Abbott rejects IR reform – The Fin; BHP takes razor to WA nickel – The West; Billabong vows to turn tide – The Aus; Wheat deal for farmers – The West; $100m plan for Freo ground – The West
Abbott rejects IR reform
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has slapped down MPs from his own party and business leaders who backed former prime minister John Howard's call for individual employee agreements and looser unfair dismissal rules. The Fin
BHP takes razor to WA nickel
BHP Billiton will scour its WA nickel operations for more savings in an attempt to wait out sharp falls in commodity prices, after the sale of its Yeelirrie uranium deposit raised fresh questions about its commitment to its marginal WA operations. The West
Billabong vows to turn tide
Surf, ski and skatewear company Billabong has set out a plan to more than double earnings over the next two years, but may not get a chance to act on it before being swallowed by US private equity firm TPG. The Aus
Wheat deal for farmers
WA farmers are poised for a major win, with the Federal Liberal Party set to allow its MPs to support a Gillard government push to further deregulate wheat exports. The West
$100m plan for Freo ground
Forget purple, Fremantle Dockers could become the AFL's greenest team if a Fremantle City Council pitch for a $100 million renovation of historic Fremantle Oval, including a new training facility. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Perth Fashion Week is in financial trouble after its first year and backers hope director Sylvia Giacci can keep it afloat.
Page 4: Just 10 days after promising to re-create the Howard government's “golden age of prosperity”, Tony Abbott has said there will be no return to the past after John Howard urged the coalition to embrace workplace relations reform.
Page 10: Green groups have promised a tough fight for the new owners of the Yeelirrie uranium project after BHP Billiton left the state's fledgling industry this week.
Page 11: Forget purple, Fremantle Dockers could become the AFL's greenest team if a Fremantle City Council pitch for a $100 million renovation of historic Fremantle Oval, including a new training facility.
Australian Football League chief executive Andrew Demetriou has repeated a pledge for football to contribute to the cost of the new Burswood stadium but says it is too early to put a figure on the amount.
Page 13: Hospitality industry leaders will go to Ireland in October in a bid to recruit 5,000 workers to WA.
Page 14: Ratepayers paid more than $400,000 to reimburse WA councillors for clothing, travel, child care and phone expenses last year.
Business: BHP Billiton will scour its WA nickel operations for more savings in an attempt to wait out sharp falls in commodity prices, after the sale of its Yeelirrie uranium deposit raised fresh questions about its commitment to its marginal WA operations.
Sundance Resources has left the door open for a rival takeover bid, after yesterday agreeing to a 45c a share takeover from China's Hanlong Mining provided an exclusivity provision was removed from the deal.
Atlas Iron has flagged the prospect of bringing in outside investors to fund the company's ambitious plans to grow its iron ore exports to 46 million tonnes a year by 2017.
WA farmers are poised for a major win, with the Federal Liberal Party set to allow its MPs to support a Gillard government push to further deregulate wheat exports.
Ausdrill will strengthen its presence in mining equipment supplies by forking out $165 million for Best Tractor Parts in a debt-funded deal.
Embattled scaffolding group IFS Construction Services has waved the white flag to creditors by handing over two of its WA businesses to administrators.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has slapped down MPs from his own party and business leaders who backed former prime minister John Howard's call for individual employee agreements and looser unfair dismissal rules.
Former prime minister John Howard wants more Chinese investment in Australia, including from state-owned enterprises, and regards the debate over balancing the US military alliance and the trade relationship with China as “juvenile”.
Page 3: The costs of manufacturers working on coalmining projects in north Queensland are rising up to 10 per cent a year because unions are skilfully using the industrial relations system to ratchet up wages, employers say.
Page 7: Foreign Minister Bob Carr has signalled a shift towards Australian acceptance of so-called chequebook diplomacy, saying powers involved in the Pacific region should learn to live with China giving aid to island nations.
Page 10: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched legal action to impose corporate bans and fines on former directors of a collapsed property trust, including its founder, Bill Lewski, former federal health minister Michael Wooldridge and Peter Clarke, who chairs Victoria's government urban development agency, Places Victoria.
The Coalition has put full-fee degrees back on the table, but denied it would seek to reintroduce caps on student places.
Page 13: Toll Holdings chief Brian Kruger is pinning his hopes on the resources industry being the logistics group's biggest growth driver over the next year as its core retail business continues to struggle.
Page 15: Billabong International chief executive Launa Inman has defended Billabong as a strong “youth” brand despite the surfwear maker's loss of appeal with young customers, asking shareholders for four years to transform the ailing company.
Page 17: BHP Billiton has begun slimming down its development portfolio as it looks to conserve spending on growth and to divest non-core assets.
