Today's Business Headlines

Migrant intake to rise

Treasurer Wayne Swan is set to allow thousands more migrants to settle in Australia to ease the skills shortage in the mining sector and boost the Budget bottom line. The West

Atlas eyes $3.5bn rail link

Atlas Iron will today unveil a complete game-changer for the Pilbara region and the iron ore miner, with the launch of a study to develop a new railway. The Aus

Industrial strife looms as work agreements expire

WA's leading authority on industrial relations says the state is set to plunge into a period of increased strikes and union campaigning. The West

Shipping reforms 'a threat to petrol'

Petrol giants have warned that fuel supplies could be disrupted and the economic viability of Australia’s oil refineries further impaired as a result of Labor’s coastal shipping reforms. The Aus

Unions push super fund shake-up

The trade union movement has responded to regulatory pressure on industry superannuation funds by demanding an overhaul of disclosure and governance of all super funds, including the pay of directors, senior executives and investment agents. The Fin

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Treasurer Wayne Swan is set to allow thousands more migrants to settle in Australia to ease the skills shortage in the mining sector and boost the Budget bottom line.

Perth motorists will pay 20c an hour more for street parking in the central business district.

Page 11: Independent MP Janet Woolard is facing pressure from both sides of politics to financially assist the woman left with life-threatening injuries at the hands of her son Luke Woolard.

Billions of dollars worth of iron ore locked up in stranded deposits in WA could be thrown a lifeline under an ambitious plan for a multi-user railway line in the Pilbara.

Page 12: Inner-city motorists face dramatic changes to the road network – including the abolition of one-way streets and the introduction of dedicated bus lanes – as part of the state government's war on traffic congestion.

Page 13: The extent of contamination at the site of Perth's planned sports stadium has prompted further investigations into whether the toxins pose a risk to human health and the environment.

Page 16: Australia's two biggest airlines are about to start an airfare war as Virgin Australia takes delivery of new 279-seat planes to help wrest market share from Qantas, which dominates domestic skies.

Page 17: Building height limits in the Perth central business district will be raised under a City of Perth plan to encourage residential and hotel development.

Business: The Pilbara's first genuine multi-user iron ore rail line is a step closer, with Atlas Iron and QR National poised to announce a deal that could see the first ore hauled within three years.

Seven West Media's profit warning will not only send a shudder through the rest of the media sector, but reinforce calls for a in interest rate cut.

WA's leading authority on industrial relations says the state is set to plunge into a period of increased strikes and union campaigning.

The Kagara board was still in talks late yesterday ahead of this morning's deadline for the troubled miner to come out of a trading halt.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: The trade union movement has responded to regulatory pressure on industry superannuation funds by demanding an overhaul of disclosure and governance of all super funds, including the pay of directors, senior executives and investment agents.

Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti has refused to back away from a showdown with Qantas in the domestic market, saying “no one has a God-given right” to any market share.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will return from her trip to Gallipoli to face pressure from within the Labor Party to dump the government's support for embattled parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper.

Page 4: A law that could make directors liable for certain tax debts and unpaid superannuation was sent back to the federal Treasury for redrafting and emerged substantially the same.

Page 7: The effectiveness of copyright law to control how sports matches are exploited over the internet and on mobile phones will be determined tomorrow when the Federal Court full bench decides on a case involving the two major football codes and Optus' TV Now service, which shows sport almost live.

Page 14: The weakest rise in March quarter inflation since the global financial crisis belies a relatively strong price rise in parts of the economy where cost pressures flow from wage growth and have not been suppressed by a high dollar.

Page 25: Investors have urged Woolworths to accelerate strategies for sales growth and launch innovative promotions to defend its market share after it was beaten by Coles for the 11^th consecutive quarter.

Page 29: Australia's free-to-air television networks are bracing for a decline in the metropolitan TV advertising market in the June half, predicting a fall in the low single digits.

Pacific Equity Partner's bid to acquire Spotless hinges on its ability to sell the beleaguered coat hanger business in a way that would return proceeds to shareholders and ease the board's valuation concerns.

Page 30: Atlas Iron and QR National are poised to formalise and agreement to co-fund a study into a rail line through the east and south-east Pilbara in Western Australia.

Newcrest Mining executive have blamed the faster than expected onset of maintenance issues for the poor performance of the company's largest operation, Lihir Island in Papua New Guinea.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: A new regulatory body, funded by government and with powers to impose fines and sanctions on news outlets, is a key proposal of the long-awaited Convergence Review of the media sector.

Long-serving federal Liberal MP Patrick Secker, who last month lost a preselection challenge in his rural South Australian seat, will consider running for Speaker if Peter Slipper does not resume the role.

