$1.5bn surplus stings business – The Fin; Authority puts pressure on juniors to slash port space – The West; Twiggy to Rinehart: find jobs for locals – The Aus; Firm buys SW cows in latest milk salvo – The West; Delay threatens Bankwest profit – The West
$1.5bn surplus stings business
Treasurer Wayne Swan has told his cabinet colleagues the $1.5 billion surplus he will announce in tonight's fair-go budget will be a “surplus for confidence and interest rate relief”. The Fin
Authority puts pressure on juniors to slash port space
A proposed Pilbara railway that would break the dominance of the iron ore majors is under threat, with the Port Hedland Port Authority trying to force emerging mining companies behind the rail proposal to slash their allocated berth space at the giant harbour. The West
Twiggy to Rinehart: find jobs for locals
Australia's richest man, Andrew Forrest, has taken a swipe at the nation’s richest woman, urging fellow mining magnate Gina Rinehart and others to look for workers locally. The Aus
Firm buys SW cows in latest milk salvo
Major milk processor Brownes has made the unprecedented purchase of three South West dairy herds – 3200 cows – as it grows increasingly eager to shore up supplies against the threat of milk imports. The West
Delay threatens Bankwest profit
Bankwest's profitability faces an imminent hammer blow because the state government is struggling to draft laws that will safeguard the bank as a WA-based institution and still allow it to access cheap finance from parent company Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Treasurer Wayne Swan will today unveil a budget surplus for the 2012-13 financial year of $1.5 billion.
Page 3: Premier Colin Barnett yesterday unveiled the dimensions of WA's major new sports stadium, declaring an end to the debate over whether Burswood was the right location for the facility.
WA cricket officials will look at playing international matches at the new sports stadium, but only if the shift from the WACA Ground makes sense.
Page 4: A big budget surplus could force the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates to global financial crisis levels as the world economy faces fresh tremors, economists believe.
Foreign workers in Australia stand to be punished under tax changes in the budget at the same time as the federal government is striving to attract more overseas labour to meet regional skills shortages.
Page 6: Suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson used Health Service Union funds to pay for prostitutes, then lied to the federal government's industrial watchdog to cover his tracks, a long-awaited report into the saga has found.
Page 9: A new recruitment company is auctioning resources workers to the highest bidding employer in a move highlighting stiff wage competition amid the growing labour shortage.
Page 10: Major milk processor Brownes has made the unprecedented purchase of three South West dairy herds – 3,200 cows – as it grows increasingly eager to shore up supplies against the threat of milk imports.
Page 16: The Liberal Party will still try to take WA Nationals MP Tony Crook's seat, despite him effectively becoming part of the coalition at the weekend.
Business: A proposed Pilbara railway that would break the dominance of the iron ore majors is under threat, with the Port Hedland Port Authority trying to force emerging mining companies behind the rail proposal to slash their allocated berth space at the giant harbour.
Woodside Petroleum has handed BHP Billiton a major stake in a key Pluto LNG exploration project after agreeing to offload a 40 per cent share in the high-impact Banambu deep prospect.
Underwriters have been saddled with about 27 per cent of Reed Resources after a share price fall and the weaker stockmarket combined to undermine demand for its $40 million rights issue.
Bankwest's profitability faces an imminent hammer blow because the state government is struggling to draft laws that will safeguard the bank as a WA-based institution and still allow it to access cheap finance from parent company Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Former Western Areas managing director Julian Hanna sold more than 69,000 shares as the nickel miner's share price fell sharply last week.
Clive Palmer's majority-owned Australasian Resources has taken another step towards landing the $3 billion it needs to borrow to build its Pilbara iron ore mine, signing on Metallurgical Corp of China to prepare technical documents to take to Chinese banks.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The fate of the minority Gillard government is in the balance after an investigation of the Health Services Union found 156 legal and rule breaches by federal MP and former union official Craig Thomson.
Treasurer Wayne Swan has told his cabinet colleagues the $1.5 billion surplus he will announce in tonight's fair-go budget will be a “surplus for confidence and interest rate relief”.
Global markets tumbled on fears of renewed political volatility after voters in France and Greece decisively rejected austerity measures aimed at curing Europe's debt crisis.
Page 3: The federal government has been warned there is a risk to its budget revenue estimates if moves to overturn regulations for a carbon scheme floor price prove successful.
The Australian arm of car giant General Motors reported a profit of $89.7 million last year – exactly the same amount it received in government subsidies.
Page 10: The average family with two school-aged children will get payments in the budget that, with promised tax cuts, will put them about $1200 ahead, even accounting for the carbon tax.
Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest says the federal government's apparent decision not to cut the 32c diesel fuel rebate to mining companies is “sensible and fair”.
Page 11: The biggest jump in retail sales in almost a year and a rebound in building approvals have been overshadowed by negative jobs data, suggesting more cuts in interest rates are likely in coming months.
