Today's Business Headlines

Stop plundering the boom: BHP

The chairman of the world’s biggest resources group, Jac Nasser, has declared Australian governments must stop using the mining industry as a cash cow to plug budget holes and warned more resources companies would look overseas unless Australia reversed rising structural costs. The Fin

Subiaco stadium back in play

Labor would build WA's new football stadium at Subiaco if it won the March election unless James Packer's Crown “stumps up half a billion dollars” to make Burswood worthwhile, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said yesterday. The West

Bankrupt threat was wrong, Gina admits

Gina Rinehart has admitted she gave wrong advice to her children when she warned them they would be eligible for a multimillion-dollar tax bill if they allowed the family trust to vest earlier this year. The Aus

Lack of gas costs Woodside

Woodside Petroleum's failure to discover enough gas for a second train at its Pluto operation could add $1 billion to the flagship asset's expansion cost because of the need to build extra LNG tanks. The West

Airport rail plan extends to Hills

A rail link to Perth Airport will run down the middle of Tonkin Highway, tunnel under runways and stretch to the foothills as part of the state government's preferred model. The West

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 3: Labor would build WA's new football stadium at Subiaco if it won the March election unless James Packer's Crown “stumps up half a billion dollars” to make Burswood worthwhile, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said yesterday.

Page 4: A rail link to Perth Airport will run down the middle of Tonkin Highway, tunnel under runways and stretch to the foothills as part of the state government's preferred model.

Page 10: Aspiring Federal MP Christian Porter has waded into the industrial relations debate, saying penalty rates are costing jobs and mining salaries are unsustainable.

Kevin Rudd has foreshadowed a concerted effort to lift his public profile, declaring it was his job as a government MP to “make clear the contrast” between Labor and the Tony Abbott-led opposition.

Page 11: Gina Rinehart's threat that her children would be bankrupted by a massive tax bill if they wrested control of a trust holding their $5 billion inheritance has been undermined by a private ruling by the Australian Taxation Office.

Page 15: Former premier Brian Burke has denied he had a “prearranged conspiracy” with a state government official to access information he was not entitled to.

Page 17: Premier Colin Barnett has had to deny paying “hush money” to a staff member forced to resign over allegations of grubby politics.

Business: Woodside Petroleum's failure to discover enough gas for a second train at its Pluto operation could add $1 billion to the flagship asset's expansion cost because of the need to build extra LNG tanks.

Chevron will swoop on a prime piece of land surrounding the Elizabeth Quay development in the city for its new WA headquarters, according to market sources.

Market darling Sirius Resources continued its dream run yesterday, reaching an intraday high of $2.24 a share after announcing further drilling results at its Nova nickel prospect.

Woolworths is feeling the pressure over the roll-out of its Masters hardware joint venture judging by yesterday's extraordinary response to criticism of the new chain.

Noble Mineral Resources says it has investor support for a stop-gap $11 million capital raising, but admitted yesterday it was in breach of its debt agreements with bankers and needed to find at least $US8 million more to complete work on its Ghanaian gold project.

Red Hill Iron will consider an appeal in its battle with Tony Poli's Aquila Resources after the Supreme Court yesterday dismissed its claim for a 40 per cent stake of the proposed Anketell port and rail development.

Giant miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton should be made to accelerate negotiations over rail access with emerging resource companies, according to Australian Competition and Consumer Commissioner Rod Sims.

Mining giant BHP Billiton expects to close more of its Queensland coal mines and slash more jobs because of an increase in royalties and declining prices.

Ramelius Resources received a much-needed boost to its share price yesterday, jumping nearly 10 per cent on the back of new drilling results from its Mt Magnet gold mine.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

(Today's top stories from afr.com)

BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser has backed mining billionaires Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest against attacks from Treasurer Wayne Swan, asking whether Australia would “feel better” if its richest people left to live in Singapore.

Gina Rinehart has admitted the trigger for the bitter legal battle with her three eldest children – a threat they would go bankrupt if they did not extend the vesting date of a trust – was never going to happen.

The Coalition has opposed only eight on its list of 26 taxes it has accused the federal Labor government of being addicted to, helping to pass most of the rest, according to analysis provided to The Australian Financial Review.

Kevin Rudd said last night Labor can win the next election under Prime Minister Julia Gillard, but the endorsement only came after persistent questioning and, it appeared, through gritted teeth.

Independent supermarket and liquor store operators are calling for the federal government to give the competition regulator tougher powers and for new planning laws to break what they see as a predatory stranglehold by the supermarket giants.

The chairman of the world’s biggest resources group, Jac Nasser, has declared Australian governments must stop using the mining industry as a cash cow to plug budget holes and warned more resources companies would look overseas unless Australia reversed rising structural costs.

The Newman government has confirmed it will sell its 34 per cent stake in QR National after it included the expected proceeds on its balance sheet to help bring down its debt figures in the budget on

Standard & Poor’s has joined Moody’s and Fitch in putting Fortescue Metals Group on review for possible downgrade and warned the miner risked breaching financial covenants.

The Agricultural Bank of China, the country’s biggest lender by retail customer numbers, is trying to join the growing list of Sino banks to have a branch presence in Australia.

Telstra is pushing for a new workplace agreement that locks in performance-based pay for most of its huge workforce, while offering a “catch-up” payment to win over a large minority group of union members.

Apple has unleashed the latest member of its mobile phone family, launching the iPhone 5 at a US event and confirming that the handset, which features a larger screen, will run on some Australian 4G networks with prices starting from $799.

