Treasury plans for next crisis – The Aus; Building mix-ups put jobs at risk – The West; Mining bosses urge Labor to end class war – The Fin; Sage pulls Marampa UK listing – The West; Norton surrenders to Zijin lure – The West
Treasury plans for next crisis
Treasury has warned that the European crisis is ‘‘spiralling out of control’’ and indicated it expects the government to dump its commitment to a budget surplus if a new crisis sweeps the world. The Aus
Building mix-ups put jobs at risk
Mass confusion over the Barnett government's new building laws has caused approvals to drop to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. The West
Mining bosses urge Labor to end class war
The mining industry has called for Labor to end its class war rhetoric, stop demonising the industry and flagged “serious concerns” about further costs arising from the government's business tax working group. The Fin
Sage pulls Marampa UK listing
Tony Sage's Cape Lambert Resources has pulled the much-hyped float of its Sierra Leone iron ore asset, announcing late yesterday the $500 million listing of Marampa on London's Alternative Investment Market would not go ahead until at least September. The West
Norton surrenders to Zijin lure
China's biggest gold producer, Zijin Mining Group, has shrugged off market turbulence and a collapse in the valuations of local bullion by agreeing to pay $229 million for Norton Gold Fields. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Mass confusion over the Barnett government's new building laws has caused approvals to drop to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.
Page 6: An alliance of unions is threatening to cripple Gary Gray's career as a federal Labor MP in retaliation for masterminding a policy allowing the mass importation of foreign workers for resource projects.
Logistics giant Linfox has increased a cash incentive to $10,000 for truck drivers to move to WA from the eastern states after few took up the chance to almost double their salary.
Page 7: Fly-in fly-out workers are making family sacrifices and paying high taxes while some unemployed Australians deliberately ignore mining boom opportunities, Atlas Iron boss David Flanagan believes.
Page 9: The WA Electoral Commission has been asked to investigate MP Janet Woolard's use of electoral resources to defend her family's handling of a boat crash involving her son.
Scaffolders on the troubled Arena stadium and two other projects staged wildcat strikes yesterday in a move that could test the Gillard government's new building inspectorate.
Page 18: Federal Liberal MP Don Randall has again taken aim at state colleagues, describing Colin Barnett as “intransigent” and suffering “a mental block” by refusing to let Len Buckeridge build a private port at James Point in Kwinana.
Business: BHP Billiton yesterday lost another excuse not to push ahead with the $20 billion Port Hedland outer harbour development.
Tony Sage's Cape Lambert Resources has pulled the much-hyped float of its Sierra Leone iron ore asset, announcing late yesterday the $500 million listing of Marampa on London's Alternative Investment Market would not go ahead until at least September.
China's biggest gold producer, Zijin Mining Group, has shrugged off market turbulence and a collapse in the valuations of local bullion by agreeing to pay $229 million for Norton Gold Fields.
The $1.2 billion sale of Bluewaters power station to Japanese interests has been rescued from collapse, with the parties agreeing to a one-month extension late yesterday.
The board of IFS Construction Services has won the first round of a battle over the ailing company by dumping a founding director supported by dissident investors.
Fortescue Metals Group boss Nev Power says he is confident China's continued growth will help the company generate enough cashflow to pay down its big debt and focus on dividends.
David Jones is stepping back from its heavy discounting strategy to rely instead on its traditional clearance sales to re-ignite shopper interest.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Treasury signalled the government should be prepared to abandon its promised budget surplus if the European debt crisis triggers a global recession as business leaders expressed concerns Australia had squandered the economic benefits of the resources boom.
West Australian Nationals leader Brendon Grylls has urged his federal colleague Barnaby Joyce to reconsider his opposition to foreign investment in agriculture and argued that Chinese investors could help complete the state's Ord River irrigation scheme, which has been under construction since 1959.
Page 3: The mining industry has called for Labor to end its class war rhetoric, stop demonising the industry and flagged “serious concerns” about further costs arising from the government's business tax working group.
Page 5: Australian Securities Exchange boss Elmer Funke Kupper says the federal government should stop fooling itself that Australia is a financial centre and develop a game plan to integrate with Asia.
Page 7: Banks won't cut variable rate mortgages much if official interest rates fall next week because of the high rates being paid to depositors, analysts say.
Page 16: Three unions are fighting for the right to take industrial action against Wesfarmers' Curragh coalmine in Queensland following the industrial umpire's decision to grant the unions a protective action ballot in early May.
Fair Work Australia will be given the power to refer material to police in new laws while unions and employer groups face a new set of disclosure rules and penalties.
Page 19: Sales at David Jones have fallen for the sixth consecutive quarter but chief executive Paul Zahra believes the rate of decline is stabilising as consumers become immune to volatility on overseas markets.
Page 20: One time market darling Paladin Energy is now best known as a serial disappointment – and not just because of the decline in the uranium market.
Fortescue Metals Group will seek to pay down debt and assess market conditions before committing to further growth initiatives once it completes a $US8.4 billion expansion to nearly triple production by next June.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Treasury has warned that the European crisis is ‘‘spiralling out of control’’ and indicated it expects the government to dump its commitment to a budget surplus if a new crisis sweeps the world.
Mining industry veteran Hugh Morgan says Australians’ reluctance to leave the comforts of home to work in remote areas reflects a ‘‘lack of initiative’’ that has driven up inflation and led companies to turn to foreign labour to ensure the viability of projects.
