along the lines of the Qantas dispute. The Fin
Gillard lifts Labor off floor
Labor's portrayal of Tony Abbott as too negative appears to have hit home, with the latest Newspoll finding voter dissatisfaction with the Opposition Leader’s performance at a record high of 57 per cent. The Aus
Shell may move on Woodside swap deal
Royal Dutch Shell’s $6.7 billion shareholding in Woodside Petroleum will be released from a one-year sale ban today, in a long-awaited move that could lead to Shell swapping its unwanted shares for key equity stakes in the Perth-based company’s suite of LNG projects. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 5: The Gillard government has taken the extraordinary step of scrapping the bidding process for the right to run Australia's overseas television network and called in Australian Federal Police to investigate the leaking of key information surrounding the $223 million tender.
Page 7: A teacher's union has warned against the growing corporatisation of education amid revelations BHP Billiton has a $6.8 million sponsorship deal stipulating the Education Department must promote it as “committed to public education in the Pilbara”.
Page 12: The Gillard government will argue small miners could pay proportionately less tax than multinationals such as BHP Billiton as the war of words over the minerals resource rent tax escalates.
Tony Abbott is facing internal divisions over his management style and commitment to fiscal discipline after overturning his party's position on an increase in the superannuation guarantee levy.
Page 13: WA's appalling recycling record, the worst in Australia, will be in the spotlight this week as green groups use National Recycling Week to push the “re-use” message.
Not one school chosen to receive evaporative air conditioning this year will have it installed in time for the start of summer.
Page 17: Rent caps, a lot more public housing and incentives for “empty-nesters” to downsize are needed to help Perth avoid a damaging gap between haves and have-nots in the housing market, according to think tank Committee for Perth.
Page 18: The state government will spend $65 million of Royalties for Regions money on improving Karratha town centre under the Pilbara Cities program.
Construction has started on a $50 million solar farm in the Mid West, the first utility scale project of its kind in Australia.
Business: Stocks across Europe opened in a sea of red last night, gold rose to a six-week high and Italy's borrowing costs reached an all-time record as fears that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will fail to win a majority for a parliamentary vote overshadowed Greece's plan to form a unity government.
A lack of political leadership in Australia and the worsening European debt crisis are likely to weigh on an already depressed property market over the next 12 months, the head of the country's biggest mortgage broker has warned.
Retiring Western Areas boss Julian Hanna has cited the maiden shipment of nickel concentrate from the company's Forrestania operations to customers in China as the highlight of his 12-year reign running WA's biggest nickel company.
The rapid growth of engineering and project delivery company Calibre Global has continued apace with the acquisition of a big Melbourne consulting firm.
Perth's business community has paid tribute to Kari Rummukainen, the boss of construction company Broad Group Holdings, who died suddenly at the weekend.
Ramelius Resources has done little to dispel talk it is eyeing a bid for Doray Minerals after announcing a $55 million capital raising.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Labor's pact with the Greens is set to lock Australian business into paying up to double the global carbon price following sharp falls on international carbon trading markets.
A major write-down of the struggling ACP magazine business has wiped out the last of the equity in Nine Entertainment Co, as the strains of servicing a $3.6 billion debt pile prompted a warning from auditors that the owner of the east coast Nine Network television stations, Ticketek and stakes in Sky News, Cudo and ninemsn could be forced to sell assets.
Page 4: The federal Coalition has been accused of breaching global trade rules by endorsing policies that would protect local manufacturers in price disputes with foreign competitors.
Page 5: The West Australian government will ask Fair Work Australia to force an industrial action threatening the state's biggest container port to arbitration, to prevent a protracted brawl along the lines of the Qantas dispute.
Qantas Airways and its licensed engineers are no closer to reaching negotiated agreement after talks resumed before Fair Work Australia yesterday.
Page 6: New tax breaks on infrastructure investments aren't broad enough to help the projects needed to drive economic growth and tackle road congestion, an industry lobby group says.
Job opportunities in the resource-rich states are pulling ahead of the rest of the country, highlighting unbalanced growth in the economy and underlining warnings that unemployment will rise.
Page 11: The fate of BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam expansion now lies squarely with the company's board after the South Australian opposition yesterday removed the final piece of political uncertainty over the project.
Page 13: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's majority is unravelling before a key parliamentary vote, with allies pressuring him to step aside after contagion from the region's sovereign debt crisis pushed Italy's borrowing costs to euro era records.
