ASIC gets tougher on disclosure – The Fin; Gillard seals Greens mining tax deal – The Fin; New player confident of takers for product – The West; Hess keeps options open on gas – The Aus; Bitter Perth property dispute set for High Court – The Fin
ASIC gets tougher on disclosure
The corporate watchdog has put Australia's company directors on notice to release bad news faster after imposing stiff penalties on Leighton Holdings, warning that the construction contractor could face criminal charges if it does not improve its disclosure. The Fin
Gillard seals Greens mining tax deal
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has locked in Greens support for the minerals resource rent tax by guaranteeing monthly revenue updates, a detailed review in six months and leaving the way open to increase the tax take. The Fin
New player confident of takers for product
Yara International boss Jorgen Ole Haslestad has dismissed concerns his decision to proceed with a new explosives plant in the Pilbara is risky, saying he has no doubt the company will find takers for the 330,000 tonnes a year of ammonium nitrate it plans to produce. The West
Hess keeps options open on gas
US oil company Hess is keeping its options open for the big offshore Equus gas field in Western Australia, despite growing industry speculation it is moving closer to locking in a deal to supply Woodside Petroleum’s long-awaited Pluto LNG plant expansion. The Aus
Bitter Perth property dispute set for High Court
Prominent property developer Luke Saraceni is preparing to take his fight against Bank of Scotland International and BankWest to the High Court in what is becoming one of Western Australia's most bitter and complex legal battles. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 4: The mining tax is expected to be made law today, with the Senate to pass the Gillard government's watered down version of the tax almost two years after it was first proposed and cost Kevin Rudd his leadership.
WA would get almost $1 billion over five years if it signs up to the federal government's bid to overhaul skills training to plug workforce gaps.
Page 10: The manager of a Pilbara roadhouse that bore the brunt of cyclone Lua yesterday described her terror as she feared the walls were going to cave in.
Page 11: The man behind the original plan to build an ocean pool at Cottesloe has broken away from the committee backing the project, saying a genuine seawater pool near the groyne would be better.
Page 15: An audit of Rottnest Island's water infrastructure has revealed a shortage of spare parts could threaten the reliability of the island's water and sewerage services.
Page 16: A rural community group is fighting the Education Department for control of a building it says it saved from demolition and renovated but which the now wants back to use as classrooms.
Page 17: Burswood residents fear a major sports stadium on their doorstep will create traffic chaos and exacerbate the suburb's crime problems.
Business: Yara International boss Jorgen Ole Haslestad has dismissed concerns his decision to proceed with a new explosives plant in the Pilbara is risky, saying he has no doubt the company will find takers for the 330,000 tonnes a year of ammonium nitrate it plans to produce.
The head of the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday against complacency in global financial markets, despite improved conditions after the latest Greek debt deal.
Minbos Resources shareholders won't be the only ones watching next month when the WA explorer sets the ball rolling on a mining licence for its Angolan phospate interests.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The corporate watchdog has put Australia's company directors on notice to release bad news faster after imposing stiff penalties on Leighton Holdings, warning that the construction contractor could face criminal charges if it does not improve its disclosure.
After just three months in the role, the chief executive of the rampaging Network Seven, Tim Worner, has finally broken his silence to predict the broadcaster will continue its remarkable ratings performance and widen its “historic” audience lead over the Nine and Ten networks.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has locked in Greens support for the minerals resource rent tax by guaranteeing monthly revenue updates, a detailed review in six months and leaving the way open to increase the tax take.
Page 3: Nine months after Australia's new research and development tax credit became law, the small and medium businesses it was supposed to benefit are floundering in their tax planning.
Page 4: Prominent property developer Luke Saraceni is preparing to take his fight against Bank of Scotland International and BankWest to the High Court in what is becoming one of Western Australia's most bitter and complex legal battles.
The Coalition is resisting pressure to detail spending cuts despite federal government claims that its policies would drive a $10 billion hole in the budget next financial year.
Page 7: A $9 billion package aimed at overhauling trade training and addressing chronic skills shortages across the economy will be unveiled by Prime Minister Julia Gillard today.
Page 19: Liquefied natural gas heavyweight Qatar has emerged as a potential buyer of unconventional gas assets in Australia.
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting is poised to sell a 15 per cent stake in her $7 billion-plus Roy Hill iron ore project within days to Japan's Marubeni and South Korea's STX, in a deal which could net the resources magnate more than $1.5 billion.
