Toyota demands IR reform – The Fin; Single entity mooted for WA's biggest two ports – The Fin; Early Fortescue investor decides to cash in profits – The Aus; Yara, Apache end Oswal saga – The West; Long-term woes linger after cattle export ban – The West
Toyota demands IR reform
Toyota Australia president and chief executive Max Yasuda has slammed Australia's industrial relations system and workplace culture, which he said impeded his ability to create a globally competitive manufacturing operation. The Fin
Single entity mooted for WA's biggest two ports
Australia's two biggest commodity ports are likely to be placed under the control of a single entity under a West Australian government plan to improve the efficiency of crucial export facilities. The Fin
Early Fortescue investor decides to cash in profits
Fortescue Metals Group’s long-term backer, US fund Leucadia National, has almost exited the iron ore miner’s share register after selling another $US506.5 million ($477m) worth of stock last week. The Aus
Yara, Apache end Oswal saga
Fresh from securing control of Pankaj Oswal's Burrup fertiliser empire and renaming the operation Yara Pilbara, Norway's Yara International says it will take charge of negotiations with Orica over a proposed $US700 million ($660 million) explosives plant to service WA's booming iron ore industry. The West
Long-term woes linger after cattle export ban
Indonesia's response to last year's Australian government live cattle export ban could destroy some North West farms, dent local agribusiness and drive down property prices in the region, according to an industry analyst. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Communications company Optus won a landmark copyright case yesterday that may change television and internet broadcasting in Australia.
Page 3: Some of the state's lowest-paid workers have been awarded pay rises up to $24,000 in a landmark decision – but a battle is looming over who will pick up the bill.
Page 6: Aged-care operators blame a funding shortfall of $22,000 a year for each bed they operate on the failure of fees to keep up with rising costs and the growing demand for modern, hotel-like facilities.
Page 7: Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has given his strongest indication yet that he will push for a tightening of media ownership laws in the wake of Gina Rinehart's raid on newspaper publisher Fairfax Media.
Page 9: Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has pledged to cut the number of government media, communications and marketing employees by at least 30 per cent if elected next year.
Page 11: The government body overseeing the Department of Environment and Conservation's management of bushfires is so ineffective it is “a millstone around the neck of DEC”, the inquiry into the Margaret River bushfire has been told.
Page 12: Indonesia's response to last year's Australian government live cattle export ban could destroy some North West farms, dent local agribusiness and drive down property prices in the region, according to an industry analyst.
Page 14: The state government accused the City of Perth of being opportunistic and potentially jeopardising the $440 million waterfront project during hostile talks over the transfer of the Esplanade reserve.
Page 15: Business spent tens of millions of dollars fighting the Gillard government, led by big tobacco splurging $14.2 million on a futile battle against plain packaging laws.
Business: Fresh from securing control of Pankaj Oswal's Burrup fertiliser empire and renaming the operation Yara Pilbara, Norway's Yara International says it will take charge of negotiations with Orica over a proposed $US700 million ($660 million) explosives plant to service WA's booming iron ore industry.
Investor hopes of a bidding war for Extract Resources were last night all but dead after Rio Tinto sold its stake in the Perth group's biggest shareholder to China, scotching speculation it could mount a $2.2 billion counter offer.
Two months after declaring that its nickel division would be starved of additional capital, BHP Billiton yesterday told Nickel West employees it would slash 155 jobs to try to make the business unit as viable as possible in a weak metal price environment.
A big player in Fortescue Metals Group's amazing six-year run has all but abandoned the stock following a big sell-down.
Struggling uranium miner Energy Resources Australia has underwhelmed the market with its production forecasts, raising fears its 2011 annus horribilis.
Perth businesses signed office leases near record levels in the second half of last year and property agents are warning tenants they will almost certainly face steep rent hikes this year.
The slump in the residential solar panel market has taken a heavy toll on listed wholesaler Solco, which yesterday’s warned the market of a $3.8 million pre-tax loss for the first half.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Toyota Australia president and chief executive Max Yasuda has slammed Australia's industrial relations system and workplace culture, which he said impeded his ability to create a globally competitive manufacturing operation.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says stronger ownership laws are needed to prevent individuals exerting influence over media coverage, following Gina Rinehart's successful $192 million raid on Fairfax Media.
The founder of one of the world's biggest hedge funds has defended the role of distressed debt investors, saying they are an important part of the solution for troubled companies.
Page 3: Cash payments to the major parties soared 150 per cent to $230 million last financial year as companies and unions escalated their political activities in a period dominated by the federal election and subsequent minority government.
Page 8: An historic equal pay case involving wage increases of up to 45 per cent over eight years for about 150,000 social and community workers has sparked strong opposition from employer groups and caution from conservative state governments.
Page 11: Australia's two biggest commodity ports are likely to be placed under the control of a single entity under a West Australian government plan to improve the efficiency of crucial export facilities.
Page 12: The traditional owners of the West Australian town of Newman could be paid more than $5 million for labour hire, construction and maintenance services under a plan to promote Aboriginal employment.
Federal Court lawsuits used by prominent West Australian businessmen to accuse Operation Wickenby tax evasion investigators of misusing their far-reaching powers have been settled privately.
Page 14: The manufacturing industry has defied the strong dollar and expanded for a second consecutive month, in a sign that companies are adapting to a tougher competitive environment.
Page 20: BHP Billiton has taken the knife to its Nickel West business after suffering from the twin effects of a lower nickel price and a high Australian dollar.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's long-running attempt to recover $900 million loaned to West Australian-based Burrup Fertilisers has been successful, after the two leading bidders for the group split the spoils.