Page 18: China will attempt to 100 million tonnes of offshore iron ore production under its control by 2015, amid expectations the country's annual steel consumption will grow to about 750 million tonnes over the next five years.
OM Holdings says it is still open to a deal with its controversial 14 per cent shareholder Consolidated Minerals to buy its Woodie Woodie manganese mine in Western Australia.
Page 19: Incoming Orica chief executive Ian Smith has the good fortune to take over when demand for the company's explosives and chemical products has recovered and the business is performing soundly.
Page 20: West Australian shipbuilder Austal has acquired a shipyard in the Philippines in a bid to maximise its competitiveness as a manufacturer.
Page 59: Brookfield Office Properties, the owner of near $3 billion worth of Australian towers and development sites, raised its forecast for full-year funds from operations after breaking the 2007 leasing record for its buildings.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Labor's portrayal of Tony Abbott as too negative appears to have hit home, with the latest Newspoll finding voter dissatisfaction with the Opposition Leader’s performance at a record high of 57 per cent.
The damaging Qantas dispute has prompted the Gillard government to undertake a review of the nation’s workplace bargaining rules and the powers of Fair Work Australia.
The ABC will continue to run the Australia Network after the government yesterday cancelled the $223 million tender process that had twice recommended the contract be given to Sky News.
Page 2: Tony Abbott’s Coalition has given in-principle support to a controversial move by Labor to have different welfare rules apply across remote Aboriginal communities in a bid to promote economic development and jobs.
The Minerals Council of Australia has savaged the government’s indigenous work strategy, revealing that job agencies are not even offering them potential employees, forcing miners to go out and find workers themselves.
Ernie Dingo helped Andrew ‘‘Twiggy’’ Forrest launch a star-studded campaign to end indigenous disadvantage last year, but the celebrity now claims the billionaire wants to underpay traditional owners while disturbing cultural sites in the Pilbara.
Page 6: Billionaire miner Andrew Forrest says his company, Fortescue Metals Group, will avoid paying the Gillard government’s resources tax for at least five years thanks to the substantial writeoffs available to all big producers including rivals BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata
Page 7: Universities could be offered financial incentives to ensure students graduate, as the government makes sure its expansion of university places isn’t wasted on dropouts or becomes unsustainable.
Wayne Swan will have to wield the axe on programs rather than cut administration costs to help save his budget surplus.
The Law Council of Australia, Kerry Stokes’s Seven West Media Group and the Newspaper Publishers Association have all rejected calls for print media to be licensed and subject to stricter legislative controls.
Mining companies are exploring Australia’s resource states for controversial shale gas as analysts tip the nascent industry will create the next energy boom.
Page 9: Papua New Guinea’s second city and industrial hub, Lae, has been ravaged by riots in which the government says nine people have died, and which raise questions about the country’s capacity to sustain its mining, oil and gas boom.
Business: Leighton Holdings will work more closely with its Spanish and German parents and consider cutting back on outsourcing and subcontracting to reduce project risks under new chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt’s strategic blueprint for the future.
Graeme Liebelt has delivered a strong, share-boosting full-year profit and outlook in his last earnings report for Orica before he hands over the reins to former Newcrest Mining boss Ian Smith in February.
Royal Dutch Shell’s $6.7 billion shareholding in Woodside Petroleum will be released from a one-year sale ban today, in a long-awaited move that could lead to Shell swapping its unwanted shares for key equity stakes in the Perth-based company’s suite of LNG projects.
Close to 5 per cent of Centro Properties stock has changed hands ahead of a key court ruling that could derail the company’s plans to erase close to $3 billion worth of debt and avoid likely administration through a complex merger.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Australia's deployment in Afghanistan is likely to be shifted to the more hostile areas around Kabul and Kandahar after the diggers' present theatre of action in Oruzgan gradually transfers to Afghan control.
Page 2: Barry O'Farrell's pitch to attract more migrants from Asia and the Indian subcontinent will depend on making Sydney a more lively city, with suburban retail strips and restaurants that operate late into the night, and higher densities that resemble the cities of their homelands, say immigration experts.
Page 3: The head of the Climate Commission, Tim Flannery, will warn coal seam gas companies on Tuesday that their industry rests on a "knife's edge" and must be able to resolve pressing issues around water security, greenhouse gas emissions and social responsibility if it is to continue to grow.
World: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has stood down.