Page 26: Sharemarkets in the northern hemisphere finished last week in an ebullient fashion, with four-year records for major Wall Street indices and strong performances in Europe.
Page 44: The Australian Football League is laying the groundwork to launch its own television channel as part of its multimillion-dollar investment in its AFL Media business.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: International carbon prices are predicted to be as low as $5 by 2020, undermining the ability of Australia’s carbon package to force technological changes to cut emissions, one of the world’s leading emissions pricing forecasters has told big business.
Locking out workers at four ports and withdrawing previously agreed pay rises are among radical options being examined by Asciano to bring to a head its 18-month industrial battle with the Maritime Union of Australia.
Page 5: Lower-skilled men have done better than lower-skilled women in the job market in the three years since the bottom of the global financial crisis.
The resources boom helped total passenger movements at regional airports grow by almost 30 per cent between 2005 and 2010, even as the number of airlines and regional airports fell.
Page 6: Australia's $23 a tonne carbon price is ‘‘not excessive’’ and less than that in several major economies, but the nation is slipping behind the rest of the G20 in preparing to compete in a low-carbon world.
Julia Gillard will today offer more than $1.7 billion in extra payments to the states for skills training in a package aimed at reforming national training regimes and boosting productivity.
Business: The federal government is being urged to scrap a key superannuation savings measure intended to help return the budget to surplus, amid claims this would discourage workers from bolstering their retirement savings through voluntary contributions.
The corporate regulator wants heavier penalties for companies that fail to immediately disclose price-sensitive information such as weaker than expected profits.
US oil company Hess is keeping its options open for the big offshore Equus gas field in Western Australia, despite growing industry speculation it is moving closer to locking in a deal to supply Woodside Petroleum’s long-awaited Pluto LNG plant expansion.
Telstra is shifting its focus from its revenue-rich but declining fixed-line business by kicking off a five-year investment program to capitalise on internet-connected devices and the explosive growth of data services.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Learner drivers will have their number of required training hours cut from 120 hours to 100.
Page 2: The Hillsong Church has won the right to start a $1 million redevelopment of a warehouse to hold more than 1000 worshippers.
Page 3: The proportion of full-time employees working 60 hours a week has dropped to a 23-year low of 10 per cent.
World: The US soldier who massacred 16 Afghan civilians was passed over for promotion, his wife says.
Business: Pumping too much into super can bring a tax burden.
Sport: Dave Taylor quits South Sydney only hours after slaying Penrith.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Australia's economy is less equipped to deal with a low carbon emissions world than it was nearly two decades ago, an international study has found.
Page 3: A quarter of cancers could be prevented by 2025 through diet and exercise, saving hundreds of millions of dollars in the cost of treatment, the Medical Journal of Australia has found.
Page 7: Prime Minister Julia Gillard will announce that Victoria is to receive $434.8 million for vocational education and training over five years as part of the federal government's $1.75 billion skills package.
World: Suicide bombers attacked two secret police headquarters in Damascus, killing 27 people and leaving nearly 100 wounded, according to Syrian government sources.
Business: The corporate watchdog has called on big business to keep the market properly informed after finding troubled construction giant Leighton was too slow to tell investors of a $900 million hole in its books.
Sport: Former world champion Jenson Button made a brilliant start to his bid to reclaim the crown he won in 2009 with a dominant lights-to-flag victory around Albert Park.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Jenson Button dominated the Australian Grand Prix to snare his third Albert Park victory, while a gallant Mark Webber had his best hometown result, finishing fourth.
Page 3: A sex offender described as one of Victoria's worst criminals remained a fugitive last night.
Page 7: Bumper crowds and a blinding performance from Formula One's top four have buoyed the case to keep the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Business: The corporate watchdog has warned all listed companies to stick to continuous disclosure laws or risk the type of penalties it imposed on construction giant Leighton Holdings.
Sport: Footballers as young as 12 would be pre-listed by AFL clubs and made exempt from the draft under a radical recruiting proposal by Essendon.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Penny Wong says opposition policies would put the Australian budget $9 billion into deficit.
Page 2: Tribute to Margaret Whitlam.
Page 3: Anti-binge drinking ad under fire.
World: British author Salman Rushdie lashes out at Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.
Business: 800 jobs to go in electricity mergers.
Sport: Swimmer Nick D'Arcy books place for London Olympics.
