Bring IR laws into line with competition – The Fin; Battle lines harden as carbon tax debate lives on – The Aus; Boost for Ichthys as Total lifts its share – The West; Mansell backs 'creep' reforms – The Aus; Henry urges business to look offshore – The Fin
Bring IR laws into line with competition
Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks has suggested that Labor's Fair Work Act be included in a sweeping review of laws that restrict competition, dismissing much of the industrial relations debate as being more suited to the era of “dark satanic mills”. The Fin
Battle lines harden as carbon tax debate lives on
The nation’s largest business organisation is today expected to reaffirm its opposition to the carbon tax as the world’s biggest power utility flagged it would oppose any changes to the Renewable Energy Target, which will be reviewed in the first major policy debate of the post-carbon pricing regime. The Aus
Boost for Ichthys as Total lifts its share
Inpex's attempt to secure an estimated $US20 billion ($19.7 billion) in debt to help pay for the development of its Ichthys LNG project off WA's north has received a boost after France's Total agreed to significantly increased its stake. The West
Mansell backs 'creep' reforms
Former West Australian Newspapers chairman Peter Mansell — who resigned after Kerry Stokes used ‘‘creep’’ rules to win control of the company — has backed the corporate regulator’s push to change the law, saying his views were shaped by the bitter battle for control of the publisher in 2008. The Aus
Henry urges business to look offshore
One of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's top economic advisers says the squeeze on manufacturers is an inevitable consequence of the resources boom and more businesses should be willing to source their products from overseas. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: WA's status as the engine room of the WA economy has been underlined by figures showing that the state created more than 50,000 jobs in the past year as others struggled with rising unemployment queues.
Page 6: State Labor is planning to recapture the success of its 2001 ban on old-growth logging with a new forest policy that could include a halt to all native logging or ban the felling of jarrah.
The Greens have turned Labor's assault on them into a money-maker, urging supporters to donate cash to the party.
Page 12: WA's health chief has blamed the state's alarming GP shortage for the surge in flu patients going to hospital emergency departments.
Page 13: Two more Perth councils are interested in outlawing plastic shopping bags, according to the City of Fremantle, which yesterday unveiled draft laws to ban retailers from giving the bags to shoppers.
Page 20: Perth motorists need to be re-educated to allow more travelling time when driving around the city, according to Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi.
Business: Inpex's attempt to secure an estimated $US20 billion ($19.7 billion) in debt to help pay for the development of its Ichthys LNG project off WA's north has received a boost after France's Total agreed to significantly increased its stake.
Rio Tinto iron ore executive Alan Davies has emerged as a leading candidate to become the mining giant's new chief financial officer following Guy Elliott's announcement yesterday that he would retire at the end of the year.
Galaxy Resources will lay off 65 local contractors from its Mt Cattlin operations near Ravensthorpe at the end of this month after deciding to place its flagship lithium mine on care and maintenance for at least nine months.
Iluka Resources has pulled back production of mineral sands products by 18 per cent in the first half of the year in an effort to protect its high margins from the impact of softening demand.
Myer says it is cutting 100 staff in an attempt to align costs with what it describes as the toughest retail conditions in more than 25 years.
Calibre co-founder Ray Munro's stake in the WA engineering company is worth $55 million ahead of its listing next month, according to its IPO prospectus.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks has suggested that Labor's Fair Work Act be included in a sweeping review of laws that restrict competition, dismissing much of the industrial relations debate as being more suited to the era of “dark satanic mills”.
Page 5: The Rudd and Gillard government's record squeeze on the public service is set to deliver $13 billion in savings over nine years through a landmark shift to online government services and cuts to travel, media advertising, office space and stationery.
Page 6: Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Gred Medcraft has put private equity-style bidders on notice, saying the regulator's review of takeover laws will include offers that do not comply with “the spirit of the law”.
Page 7: One of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's top economic advisers says the squeeze on manufacturers is an inevitable consequence of the resources boom and more businesses should be willing to source their products from overseas.
Page 8: Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes has blamed the toughest retail conditions in 25 years for the retailer's decision to axe 100 jobs in store support functions.
Darrell Lea was in advanced talks with a potential buyer weeks before directors decided to pull the plug on the business.
More legal action is brewing over a blockade by striking warehouse workers at a Coles national distribution centre.
Page 9: The labour market is showing signs of stalling, re-igniting debate about whether the Reserve Bank of Australia may be forced to resume rate cuts.
Importers and mid-tier miners are likely to be the main beneficiaries of further liberalisation of the yuan.
Page 17: Telstra has further strengthened its already imperious cash position after selling its New Zealand business for $660 million, in a move that will revive debate about its capital management options.
Rio Tinto energy boss Doug Ritchie has emerged as a potential successor to chief executive Tom Albanese after being appointed London-based head of strategy.
Page 18: US chemicals giant DuPont has challenged Iluka Resources' bleak appraisal of market conditions.
Page 19: Commonwealth Bank has cut interest rates on its fixed home loans to its lowest level in three years.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Productivity tsar Gary Banks has challenged the government to expose the industrial relations regime and unions to greater scrutiny as part of a sweeping review of laws governing anti-competitive conduct.
Tony Abbott has declared he is willing to work with the government to develop reforms that promote indigenous employment but does not expect Julia Gillard to pursue such a bipartisan approach.
Page 2: ACTU secretary Dave Oliver has declared the union movement will aggressively campaign to ‘‘expose’’ Tony Abbott on workplace relations, as union leaders prepare to sign off on a multi-million-dollar fund to fight the Coalition and business in the lead-up to the federal election.
