Big miners fear global deep freeze - The Aus; Swan's budget just gets harder - The Fin; Aspen revival eclipsed by criticism, first-strike vote - The West; $300m treated sewage plan to tackle drought - The West; WA persists with franchise legislation - The Fin
Big miners fear global deep freeze
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto – the giant miners feeding the engine-rooms of the global economy – say the eurozone crisis has entered a dangerous new period, and warned of global contagion and frozen credit markets. The Aus
Swan's budget just gets harder
Treasurer Wayne Swan will today reveal a massive tightening of fiscal policy aimed at bringing the budget back into surplus next financial year after global economic uncertainty helped blow out the 2011-12 budget deficit to beyond $30 billion. The Fin
Aspen revival eclipsed by criticism, first-strike vote
Criticism levelled at Aspen Group's ailing share price and executive remuneration practices by the company's former managing director detracted from board praise for outgoing chairman Reg Gillard at its annual meeting in Perth yesterday. The West
$300m treated sewage plan to tackle drought
The Barnett government is priming households in Perth and the South West to drink treated sewage after setting aside $300 million for a full-blown recycled water project. The West
WA persists with franchise legislation
The franchise landscape has taken an intriguing twist with the introduction of another bill, this time by the Labor opposition, in the West Australian Parliament. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The state government's top economic adviser has launched a scathing attack on the Department of Environment and Conservation after his dream retirement home was destroyed in last week's botched prescribed burn.
Page 2: WA is again awash with cheap French champagne as the annual slash and burn sends prices tumbling by up to 50 per cent.
Page 3: Bureaucrats will bear the brunt of deep spending cuts as Wayne Swan struggles with a $20 billion collapse in revenue that threatens the Federal Government's promise of a Budget surplus next year.
The Barnett government is priming households in Perth and the South West to drink treated sewage after setting aside $300 million for a full-blown recycled water project.
Page 5: Six work-related deaths in 20 days has spurred the safety watchdog to urge people to take care as the festive season approaches.
Page 6: The state government's backing for besieged Department of Environment and Conservation director-general Keiran McNamara weakened yesterday.
Page 11: Qantas has put the cost of recent industrial action that disrupted almost 200,000 passengers over 10 months at $194 million.
Page 13: WA stonefruit growers have welcomed the state's unseasonal spring rains, labelling this year's crop as one of the best in a decade.
Page 19: Plans to convert a Swan Valley winery into a concert venue are expected to be approved by the City of Swan tomorrow, despite opposition from nearby residents and a rival venue.
Business: Two of the world's biggest miners have painted a gloomy portrait of the global economy, with both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto forecasting deteriorating conditions in the weeks ahead.
European politicians could deliver the developed world economic devastation, the OECD has warned, in a bleak outlook on the state of the globe.
Paladin Energy shareholders yesterday seemed willing to take their lead from managing director John Borshoff and shrug off bad news hitting the uranium miner, sending its shares up 3 per cent despite questions being raised over its Kayelekera mine in Malawi.
Resources contractor Southern Cross Electrical Engineering has turned to the Philippines to recruit and train electricians as a back-up plan for the looming drought of skilled workers.
Criticism levelled at Aspen Group's ailing share price and executive remuneration practices by the company's former managing director detracted from board praise for outgoing chairman Reg Gillard at its annual meeting in Perth yesterday.
WA's junior iron ore industry is a step closer to having an additional 50 million tonnes a year of port space after WA's environmental watchdog recommended in favour of a new multi-user facility at Port Hedland.
Woolworths-backed ALH Group's takeover of the failed Compass Hotel Group's pubs will put a floor under the market for freehold venues in Perth after a long period of instability, the Australian Hotels Association says.
Newly installed Alchemy Resources chairman Oscar Aamodt has suggested the copper-gold explorer could revisit a contentious $8 million share placement.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: A major downturn in the global economy because of the euro zone debt crisis would force BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to shelve or slow expansion plans, the chief executives of the two global miners warned.
A long-running dispute with three unions and the grounding of the airline last month have cost Qantas almost $200 million as fresh details emerge about management's plan to establish a new hub in Kuala Lumpur in partnership with Malaysia Airlines.
Treasurer Wayne Swan will today reveal a massive tightening of fiscal policy aimed at bringing the budget back into surplus next financial year after global economic uncertainty helped blow out the 2011-12 budget deficit to beyond $30 billion.