Page 43: The resources boom, coupled with a shortage of new towers, drove a solid improvement in the nation's office market in the past six months.
Page 46: House prices continue to slide according to official data released yesterday, but there are signs demand is improving in some areas and that the figures may overstate market weakness.
Page 51: Perth's office vacancies have dropped to the lowest rate in three years, cementing the city's position as the capital with the tightest supply.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Aged-care nurses have signalled plans to be the first group to exploit yesterday’s landmark equal pay ruling to push for pay rises, reinforcing business warnings the decision to grant wage increases of 23-45 per cent to 153,000 community services sector workers could trigger a raft of union claims in other industries.
Hundreds of Australian manufacturing workers lost their jobs yesterday as Julia Gillard declared the high value of the Australian dollar was breaking the nation’s traditional business models.
Page 3: Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart became the biggest shareholder in Fairfax Media a day after the publisher’s chairman, Roger Corbett, publicly backed Labor’s mining tax as a form of ‘‘payback’’ for the boom states of Western Australia and Queensland.
Page 4: Julia Gillard will fast-track her planned shake-up of the vocational training sector, warning that existing systems are ill-equipped to teach Australians the skills needed in new-economy jobs in areas such as high-quality manufacturing.
Page 5: Exclusive rights deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcast live events could be at risk after a court ruled yesterday that shows could be recorded and screened ‘‘near live’’ without breaching copyright.
Business: Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s fresh raid on Fairfax Media has secured her about 13 per cent of the media company, but fund managers are questioning whether she should be offered a directorship.
Australia is getting back to the ‘‘bad old days’’ of industrial relations problems, according to the executive chairman of Manufacturing Australia, Dick Warburton.
Mergers are off the agenda at the Australian Securities Exchange, as new chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper concentrates on navigating Europe-inspired volatility.
The mining boom is starting to develop cracks, with BHP Billiton revealing it will make the first significant job cuts in the sector since 2008, when the global financial crisis was in full swing.
Fortescue Metals Group’s long-term backer, US fund Leucadia National, has almost exited the iron ore miner’s share register after selling another $US506.5 million ($477m) worth of stock last week.
Brazilian iron ore producer Vale has suffered a blow to its plans to revolutionise iron ore shipping to China by using a fleet of mega-carriers.
The nation’s largest ever class action against Australia’s major banks has been extended, with $216 million worth of exception fees now under question.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Kevin Rudd has hit back at accusations by colleagues he is not a team player as close supporters of Julia Gillard concede her grip on the prime ministership is slipping.
Page 2: Three Fairfax journalists have been ordered to reveal to a Chinese-Australian businesswoman their confidential sources for a series of stories on her relationship with a federal Labor MP.
Page 3: The influence wielded by minority shareholders over media companies was a matter for the company board rather than government regulation, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said as the mining magnate Gina Rinehart continued buying shares in Fairfax Media.
World: The animosity that marked Florida's Republican primary is set to continue with Newt Gingrich pointedly declining to congratulate winner Mitt Romney, instead rallying supporters with a battle cry that characterised the contests ahead as "people power" versus Mr Romney's "money power".
Business: Optus has won a landmark copyright case which changes television and internet broadcasting in Australia.
Sport: In the long-running football broadcasting rights opera, the fat lady has merely cleared her throat.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Live sport such as NRL and AFL and other high-rating television shows are likely to be available for free download on mobile phones after Optus won a landmark Federal Court court ruling against Telstra.
Page 3: It was a victory for all low paid workers - but the real winners were women.
World: A Florida avalanche has all but confirmed Mitt Romney as Republican presidential candidate but his main opponent Newt Gingrich is determined to harass him through to the party's formal nomination convention.
Busienss: Two more interest rate cuts over coming months would be enough to kick-start the struggling retail and housing sectors, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said.
Sport: Australia is being out-muscled by Bangladesh in the rich world of Twenty20 cricket.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Optus wins landmark copyright case and will be allowed to show AFL and NRL to its mobile phone users despite Telstra's multimillion-dollar deals with the football codes.
Big pay rises for community sector workers will help narrow the wages gap between men and women.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard plays down manufacturing job losses as "growing pains".
Page 2: Labor backbencher calls for media inquiry after mining magnate Gina Rinehart becomes Fairfax Media's biggest shareholder.
Page 3: Warning that koalas facing extinction because of an outbreak of the foreign plant disease myrtle rust.
Judge orders Fairfax journalists to reveal their source for stories on Chinese-Australian businesswoman Helen Lui and her relationship with federal Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon.
Clean Up Australia founder Ian Kiernan says Victoria should introduce a 10 cents refund scheme for bottles and cans.
World: Newt Gingrich to fight to the bitter end after losing Florida primary to Mitt Romney.
Business: Rinehart inches closer to owning 14 per cent of Fairfax Media.
Sport: Stynes hailed as the saviour of Melbourne as he steps down to continue his personal fight against cancer.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 2: 150,000 social workers, mostly women, win big pay rises.
Page 3: $1 billion windfall for underpaid workers long overdue.
World: Mitt Romney wins the primary in Florida in a big step towards becoming the Republican challenger to President Barack Obama.
Business: Optus opens new front in the war with Telstra breaking its stranglehold on internet sports broadcasting.
Sport: Jim Stynes steps down as AFL club Melbourne president saying his job is done and it's time to focus on his health and family.