Page 17: Kmart managing director Guy Russo says Australian consumers are paying excessive prices because many retailers have flawed and outdated business models.
Page 23: Mining and energy stocks are likely to come under further selling pressure on expectations their sectors will be among those targeted in tonight's federal budget.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Craig Thomson grossly exploited his position as national secretary of the Health Services Union at the expense of poorly paid members, using his union credit cards to splurge $500,000 on prostitutes, spousal travel and high living, a three-year investigation by Fair Work Australia has found.
Labor has sacrificed a bigger surplus by moving to shield pensioners and families from rising living costs in a budget Wayne Swan promises will support ‘‘low- and middle-income earners’’.
Unions will push to wind back the power of employers in the wake of last year’s Qantas dispute, urging the Gillard government to reduce the capacity of companies to attempt to stop strikes.
Page 2: Julia Gillard’s infrastructure adviser will overhaul the infrastructure priority list that guides tens of billions of dollars of spending as the government uses the budget to rebut criticisms that infrastructure funding is handed out for political rather than economic gain.
Big business will have to offer male employees the same family-friendly working hours as working mothers, under the federal government’s new ‘‘gender equality’’ laws.
The Greens will this week move in the Senate for a Productivity Commission inquiry into the federal government’s funding of childcare services, including a review of the childcare rebate and benefit and the funding of nanny care.
Page 3: Australia's richest man, Andrew Forrest, has taken a swipe at the nation’s richest woman, urging fellow mining magnate Gina Rinehart and others to look for workers locally.
Page 4: Business faces doubts over a promised cut to the company tax rate as Labor makes room to delay the bill despite calls from top executives to lock in the reform.
Page 5: Backers of the carbon tax are confident they have the parliamentary numbers to see off an apparent change of heart by independent MP Rob Oakeshott on the $15 floor price, which will underpin the system once it becomes a floating scheme in 2015.
Business: The financial and political crisis gripping Europe and doubts over the US economic recovery returned to the centre stage of financial markets yesterday, wiping $29 billion off the value of Australian stocks, sending the dollar down sharply and providing a deeply unsettled picture for tonight’s federal budget.
The World Bank’s private sector development financing arm, International Finance Corporation, is planning to invest $US150 million ($147.6m) in equity in Rio Tinto’s Simandou iron ore project in Guinea as the joint venture races towards first production from the potentially world-class project by 2015 at an initial cost of $US13 billion.
Australian businesses endured a much tougher trading environment last month, and economists doubt today’s budget will contain much to reverse the trend
Explosives maker Orica has beaten first-half expectations and kept its forecasts of a gain in full-year profit despite currency headwinds and the shutdown of its Newcastle plants after leaks last year.
BHP Billiton continues to boost its presence in offshore West Australian exploration, agreeing to cover up to $50 million of the cost of Woodside Petroleum’s next planned exploration drill.
Commonwealth Bank has lost the services of its head of retail banking Ross Mcewan, who was trumped by chief executive Ian Narev in an internal succession battle to succeed former boss Ralph Norris.
GM Holden declared a full-year profit of almost $90 million yesterday, the same amount of money it has received from federal government handouts.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The budget will promise to deliver a slender $1.5 billion surplus. Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly urges business leaders to work more constructively with Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Page 2: Retail sales are finally recovering as Treasurer Wayne Swan prepares to deliver the budget.
Page 3: Channel Nine and Fox Sports face a three-month wait to see if their $1 billion-plus bid for rugby league broadcasting rights is successful.
World: Germany faces a threat to its economic leadership as voters in France and Greece reject austerity measures.
Business: A left-wing turn in Europe and weak US jobs data helped wipe $27 billion off the Australian sharemarket.
Sport: Under-20s matches may be broadcast on free-to-air television if Channel Ten wins the rights to Monday and Sunday football.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: NSW is to be offered $200 million in the federal budget to plan an M4 East motorway, M5 East duplication and F3 to M2 tunnel.
Page 2: More than 17,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Australia since Labor was elected in 2007.
Page 3: Smaller electricity retailers are forcing energy giants to cut their bills.
World: Francois Hollande has been elected France's first Socialist president in almost two decades.
Business: The Australian share market lost $27 billion over fresh euro fears.
Sport: Rugby league's dream to net $1 billion from broadcast rights is set to fall short of reality with the Nine Network and Fox Sports launching lower bids.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: FWA report on HSU casts gloom over budget. Swan will flag $1.5 billion surplus; National Capital Authority gets $12 million with strings attached. Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt promotes funding for teachers. ACT stamp duty burden likely to move from buyers to owners.
Page 2: Tax changes to cut pay of foreign workers.
Page 3: Big spend gives ACT best retail sales spike.
World: France takes a jump to the left.
Business: Euro zone left turn cuts $27 billion from ASX.
Sport: Brumbies Matt Toomua and Christian Lealiifano to recover from injury side by side.