Page 3: Tens of thousands of small businesses targeted by the Australian Taxation Office for little more than making unusually low profits will get to fight the system without fear of recrimination.
The Australian Building and Construction Commission has rejected radical action on sham contracting such as changing the law to create a new legal category of worker.
The Australian Taxation Office will launch a blitz against overseas workers on temporary visas in an effort to stamp out what it says is widespread abuse of the tax system.
Page 4: The underlying budget position is much weaker than an anticipated return to surplus next financial year implies, economists have warned.
Page 5: The federal government's policy allowing resource companies to strike mass agreements to bring in foreign temporary workers is set to come under fire at the Labor Party's national conference later this week.
Page 9: The West Australian government faces an embarrassing visit from high-ranking Chinese officials this week who will be in town to mark the beginning of construction of their mine in the state's midwest.
Page 10: The government and NBN Co have hit out at claims the cost of of the national broadband network could be $14 billion more than previously stated, based on a report from corporate advisers Greenhill Caliburn.
Page 11: The nation's peak business chamber has accused the Gillard government of denying its members due process in the push to impose new superannuation levies, warning that the changes have left a bitter taste that harm Labor's wider relations within industry.
Page 18: Rio Tinto has warned of further impairments at its struggling aluminium division, where It expects underlying earnings will only break even in the second half.
Page 41: The franchise landscape has taken an intriguing twist with the introduction of another bill, this time by the Labor opposition, in the West Australian Parliament.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto — the giant miners feeding the engine-rooms of the global economy — say the eurozone crisis has entered a dangerous new period, and warned of global contagion and frozen credit markets.
The collapse of offshore processing threatens to strain law enforcement agencies to breaking point, with Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Chris Craigie warning that his office is bracing for a doubling in the number of cases it is expected to try.
Page 2: Julia Gillard has appealed to a handful of right-wing MPS for their support to avoid a humiliating defeat on the floor of this week’s ALP national conference over same-sex marriage.
Page 4: The ACTU will consider running a landmark test case before Fair Work Australia designed to compel employers to offer permanent employment to groups of casual workers.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce has revealed it cost at least $70 million to ground the airline for three days but says this would have been quickly outweighed by the $85m a month it was set to lose because of union action.
Page 5: The devastating fire in Western Australia leapt out from a heavily wooded reserve where there had been no controlled burning for nearly 30 years, a fact that emerged as Premier Colin Barnett conceded he was surprised a senior fire officer labelled ‘‘extremely incompetent’’ by the coroner over his role in a deadly 2007 fire was reinstated and promoted to oversee the Margaret River region.
The West Australian government has unveiled a $500 million plan to drought-proof Perth by drilling deep into aquifers to draw water and replenish them with treated wastewater.
Business: Qantas boss Alan Joyce says the airline has no immediate need to cut more routes or capacity, despite news that its first-half underlying pre-tax profit will be as much as 66 per cent lower than last year.
Business leaders have urged the government to encourage private sector spending to shore up the domestic economy, and have cautioned against extra taxes to return the budget to surplus.
The world’s biggest miners say China will be hit harder by the eurozone financial crisis than previously thought, but still believe the Asian growth centre has the levers to keep its massive industrialisation program on track.
Rio Tinto continues to ratchet up iron ore expansion plans in the face of the developed world’s financial woes, despite a jump in development costs and reduced confidence in commodities prices.
Peak gas industry body the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association has signalled a higher public profile with the election of Santos chief David Knox as chairman.
Qantas still has not had any formal or informal approaches about a private equity bid, despite renewed speculation over a pitch for the airline.
Union-backed legislation aimed at restricting Qantas and the use of foreign crews on domestic routes will limit the ability of local airlines to grow and cost Australian jobs, the nation’s top transport official has warned.
Wayne Swan will urge Australia’s business leaders to kick-start the domestic corporate bond market to diversify funding sources as global financial markets remain volatile.
Big business has urged Julia Gillard’s chief microeconomic adviser to consider incentives to encourage local government authorities to make decisions at regional level and minimise delays to projects through costly approval processes.
Australia should develop high-speed rail and reform its economy around new permanent cities in the continent’s northwest in order to harness investment from China, according to former ambassador Geoff Raby.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The European financial crisis has punched a $20 billion hole in the budget but the government will still forecast a return to surplus, helped by more than $5 billion in spending cuts and savings.
