Today's Business Headlines

Labor IR regime under siege

The Gillard government’s attempts to build a national workplace system are in jeopardy after Queensland threatened to take the unprecedented step of withdrawing more than 300,000 small businesses employees from the federal arena and re-employ them under state awards. The Aus

Burswood shops mall rejected

The state government has rejected a bid by two of Australia's richest men to build a luxury Westfield shopping centre between the new Burswood football stadium and Crown Perth casino. The West

NRW loses BHP iron ore contract

BHP Billiton has taken the axe to another project at Port Hedland, dealing a fresh blow to listed contractor NRW Holdings. The Fin

China leads in HIsmelt licence race

Rio Tinto has quietly refocused its attempt to make money out of the technically acclaimed but uncommercial HIsmelt pig iron operation from India to China and expects to begin dismantling the Kwinana plant early next year. The West

Macmahon cuts back after earnings slump

Macmahon Holdings is set to shake up its West Australian construction arm and stop chasing the big iron ore projects, with sections of its business to be cut, after a significant profit downgrade led to the chief executive’s departure last week. The Aus

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 3: The state government has rejected a bid by two of Australia's richest men to build a luxury Westfield shopping centre between the new Burswood football stadium and Crown Perth casino.

Page 4: The Barnett government is excelling in health and education and trying to find solutions to WA's shortage of skilled workers, the state's main business group says.

The Bill to create a WA future fund will overcome a big hurdle this week when it is expected to pass the Lower House.

If live sheep exports to the Middle East do not resume soon, nations with lower animal welfare standards could fill the gap, Premier Colin Barnett warned yesterday.

Page 12: Colin Barnett has attacked continuing regulation of the wheat industry, putting him at odds with his federal colleagues who have agreed to delay action for another two years for the sake of coalition unity.

Page 13: A Scarborough church risked a $1 million fine last night by serving its weekly free Sunday meal, after the City of Stirling deemed many of the church's activities were in breach of local planning regulations.

Business: Rio Tinto has quietly refocused its attempt to make money out of the technically acclaimed but uncommercial HIsmelt pig iron operation from India to China and expects to begin dismantling the Kwinana plant early next year.

New Tangiers Petroleum boss Eve Howell has wasted no time shoring up the explorer's balance sheet, launching a $5 million capital raising to provide cash for work on its African oil and gas ambitions.

New Macmahon Holdings chief executive Ross Carroll has revealed the extent of the blood-letting in the company's troubled construction division, with several layers of management axed in the wake of the mishandling of a $100 million Rio Tinto rail job in the Pilbara.

Kagara had ambitions to become a world-class base metals producer – until falling metal prices and a nervous lender conspired to send the Perth miner into administration.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: China's giant sovereign wealth fund is looking to make its first significant investment in the Australian dairy industry, as it tries to lock up food supplies for its growing middle class.

Industry Minister Greg Combet suspended legal action last night to stop The Australian Financial Review publishing explosive government documents revealing the car industry's lobbying campaign for subsidies and the government's assessment of the industry's chances of survival.

Page 3: NSW's largest coal seam gas player has warned the almost two-year stalling of exploration in the state means it is too late to avoid gas shortages and higher prices.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia is offering cash to home owners if they switch their mortgage from another lender.

Page 4: The future of the Australian car industry will be a crucial economic and political issue in the lead-up to the federal election in 2013.

Page 5: The Coalition has warned it will consider a purge of senior bureaucrats if elected next year, as the political battle over public service job cuts intensifies.

Former West Australian premier Geoff Gallop has condemned Treasurer Wayne Swan's broadside against the “cranks and crazies” taking over the US Republican Party as “absolutely wrong” and accused him of not behaving in a manner befitting a deputy prime minister.

Page 8: Independent MP Tony Windsor is pushing for the deregulation of aspects of the multi billion dollar wheat export to give farmers greater protection against the power of big grain handlers.

Page 13: Jim O'Neill, the man famous for coining the term BRIC, believes the Australian dollar is overvalued above parity with the US dollar and warns investors to adjust their thinking on China's contribution to the global economy in the next decade.

Page 15: Australian company directors are paid the most as a share of net profit among Asian countries surveyed by broker CLSA.

Page 17: BHP Billiton has taken the axe to another project at Port Hedland, dealing a fresh blow to listed contractor NRW Holdings.

Moves by Leighton Holdings parent Grupo ACS to tighten control of its subsidiary have been welcomed by the Spanish group's investors as it pushes ahead plans to be the world's leading infrastructure developer.

Page 22: Fortescue Metals Group is considering the sale of a minority stake in its Chichester iron ore operations as part of an effort to cut debt.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: The Gillard government’s attempts to build a national workplace system are in jeopardy after Queensland threatened to take the unprecedented step of withdrawing more than 300,000 small businesses employees from the federal arena and re-employ them under state awards.

Remote indigenous communities show little signs of the billions spent to improve living conditions, with a scathing government report saying much of the extra money is wasted on bureaucracy.

Page 2: The government remains confident that Australia’s economy and budget will be underpinned by strong Chinese growth over the next year, in the face of a continuing flow of weak data from our largest trading partner.