Business: Internet providers have refused to sign wholesale agreements with NBN Co over concerns contracts could leave companies unregulated and locked into unfavourable terms.
Sport: Caddie Steve Williams said he was stunned by the reaction to his private remarks and said it had been blown out of proportion.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Part-time working mums across NSW will be given a yearly $500 tax-free superannuation gift from the proceeds of the federal government's mining tax.
Page 2: Prime Minister Julia Gillard arrives in Afghanistan just hours after an insurgent rocket was fired in the main Australian base in Tarin Kowt.
Page 3: A former employee of bar owner Justin Hemmes plans to the sue the nightclub mogul after he was strip searched and unlawfully detained by Hemmes and his security staff.
World: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has stood down.
Business: Explosives maker Orica has conceded it is losing patience with $850 million offshoot Minova and will consider offloading the business unless it improves.
Sport: Golfer Tiger Woods has touched down in Sydney ahead of the Australian Open at Lakes Golf Club.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Australian troop numbers in Afghanistan to be slashed but remaining diggers to be shifted to more hostile areas.
Eastern Health admits to "compromising" the safety of a 15-year-old girl who was raped in its care.
Government ditches tenders for the Australia Network after leaks of confidential information.
Solarium operators ignore the law and let under-18s use sunbeds.
Page 3: Government accused of abandoning WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The number of Victorians with type 2 diabetes soars in the past decade. Indonesian judge says media deals with Bali boy will have no effect on judgment.
Lowland gorillas get a 6000 square metre bachelor pad at Werribee Zoo.
Fire brigade to investigate smart meter link to house fires.
Restaurateur Nick Zampeli seeks $7 million in damages after Crown fails to renew leases on two of his waterfront restaurants.
Asteroid to pass close to Earth.
World: National unity government in Greece will secure international funds to avert collapse.
Business: Internet service providers refuse to sign wholesale agreements with NBN fearing unfavourable terms.
Sport: Has Ponting gone one season too many as he prepares for series against South Africa?
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Criminals slipping through the net and allowed to work with children.
Hawthorn great Michael Tuck says clubs should throw his son Travis a lifeline after he recorded three strikes under the AFL's drug policy.
Page 2: Police using Myki to track Victorians.
Page 3: Family restaurant considers banning electronic gizmos at the dining tables.
World: Death toll for Thai floods climbs above 500.
Business: Consumers spending less at department stores than at any time in the 30 years records kept.
Sport: AFL legend Michael Tuck pleads for clubs to consider recruiting his son.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: US President Barack Obama can expect protesters to greet him when he visits parliament next week.
Law enforcement agencies are keeping a close watch on Australians, with figures showing they tap almost 10 phones a day.
A Canberra man left a quadriplegic after being shot by police has yet to see any of his $8 million payout.
Plans for the Bowen Place Crossing in Parkes are due to be unveiled.
An asteroid four times the length of a football field will pass close by to earth on Wednesday.
Page 2: Authorities are investigating claims an unlicensed builder was used in electricity infrastructure construction in Canberra's south.
Page 3: A former manager at an Indian restaurant in Canberra is taking his case to Fair Work Australia after being sacked for drinking and eating between shifts, arguing unfair dismissal.
World: Negotiations continue as Greece attempts to form a unity government.
Business: A slide in construction sector growth slowed in October, a survey suggests.
Sport: Raiders legend Mal Meninga says David Furner is the right man to take the club to its next premiership.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency has written to the University of Queensland requesting full details of enrolment irregularities that has forced its two highest bosses to stand down. Small business says it's sick of the "nanny state" Queensland has become.
Page 2: A loophole in Gladstone Harbour water quality monitoring is allowing disease-causing conditions to be ignored.
Page 3: Hundreds of motorists are demanding compensation from Transport and Main Roads for vehicle damage caused by shoddy roads.
World: A survivor of Britain's M5 motorway disaster has told of a "black fog" that cut visibility moments before the horror crash.
Business: Explosives maker Orica will offload the offshoot Minova unless it improves.
Sport: South Africa's most capped Test cricketer Jacques Kallis has attacked the officialdom for allowing Twenty20 to erode the Protea's series against Australia.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: City shops will be able to open for all but two public holidays next year.
Page 3: Hotel owners have installed note-changing machines next to poker machines.
World: Greece to get an interim government.
Business: Adelaide Energy should accept its takeover bid, Beach Energy says.
Sport: Antony Golec is sorry about his tweet.