The federal government's chances of fast-tracking legislation to ban a controversial super trawler have been dealt a blow by key independent Tony Windsor.

Australian house prices could have much further to fall, although a bust of the kind experienced overseas is not expected, says an analyst with investment bank Investec.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: The spectre of Islamic terrorism in Australia has been reignited after police yesterday conducted sweeping raids across south-eastern Melbourne in which 11 homes were searched, weapons were seized and one person was arrested for terror-related offences.

The nation’s two biggest coalminers say much of the coal industry is now losing money and have warned that the Queensland government’s decision to increase royalties will cost more jobs and could result in revenue falling short of expectations.

Julia Gillard will have to find more money to fund her planned overhaul of school funding to compensate for spending cuts by state governments if she is to meet her commitment that every school in the nation will receive extra money.

The Netherlands has insisted the Gillard government explain its decision to bow to a pressure group-led campaign and effectively ban a Dutch-Australian super-trawler from fishing in Australian waters for two years.

Page 3: Gina Rinehart has admitted she gave wrong advice to her children when she warned them they would be eligible for a multimillion-dollar tax bill if they allowed the family trust to vest earlier this year.

Page 4: Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has turned on big mining companies over their complaints about a $1.6 billion increase in coal royalties amid a widening row over the changes and fears they could damage the federal budget.

Peter Costello has weighed into the Coalition divide on foreign investment by berating some of his former Nationals colleagues for attacking approval for the Chinese to buy Cubbie Station, saying the deal should go ahead.

Page 5: Forget holidays in the private villas of Bali and the thatched bures of Fiji — it seems Noosa’s resorts and Melbourne’s boutique hotels are making a comeback, at least with Australian travellers.

The West Australian opposition has accused Premier Colin Barnett of covering up a payout to one of his media advisers because the amount was ‘‘five times more than he was entitled to’’.

Page 6: Julia Gillard’s $1 billion regional development fund, which helped her secure minority government, has been frozen as part of the budget crackdown on federal grants, sparking condemnation from independent MP Rob Oakeshott.

Business: BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser says while the China growth story will continue, commodities demand from it and other emerging regions has fallen short of expectations, which has compounded woes in Europe and the US.

The two US hedge funds with a stranglehold on Nine Entertainment have retained insolvency specialists KordaMentha ahead of a rugged round of recapitalisation negotiations with other stakeholders in the free-to-air television network.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and senior executives are in Singapore meeting aviation and government officials to assure them the airline will remain a player at the Southeast Asian hub.

Officials from the foreign exchange arm of China’s central bank have met Queensland government officials to discuss buying state bonds, in the latest signal that the hunt for better yields is driving investors to the resource-rich nation.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has vowed to maintain the country’s gross domestic product growth at 7.5 per cent this year, as economists continued to ratchet down their forecasts for the country and doubts emerged about the extent of the planned infrastructure stimulus.

The prospect of further rate cuts has made consumers more confident about the outlook for their personal finances, but they remain extremely risk averse, the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer survey has found.

The Treasury has warned there is a growing risk around the world that overseas banks operating in foreign countries are at risk of ‘‘transmitting’’ shocks to the financial systems of those domestic markets.

The nation’s $1.4 trillion superannuation industry should not be seen as a ‘‘cash cow’’ to solve the country’s problems, according to Financial Services Council chief executive John Brogden.

Super Retail Group has bought 50 per cent of online and sports venue merchandise seller VBM Retail as it seeks to expand its share of the rapidly growing internet sales channel.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: Julia Gillard's father's body has been donated to science. Lawyers for Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, say she will not stand in her four children's way if they move to claim their share of the multi-billion family trust. Federal funding for NSW schools will fall because it is tied to state funding. A Sydney barrister and one-time political enemy of opposition leader Tony Abbott has backed claims a University of Sydney student was intimidated by the young Mr Abbott.

Page 2: Anti-coal seam gas groups believe a rush of new drilling licenses in NSW has "opened the floodgates" to rapid expansion in the gas industry in the state.

Page 3: Robbie Farah, the NRL star who this week called for Prime Minister Julia Gillard to introduce tougher consequences for Twitter trolls, said on the social networking site in September that she should be given a noose for a birthday present.

World: Global infant mortality rates have been slashed from 12 to seven million a year over the past two decades.

Business: The chairman of BHP Billiton says the Queensland government's decision to lift coal mining royalties will cause job losses.

Sport: Each of the six teams still in the running for the NRL premiership has a star fullback.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: An X Factor contestant was bombarded with vicious messages on Twitter after she winked at a member of boy band One Direction. NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell is facing pressure from his own MPs, a massive fight with the state's teachers and public backlash over the latest education funding cuts.

Page 2: Prince Charles and wife Camilla are tipped to make a Melbourne Cup appearance.

Page 3: A top retail consultancy group has warned Woolworths' Masters hardware chain that it is wasting advertising dollars by targeting women.

World: An independent panel charged with investigating the 1989 Hillsborough stadium crush has given a definitive narrative of how the deadly tragedy unfolded, and released 450,000 related documents.

Business: BHP Billiton Jacques Nasser has warned that instability in government decision-making will hit investment in the resources sector, after the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman moved to raise coal mining royalties.

Sport: Manly fans have been challenged to prove the nay-sayers wrong and turn up in droves to watch the Sea Eagles take on the Cowboys.