Warning of $30bn hit from high carbon price – The Aus; Rinehart pushes on with $7bn project – The Aus; Regulator dismisses WA concerns of oil leak – The Fin; Rate cut plea to help battlers – The West; Challenge to mining tax mantra – The Fin
Warning of $30bn hit from high carbon price
Australia faces a $30 billion hit to growth by 2018 if domestic carbon prices remain higher than the European price, according to new economic modelling that will add to business pressure to bring the $23 starting price closer to Europe’s $10. The Aus
Rinehart pushes on with $7bn project
Gina Rinehart will seek to dampen speculation that a bitter family feud has threatened her planned $7 billion Roy Hill iron ore mine by unveiling this week the project’s equity partners, including a $1.5bn cash injection from Korean steel giant Posco. The Aus
Regulator dismisses WA concerns of oil leak
The new federal regulator of offshore petroleum activity has freed Woodside Petroleum of having to re-enter several of its abandoned gas wells off the Pilbara coast that the Western Australian government says are at risk of leaking oil. The Fin
Rate cut plea to help battlers
The federal government should either ignore the two-speed economy or deliver such big Budget surpluses that the Reserve Bank is forced into saving jobs by slashing interest rates, one of the nation's most respected economists has suggested. The West
Challenge to mining tax mantra
New measures to assist small business are expected to be a prominent feature of the federal budget, a sign of how Labor is repositioning itself as the friend of start-up business competing against big corporate power. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan is at the centre of two Corruption and Crime Commission investigations into claims he gave false evidence into an inquiry into the devastating Perth Hills bushfire this year and misused a corporate credit card.
Page 4: The federal government should either ignore the two-speed economy or deliver such big Budget surpluses that the Reserve Bank is forced into saving jobs by slashing interest rates, one of the nation's most respected economists has suggested.
Page 5: An inner-city cycling terminus – with parking for 500 bikes, showers and locker facilities – is one proposal under state consideration as part of the state government's long-awaited 2011-21 bicycle network plan.
Page 7: Treasurer Wayne Swan is being forced to cut deeper into welfare and defence programs after the Treasury booked a near half-a-billion dollar price tag to host a forthcoming meeting of the 20 most powerful world leaders.
Page 11: Gina Rinehart's children suspected as far back as 2004 that mining assets meant for them, possibly including the company's flagship Hope Downs iron ore mine, had been transferred out of the family trust and had been trying for years to get hold of financial records to prove it, according to court documents released yesterday.
Business: Australia's banking regulator has taken aim at the executive pay packets of some of the nation's biggest lenders, calling for closer links between remuneration and risk management.
Global surf, skate and snowboard brand Quiksilver has warned of recession-like conditions in Australia that have been compounded by aggressive discounting and the bad weather on the east coast.
The Federal Treasury was bracing for the break-up of the eurozone at the peak of the sovereign debt crisis and slammed Europe's leaders for being consistently behind the curve” in their response, new documents show.
Cliffs Natural Resources has won support from environmental regulators for an extension to the life of its Windarling Range operations in the Mid West.
Mount Gibson has won a moral victory over offtake partner Rizhao Steel Holdings Group, five months after settling its $US114 million claim against the Chinese steelmaker.
Investors dived into listed grain handler GrainCorp yesterday, sending the stock as much as 9 per cent higher on speculation it could be the next takeover target after reports emerged that Canadian group Viterra was mulling a $5.2 billion bid.
Silver Lake Resources has blamed concerns over the timing of an off-take deal for the collapse of a $20 million takeover of Phillips River.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Future Fund chairman David Murray has criticised the Gillard government's handling of the appointment of his replacement, saying the lengthy decision-making process had been disruptive for the board.
The bitter legal battle between Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, and her three eldest children threatens to revive a decade-old dispute over the ownership of the giant Hope Downs iron ore mine in Western Australia.
The success rate for employees taking arbitrated unfair-dismissal claims under Labor's Fair Work Act is running at 51 per cent as claims rise to about 17,000 per year, according to new academic research.
Page 3: New measures to assist small business are expected to be a prominent feature of the federal budget, a sign of how Labor is repositioning itself as the friend of start-up business competing against big corporate power.
Andrew Forrest is the only Australian who was invited to speak at the prestigious Commonwealth Day celebration in London's Westminster Abbey with the Queen.
Page 4: A mining tax may not be an effective way of countering the impact of the resources boom on the rest of the economy, according to the expert who helped develop the “Dutch Disease” theory of how a high currency creates economic stresses for resource-rich economies like Australia.
Page 10: Ginia Rinehart has hit back at the attempt by her older siblings to oust their mother as trustee of the family trust and appoint one of themselves, saying none of them has “displayed the degree of perseverance, work ethic responsibility and dedication” that would be needed to oversee the trust.
Page 12: The new federal regulator of offshore petroleum activity has freed Woodside Petroleum of having to re-enter several of its abandoned gas wells off the Pilbara coast that the Western Australian government says are at risk of leaking oil.
Page 26: Paladin Energy will now officially have access to the Michelin project in eastern Canada after the Nunatslavut government amended the Labrador Inuit Lands Act, lifting a moratorium on the working, mining, development and production of uranium on the land.