Page 2: Up to 18 per cent of emergency ambulance calls initially deemed non-urgent are cancelled altogether, the Ambulance Service of NSW has acknowledged.
Page 3: Spending on infrastructure is falling victim to the two-speed economy, according to a report that predicts lower public investment in roads as governments try to get their budgets into shape.
World: The International Monetary Fund is being lined up to help Italy and Spain amid fears that a European rescue scheme will not be able to prop up the countries' economies.
Business: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have painted a gloomy portrait of the world economy, with the two global miners warning of deteriorating conditions in the weeks ahead.
Sport: Fresh from being re-elected for a new four-year term, Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy has boldly declared that Australia's bid for the 2022 World Cup is not over yet.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Education Minister Adrian Piccoli is in the hot seat to cool the state's classrooms after his own department headquarters received approval for a $1 million air conditioning upgrade.
Page 2: Government revenue has collapsed by more than $20 billion as the European financial crisis hits the federal budget and threatens Labor's promise to return to surplus.
Page 3: Shannan Taylor was the boxing tragedy come to life.
World: The West is striving to limit the fallout from a deadly NATO air raid on border troops but reports Pakistani soldiers opened fire first on US and Afghan forces have risked further tension.
Business: The local stock market has rallied as investors anticipate a new rescue package aimed at stemming the bleeding in European markets and shoring up the US economy.
Sport: Save Ricky Ponting or stick with youth - that is the agonising choice confronting Australia's new selection panel when Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh return from injury.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Police probe gangland link to Brunswick shooting. OECD says Australia's economic growth set to accelerate to the fastest in the developed world. Theses could replace exams in some VCE subjects to make year 12 more relevant to the workforce. Greens threaten to block Murray-Darling Basin draft plan.
Page 2: Pharmacy chief hits out at the "Coke and fries" approach, which is endangering jobs.
Page 3: Court documents show Mick Gatto was an investor in Peter Foster's latest diet scheme. Treasury briefing could cut avenues of appeal against contentious developments. Tony Abbott says school is not right for all teens.
Ashes of explorer Frank Wild to be laid beside grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Antarctic. HIV-positive children face adoption hurdles. Invite offers an extra 15 minutes with Energy and Gaming Minister Michael O'Brien for $200 at Liberal fundraiser.
World: Long lines of voters excited about participating in Egypt's first fair election in decades.
Business: BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto warn of gloomy economic times ahead.
Sport: Get-out clause could mean Harry Kewell will be gone by the end of the season.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Brunswick shooting victim is a bikie involved with Tony Mokbel's ex-girlfriend.
Page 2: The growling grass frog could stop 66,000 houses worth $2.6 billion from being built in Melbourne's growth corridors.
Page 3: FBI tipped off local police about Frankston couple who went on the run for 21 days before being charged with child porn. Study finds childcare kids indulge in more temper tantrums than other children.
World: Prince William helps pluck two shipwrecked sailors in a dramatic rescue.
Business: Rising fuel costs will hit Qantas profits.
Sport: GWS wants AFL to remove the $680,000 wages of recruiter Phil Scully, father of star recruit Tom Scully, from the club's salary cap.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Australia can weather the economic storm better than its peers. Three states have rejected the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's draft water plan.
Page 2: The ACT government could breach legislation by failing to introduce a needle and syringe program in prisons.
Page 3: Australians forecast to die from repeat heart attacks are set to rise by 40 per cent over the next decade.
World: Thousands of Egyptians queue to vote in the Arab nation's first election since the fall of former president Hosni Mubarak.
Business: Local sharemarket ended recent losing run as hopes rose that European leaders were closer to fixing the region's debt crisis.
Sport: Brumbies to play the British and Irish Lions in 2013, while Canberra still hopeful of hosting a test match during the city's centenary celebrations in that year.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: An investigation has cleared a senior Catholic priest of claims he raped Anglican breakaway Archbishop John Hepworth.
Page 3: The government has lost another $20 billion on top of the $130 billion of revenue wiped off by the global financial crisis.
World: Egyptians began voting in their nation's parliamentary elections.
Business: Ian Kowalick has been voted off Arafura Resources board.
Sport: Adelaide United's medical team has come under fire after Dario Vidosic revealed he had fractured his back, ten days after injuring it.