Employers have slammed a push by the Greens for new laws that would give all workers an enforceable right to seek more flexible working hours.

Westpac has fired a fresh shot in the home loan competition war between the major banks by slashing a range of its fixed-rate mortgages.

Page 6: The lack of business experience among ministerial advisers and public servants undermined the quality of their advice, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said yesterday, joining the chorus of criticism of the lack of expertise in government.

Senior Labor frontbenchers have rallied around Wayne Swan, endorsing his inflammatory claims that hard-right elements of the US Republican Party pose a threat to the global economy, as new research warns that current American budget settings would be ruinous.

Business: The big banks could face an earnings hit of up to $500 million as the impact of the slowing resources boom feeds into the broader economy.

Peter Cook has spent enough time in the US in recent months to be convinced that Biota’s merger with the Nasdaq-listed Nabi Biopharmaceuticals is the right move

Star stock picker John Sevior’s new venture Airlie Funds Management has been cleared for takeoff after being awarded a financial services licence on Friday.

Punters still interested in the volatile Indonesian mining sector will be keenly watching Brisbane-based explorer Intrepid Mines today after a big run last week.

Perth-based copper play Sandfire Resources appears to be just weeks away from delivering what few in the Australian mining industry have been able to achieve in recent years: a new mine brought into production largely on schedule and on budget.

Macmahon Holdings is set to shake up its West Australian construction arm and stop chasing the big iron ore projects, with sections of its business to be cut, after a significant profit downgrade led to the chief executive’s departure last week.

The Houston head office of BHP Billiton’s petroleum division is cock-a-hoop over a multi-billion dollar implied valuation boost of the group’s Permian Basin shale oil assets in the US.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: Sydney and Melbourne set to be represented in the NRL and AFL grand finals. Overtime payments for health workers and contract staff set to be cut to help achieve NSW hospital budget for this year.

Page 2: The federal police are investigating bribery allegations into Australian government officials involved in a $150 million shipbuilding deal, cables reveal.

Page 3: JK Rowling's first novel for adults set to become an instant bestseller.

World: Two Islamist militias in the eastern city of Derna have announced they are disbanding.

Business: Paul Volcker, the former US Federal Reserve chairman credited with taming the inflationary threat of the 1970s, has warned that quantitative easing will fail to repair economies in Europe and the US.

Sport: Ben Barba's mum talks about how the Bulldogs coach Des Hasler turned her son into a superstar.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: Prisoners who show no signs of rehabilitation could be kept in jail indefinitely under proposed new laws by the NSW government.

Page 2: Prime Minister Julia Gillard set to lobby world leaders on Australia's bid to join the UN security council.

Page 3: Parents queuing as early as 3am to secure a place for their children in before and after school care.

World: US President Barack Obama has drawn the biggest crown of his re-election campaign.

Business: The stakes are rising in the war to entice homeowners to lock in their home loans at fixed rates.

Sport: The NRL and AFL premiership trophies are within reach.

THE AGE:

Page 1: DPP wants the money crime matriarch Judy Moran made from the sale of her Ascot Vale house. Backyard imam Harun Mehicevic remains in Bosnia after AFP counter-terror raids in Melbourne. Hawthorn's trade of Josh Kennedy to the Swans in 2009 could come back to haunt them in AFL grand final. Diplomatic cables show Australian officials involved in a $150 million shipbuilding deal with the Philippines that is being investigated by AFP.

Page 3: MLC parents pledge up to $250,000 to save sacked principal Rosa Storelli and pay off her alleged debt of $700,000. Social media campaign gears up to try to find ABC employee Jill Meagher who disappeared while walking home from a Brunswick bar. Human rights commission finds students with disabilities at Victorian schools are being bullied, refused enrolment and prevented from sitting NAPLAN tests. Australian expatriate based in PNG charged with involvement in a gun smuggling racket. Australians are holding on to the folding money more than ever before.

World: Convicted bomber claims that Northern Ireland republican politician Gerry Adams ordered an IRA bombing campaign in Britain and a series of notorious murders in the 1970s.

Business: Former US Fed chairman Paul Volcker says a third round of asset buying, known as QE3, won't help Europe or the US.

Sport: Three years of bitter disappointment since Hawthorn's 2008 grand final win have instilled in the Hawks steely resolve.

THE HERALD SUN:

Page 1: Fears for missing woman who decided to walk home alone from a Brunswick nightclub. Glam night at the Brownlows.

Page 2: Prime Minister Julia Gillard to use charm offensive on UN to try to win Australia a seat on the Security Council.

Page 3: The evidence of expert witnesses could be limited after a senior judge expressed concern about the reliability of some evidence. Coles free "cash out" could be replaced as the supermarket trials ATMs at $1 a withdrawal. Tasmanian Devil cub has a big future at Healesville Sanctuary.

World: Texan cop shoots dead one-armed one-legged man in a wheelchair who waved a pen at him during an argument.

Business: Banks moving to lock in lower fixed rates.

Sport: Hawthorn and Sydney to burn up the MCG in the AFL grand final on Saturday.