Page 54: Tight lending conditions for property developers have pushed Wesfarmers and Woolworths to increase their building development programs but both have started culling their portfolios and flagged plans to sell more assets – for the right price.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Decades of poisonous infighting within Australia’s wealthiest family culminated in claims by Gina Rinehart that her three oldest children lacked the skill and work ethic to take charge of their multi-billion-dollar trust fund.
Wayne Swan’s attacks on the nation’s billionaire mining magnates have failed to lift Labor’s electoral support, with the latest Newspoll revealing a four-point slide in the Gillard government’s primary vote in the past fortnight.
Australia faces a $30 billion hit to growth by 2018 if domestic carbon prices remain higher than the European price, according to new economic modelling that will add to business pressure to bring the $23 starting price closer to Europe’s $10.
Page 2: Gina Rinehart’s eldest child and only son, John Hancock, had previously fallen out with his mother over the trust that is at the centre of a bitter court case and public slanging match.
Page 3: The Gillard government has been accused of misleading the Future Fund board and arranging a ‘‘sham’’ consultation to find its new chairman, as tempers flare over the management of the $73 billion wealth fund.
Page 4: CSIRO research suggests Tony Abbott’s direct action climate change plan of sequestering 85 million tonnes of carbon a year in soil by 2020 may fall short by between 30 million and 80 million tonnes of abatement, a finding that casts doubt on the ability of the Coalition’s policy to achieve its 2020 targets.
Entrepreneurs, not government, are the key to arresting declining productivity, argues a new research paper from the Institute of Public Affairs.
Greens leader Bob Brown is to step up his political brinksmanship over Labor’s $10.6 billion mining tax by moving amendments this week to widen the impost to uranium and gold.
Page 9: Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has held secret talks with the Baillieu government over airline cutbacks as Victoria’s campaign to save hundreds of jobs has been unwittingly aided by the Queensland election.
Victims of fraudulent company liquidators have blasted the Gillard government for failing to crack down hard enough on criminals who steal funds from troubled family businesses.
WIN Television’s bold foray into regional Western Australia is all but over after less than 5½ years.
Business: Gina Rinehart will seek to dampen speculation that a bitter family feud has threatened her planned $7 billion Roy Hill iron ore mine by unveiling this week the project’s equity partners, including a $1.5bn cash injection from Korean steel giant Posco.
Clive Palmer is still struggling to establish his Resourcehouse as a Hong Kong-based listed entity.
Molycorp's $US1.3 billion ($1.23bn) deal to acquire a key processor of rare-earth minerals has sparked a warning from industry officials that it could reinforce China as the main source for specialised magnets used in consumer electronics and sophisticated weapons.
The market is becoming increasingly sceptical that National Australia Bank will be able to fully exit its underperforming British operations, with analysts tipping a downsizing or partial sale as more likely because of deteriorating conditions.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: A secret squadron of Australian SAS soldiers has been operating at large in Africa, performing work normally done by spies, in an unannounced and possibly dangerous expansion of Australia's foreign military engagement.
Page 2: The state government has cleared a hurdle in its overhaul of foster care, securing contracts with the majority of non-government organisations to take over responsibility for thousands of children.
Page 3: Gina Rinehart warned her children they would face bankruptcy if the family trust vested and this consequence would "force them to go to work and reconsider their holidaying lifestyles and attitudes", court documents reveal.
World: Stalking from home to home, a US Army sergeant methodically killed at least 16 civilians, nine of them children, in a rural stretch of southern Afghanistan early Sunday, igniting fears of a new wave of anti-American hostility, Afghan and US officials say.
Business: Confidential emails from Flight Centre executives, including managing director Graham Turner reveal the level of pressure they were putting on major airlines to shelve bargain fares available over their websites because they were under-cutting its own prices.
Sport: A loss to the Warriors was the least of Parramatta's worries last night as the Eels lost star fullback Jarryd Hayne with a knee injury.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Clover Moore has until September to choose between the City of Sydney and state government, with the lord mayor and NSW MP given a deadline after Premier Barry O'Farrell introduced laws banning MPs running for councils.
Page 2: Overwork and stress cost Australia more than $30 billion a year - half the total workplace injury bill.
Page 3: Hungry customers have helped Domino's grab a bigger slice of the market - and they have tech-savvy Aussies to thank for it.
World: The Yorkshire Ripper has launched a legal battle to get a state pension, to the fury of the relatives of his victims.
Business: Credit card spending has hit record lows as thrifty Australians embrace the cashless option of debit cards like never before.
Sport: Dragons boss Peter Doust has conceded his club couldn't match the money Newcastle offered for Beau Scott.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: A new building code will try to slum-proof Adelaide's CBD.
Page 3: Australians living overseas are receiving pensions and other government payments totalling over $600 million.
World: An Egyptian military court acquitted a doctor of conducting forced virginity tests on protesters.
Business: Many Australians are incredulous that a company as big as Fortescue Metals has just begun paying company tax.
Sport: Rialya has raced into Adelaide Cup history.