Full-time employment shrank and the unemployment rate rose last month, reinforcing economists’ expectation of a further interest rate cut next month.
Page 4: The nation’s largest business organisation is today expected to reaffirm its opposition to the carbon tax as the world’s biggest power utility flagged it would oppose any changes to the Renewable Energy Target, which will be reviewed in the first major policy debate of the post-carbon pricing regime.
The Greens are exploiting claims they are under siege from senior Labor figures in an attempt to boost party fundraising efforts.
Business: Telstra says it will stick with its struggling Sensis operations after offloading one of its other under performing businesses, its trans-Tasman subsidiary TelstraClear, to Vodafone New Zealand for $NZ840 million ($660m).
Former West Australian Newspapers chairman Peter Mansell — who resigned after Kerry Stokes used ‘‘creep’’ rules to win control of the company — has backed the corporate regulator’s push to change the law, saying his views were shaped by the bitter battle for control of the publisher in 2008.
Australia's most successful media buyer, Harold Mitchell, is in line for a $200 million windfall after Japanese advertising network Dentsu lobbed a £3.16 billion ($4.8bn) cash offer for Britain-based Aegis Group.
Exxon Mobil and BHP Billiton appear in no rush to bring on the big South East Remora gas discovery in Bass Strait, asking for the right to continue assessing the field for up to another five years, despite a potential east coast gas shortage from 2014.
Iluka's strategy of matching mineral sands production to demand to preserve margins paid off handsomely in the June half, as sales revenue surged 16 per cent to $662 million despite a 35 per cent fall in sales volumes.
French oil giant Total has boosted its stake in the $US34 billion ($33bn) Ichthys LNG project in Darwin from 24 per cent to 30 per cent, in a move that underlines the company’s stated goal of becoming a major player in Australia’s oil and gas industry.
Myer has cut 100 jobs across its 66 stores as it struggles amid one of the most severe retail downturns in 25 years – and analysts fear there may be more to come.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: NSW Labor has suspended three of its most controversial members in an attempt to distance the party from the scandals that engulfed the former state government as it tries to rebuild after last year's election loss.
Page 2: House prices fell 2 per cent in the June quarter, and more falls are expected in the coming year, especially in the most populous states of NSW and Victoria, National Australia Bank says.
Page 3: One in 15 adults was the victim of credit card fraud over the past year with losses blowing out to a record $278 million as the online shopping boom leads to more Australians being swindled.
World: Syria's ambassador to Iraq has defected, accusing the government of President Bashar al-Assad of turning the ruling Baath party into "an instrument to kill people".
Business: Pessimism towards the mining sector continues to grow ahead of today's release of new Chinese economic data, with Australia's top mining stocks suffering another selloff as investment banks continue to trim forecasts for both commodity prices and share prices.
Sport: NRL expansion plans that include the possibility of the competition increasing by two teams, staggered over two years, have been flagged during negotiations with television networks on the new broadcast deal.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Pre-paid taxis, new sprint trains, private buses, greater police presence and the power to veto new nightclubs - that's the action plan Lord Mayor Clover Moore believes can end the violence in Kings Cross.
Page 2: Families and businesses are facing a surprise "tax on a tax" as the GST is applied on top of the carbon tax to power bills, appliance repairs and other everyday costs.
Page 3: Workers who believe they have been driven too hard by their boss could mount a claim of bullying under radical changes to workplace laws.
World: A former Wall Street trader swallowed a fatal dose of cyanide in a courtroom just moments after a jury found him guilty of burning down his house in a botched insurance scam.
Business: Workers will have no choice but to chase jobs to the boom states or risk unemployment as the economy continues its transformation.
Sport: Parramatta are poised to make a massive $2.1 million play for the Penrith forward Luke Lewis - money that would blow away all offers from rival NRL clubs.
THE AGE:
Page 1: New government figures reveal thousands more patients joined the queue for elective surgery in Victoria in the first three months of this year, and children are among those facing long waits. The online shopping boom has spawned a surge in credit card crime, with more than a million cases of card fraud in Australia last year and total losses blowing out to a record $278 million, almost double the level of two years earlier.
Page 2: A Victorian court may have breached its own suppression orders when it published Tony Mokbel's drug trafficking sentence on the internet.
Page 3: Guidelines for the state inquiry on the handling of clergy child abuse show the emphasis will be on lessons for the future rather than righting particular wrongs from the past or providing the vindication victims have said they need.
World: Pressure is growing on presumptive US Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney from within his own party to adopt a more aggressive strategy.
Business: Bureau of Statistics figures show Australians are dropping out of the workforce at unprecedented rates.
Sport: That Matthew Kreuzer will spend most if not all of Friday night playing in the ruck for a Carlton side bolstered by the return of Marc Murphy is of little comfort to North Melbourne coach Brad Scott.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: The Victorian government is under intense pressure to make a multimillion-dollar payout to victims of the Fiskville scandal as details on another past cancer scare involving firefighters emerge.
Page 2: Interest rates are tipped to fall again next month, with 12,000 Victorians losing their jobs this year, including 100 Myer staff axed.
Page 3: Government figures reveal waiting lists for elective surgery have ballooned, with hospitals struggling to catch up with a backlog of cases cancelled during the nurses' strike.
World: A senior diplomat has defected, ramping up pressure on Syria's Bashar al-Assad.
Business: Australia's former chief economist says workers will have no choice but to chase jobs to the boom states or risk unemployment as the economy continues its dramatic transformation.
Sport: The AFL's power clubs will fight a cap on football department spending amid fears the gap between rich and poor would create a two-tiered Premier League-style competition.