Petrol giants have warned that fuel supplies could be disrupted and the economic viability of Australia’s oil refineries further impaired as a result of Labor’s coastal shipping reforms.

Page 2: Stood-aside Speaker Peter Slipper paid more than $45,000 on limousine and taxi services over 18 months, including $1200 in Cabcharges in one day with his favourite Queensland carrier.

Page 6: Trustees at the nation’s biggest superannuation funds will face new rules to prevent conflicts of interest as the $1.3 trillion sector applies higher standards to the way employee savings are held.

Manufacturing Australia executive chairman Dick Warburton has backed calls by Barack Obama’s manufacturing tsar for the government to reserve some of Australia’s energy supplies for domestic industry, dismissing criticism that this amounted to protectionism.

Business: Atlas Iron will today unveil a complete game-changer for the Pilbara region and the iron ore miner, with the launch of a study to develop a new railway.

The proportion of mortgages with fixed rates has increased fourfold in the past two years amid ongoing uncertainty over interest rates.

The market is bracing for more bad news after Seven West Media’s shock earnings downgrade left investors and analysts wondering where the next profit warning will come from in the media sector.

The prospect of further coal seam gas export investments continue to dim, with US major Conocophillips saying what had once been touted as Gladstone’s biggest potential liquefied natural gas project may not expand beyond a second production train.

Spotless and its dogged suitor, Pacific Equity Partners, are discussing a third takeover proposal involving an initial cash payment and a financial instrument that would create a deferred payment obligation.

Australian companies are increasingly tapping debt capital markets for cash as they manage their balance sheets and move away from pricier funding.

Coles may have continued to outperform larger supermarket rival Woolworths on sales growth for an 11th straight quarter, but analysts say price deflation will make it difficult for the chain to increase earnings margins in the second half of the financial year.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: NSW Health reportedly dumped dozens of sick and chronically absent staff on the consortium that has taken over the running of the Royal North Shore, the head of the project claims.

Page 2: The carbon tax could cost East Timor millions of dollars in gas revenue.

Page 3: A former Optus executive is suing for $14.5 million in damages, amid allegations of bullying within the company.

World: Israel has defied its Western allies by expanding the number of officially sanctioned settlements in the West Bank - the first time since the 1990s.

Finance: Lend Lease has agreed to pay more than US$50 million in fines and restitution after admitting to decade-long fraudulent activity.

Sport: Dramatic events at St George Illawarra's victory on Anzac Day.

 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: The NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell and his ministers might be making a move out of their $18 million a year office space and into more modest quarters.

Page 2: A man believed to be an outlaw bikie gang member allegedly found carrying a gun in Wollongong.

Page 3: Mobile speed cameras have boosted state government coffers by almost $1 million.

World: The former News International chairman James Murdoch has told the Leveson Inquiry in London that media moguls no longer have the political clout they once had.

Finance: Lend Lease has agreed to pay more than $50 million in penalties and restitution following a decade-long fraud in the US.

Sport: Isaac Moses, David Riolo and George Mimis have been banned over their roles in the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal.

 THE AGE:

Page 1: The loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in stamp duty revenue could mean Baillieu government first since the mid-1990s to unveil state budget deficit.

Page 2: Flood-hit Charlton to get a new hospital in next week's state budget.

Page 3: Senate committee may ask DPP about seeking the release from Fair Work Australia of its report into Labor MP Craig Thomson and alleged misuse of HSU union credit card.

Former Optus marketing executive sues the telco for $14.5m citing bullying and victimisation after seven months in the job. Rupert Murdoch tells UK inquiry he never asked any British PM for favours.

World: Five state whitewash all but confirms Mitt Romney as US Republican presidential candidate.

Business: Creation of an open-access Pilbara railway draws closer with QR National and Atlas Iron believed to be working on a feasibility study.

Sport: Nathan Buckley is no fan of AFL new review system after he claims Magpies robbed of a goal in one point win over Essendon.

 THE CANBERRA TIMES:

Page 1: Fears child-protection system in ACT is failing.

Page 2: Gov-General Quentin Bryce makes surprise trip to Afghanistan.

Page 3: Record numbers brave big chill to pay their respects on Anzac Day.

World: Sudan's air raids on South Sudan have killed at least 16 civilians and wounded 34, UN officials have told the UN Security Council. (New York)

Business: The long-held dream of an open-access railway in the Pilbara is a step closer.

Sport: Canberra sprinter Melissa Breen hoping to run under the A-qualifying time for 100m in Japan so she can go to Olympics.