Sundance Resources says it has no choice but to take a 45c-a-share offer from Hanlong Mining after the Chinese company threatened to walk away from the deal, potentially sending Sundance shares into freefall.
Atlas Iron says Chinese mills are looking to reduce the time frame for buying raw materials, preferring to run down stockpiles and buy from nearby mines in China as the outlook for steel prices remains muted.
Page 39: Credit Suisse has paid $55.3 million for Stockland's 10-level office block located on Perth's financial strip at 45 St Georges Terrace.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard’s strategy of exploiting the backlash against the conservative premiers to claw back disaffected Labor voters will be bolstered by the latest Newspoll surveys, which reveal voters are increasingly dissatisfied with Ted Baillieu in Victoria and Barry O’Farrell in NSW.
A secret audit commission report calls for a revolution in the way government services are delivered, with charities and private businesses taking responsibility from bureaucrats.
A new measure of the nation’s happiness, launched exclusively in The Australian today as part of a broader campaign to prevent suicide, shows that Australians are remarkably happy people, with only a small percentage actively troubled by thoughts life isn’t worth living.
Page 2: Treasury modelling has revealed the South Australian economy will take a $1.1 billion hit from the cancellation of BHP Billiton’s $30bn Olympic Dam expansion, confirming the worst fears of economists.
The ACTU has flagged possible support for an unemployment insurance scheme in which workers put aside a small proportion of their weekly wage.
Page 3: For the first time since Wesfarmers began collecting art in 1979, the company has released a small selection of works for public sale.
Page 4: Tony Abbott has decisively rejected advice from former conservative prime minister John Howard to return to the pre-Work Choices industrial relations regime, declaring there is ‘‘no going back to the past’’.
Page 6: Senior Liberals hope to draft star strategist James McGrath, with two election wins to his credit in six months, into the vacant state director’s job in South Australia.
Business: Surf, ski and skatewear company Billabong has set out a plan to more than double earnings over the next two years, but may not get a chance to act on it before being swallowed by US private equity firm TPG.
Clough boss Kevin Gallagher is adamant that the resources industry is destined for decades of healthy growth fuelled by the rise of Asia, despite the recent slump in commodity prices and concerns over the strength of China’s economy.
National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne says he sees no signs of the mining investment boom petering out as commodity prices cool and that he is ‘‘comfortable’’ with the state of the property market.
One of the world’s biggest uranium miners, Cameco, predicted yesterday that demand for the nuclear fuel was poised to rebound as it agreed to pay BHP Billiton $US430 million ($413m) for the Yeelirrie deposit in Western Australia.
Sundance Resources has backed a 21 per cent drop in China’s Hanlong Group’s bid for the iron ore hopeful, but in the process it has freed itself to talk to other parties.
Oil refiner Caltex Australia has been forced to defend the planned closure of the Kurnell refinery in Sydney after reporting a jump in after-tax operating profit following a strong marketing performance and better refinery margins.
Atlas Iron is confident of a recovery in the iron ore price as it continues to sell every tonne it produces, and says Chinese interests are eager to invest in the business.
Global logistics giant Toll Holdings is pinning its future growth prospects to the resources and e-retailing space.
Telstra's ad sales division, the Telstra Advertising Network, is teetering on the edge of oblivion, with the telco giant outsourcing the bulk of its sales functions, putting the fate of the remainder of its operations, including Trading Post, in doubt.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: NSW Police are under fire over the shooting death of a mentally-ill man.
Page 2: A parliamentary inquiry urges NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to take a leading role in tackling domestic violence.
Page 3: The cost of staffing immigration detention centres has ballooned by $650 million.
World: A new poll shows presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney edging ahead of US President Barack Obama.
Business: Billabong's new chief unveils a plan to strip back its brands.
Sport: The Melbourne Storm had two last-minute tries to triumph 20 to 18 over Cronulla.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Car crashes are faked every day, forcing up insurance premiums.
Page 2: A Sydney primary school bans children from performing handstands and cartwheels.
Page 3: A NSW parliamentary report calls for police to be given power to arrest suspects and issue apprehended violence orders.
World: Armed hunters search for a lion on the loose in the UK.
Business: Former Toll Holdings chief Paul Little walks away with $6 million in perks.
Sport: The ARL Commission will be forced to increase its offer to $1.5 million a year to install the AFL's Gillon McLachlan as NRL chief executive.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Advisers hail jail needle stand.
Page 2: ACT Labor to take sugary drinks off the menu.
Page 3: Olympians look set for capital welcome.
World: Republicans get ready to rumble as Isaac follows Katrina's lethal path.
Business: NAB boss: There's plenty of minerals in the pipeline.
Sport: Melbourne miracle keeps Canberra dream alive.