Page 2: Julia Gillard has re-ignited the debate over whether Australia has the highest carbon tax in the world, citing schemes in Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Ireland as having higher costs and accusing Tony Abbott of misrepresenting the relative size of the Australian carbon price.
The cost of producing electricity in Queensland will jump 43 per cent largely because of the carbon tax according to the state’s regulator, which set price rises of up to 20 per cent yesterday for big users not already under contract for the next financial year.
Page 5: Up to 40 school stimulus projects will not be completed in time to meet the $16.2 billion Building the Education Revolution’s final extended deadline, some as late as 11/2 years after they were supposed to be finished to kick-start the flagging economy.
Page 6: A federal scheme that pays unemployed people to move around the country to where the jobs are is struggling, with only 42 people having moved to Western Australia, which is in the grip of a mining boom.
Department store David Jones is hoping that absence makes the wallet grow fonder, winding back discounts in the lead-up to its winter sales so that bargain-deprived shoppers will storm the checkouts once the clearance period begins.
Page 9: Qantas executives discussed locking out the airline workforce two weeks before the company grounded its fleet last year, prompting union claims last night that the airline had misled federal parliament.
Business: James Packer last night seized on a surprise writedown and profit warning by Echo Entertainment as Echo chairman John Story hit back at the billionaire and said he was ready for a long ‘‘war of attrition’’.
Telstra's interest in Nine Entertainment led to a recent meeting with private equity owner CVC Asia Pacific, amid persistent rumours that CVC managing partner Adrian MacKenzie is about to step down.
Investors have suffered their worst month on the stockmarket in two years as ongoing uncertainty over Greece’s future in the eurozone and fresh fears about Spain’s banking system shook global markets and wiped out this year’s gains.
BHP Billiton’s $20 billion-plus Outer Harbour iron ore expansion in Western Australia has received federal government approval amid growing signs that it will take precedence over the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine expansion in South Australia, BHP’s other huge planned Australian project.
Myer chief Bernie Brookes has credited recent falls in the Australian dollar for a pick-up in online sales as purchases from internet competitors offshore become more expensive.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Two gay men have officially been declared the only parents of a baby born via a surrogate in a legal first for NSW. Swimming legend Kieren Perkins has split from his wife of 15 years.
Page 2: 21-year-old Private T F Findlay pulled an Afghan soldier from a truck loaded with exploding ammunition, saving his life and becoming wounded in the process - but don't go calling him a hero.
Page 3: Swiss scientists who spent five years investigating the brain and spine have developed a treatment that allowed rats paralysed by spinal injuries to learn to walk again.
World: Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has apologised to the people of India after she called curry "disgusting".
Business: Department store David Jones will back away from heavy discounting, pinning its hopes instead on traditional clearance sales to pique shoppers' interest.
Sport: Manly skipper Jamie Lyon has explained why he snubbed NSW representative selection, blaming a lack of confidence.
THE AGE:
Page 1: A radical overhaul of the Victorian taxi industry promises to deliver more taxis, better qualified and higher-paid drivers, but more expensive fares at weekends and for short trips. Westpac's most senior economist expects the official interest rate set by the Reserve Bank will fall to its lowest level on record by the end of the year, as global woes and falling consumer confidence stall the local economy.
Page 3: The federal government has bowed to US pressure and will take full control of military operations in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province as international forces prepare to withdraw from the country over the next two years. Comprising the better part of 300 works, a new Napolean exhibition hits the National Gallery of Victoria. The United States has denied it is secretly preparing legal action against Julian Assange as supporters of the WikiLeaks founder explore fresh legal moves to stop his extradition to Sweden to face rape allegations.
World: US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has warned that prospects for a political solution in Syria are now almost non-existent and that the Security Council must discuss new action against Damascus.
Business: One of the world's most successful supermarket bosses, Sir Terry Leahy, who took the British chain Tesco from a struggling, third ranked competitor in its home market to one of the biggest grocers in the world, has a message for Woolworths and Coles: there is a limit to how much private label goods can dominate their shelves.
Sport: St Kilda coach Scott Watters rates Richmond's midfield as the best in the AFL. Tigers coach Damien Hardwick marvels at the speed and fluency of the Saints ball movement, and says that in fact their opponent's midfield is even better than theirs.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: A plan to export Victoria's brown coal will deliver 3300 jobs and more than $11 billion in new revenue as the state plots its own mining boom. Private T J Findlay of Brisbane is being hailed a hero for dragging a wounded Afghan soldier from a burning ammunition truck moments before it exploded.
Page 5: The cost of hailing a cab on weekends in Melbourne will go up 20 per cent under a radical plan to reform the taxi industry.
World: The parents of six children who died when their council house was gutted by fire have been charged with their murder.
Business: The Australian stock market has suffered its biggest monthly slide in two years as the eurozone crisis intensified, with a wave of selling dragging the benchmark index towards 4000 points.
Sport: Richmond workhorse Shane Tuck planned to beat Damien Hardwick to the punch and retire. The coach had other ideas.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Mysterious discovery in Weston Creek alleyway leads police to investigate Kenmore Hospital's past. ACT failing vulnerable children.
Page 2: Push for national park status to protect Ginninderra Falls land.
Page 3: Toxic sludge filling Lake Burley Griffin still poses a danger to swimmers and boaters.
World: Evidence of another massacre uncovered in Syria.
Business: Qantas Airways has grown its share of Australia's international passengers for the third straight month.
Sport: Samantha Stosur to face Russian rival Nadia Petrova in the third round of the French Open.
