Sleaze claims Slipper's scalp – The Fin; Rio cuts forecast for China growth – The Aus; Renewable energy plan under fire – The West; Big Australian boosts bond market – The Fin; Boom leads to trades exodus – The West
Sleaze claims Slipper's scalp
The resignation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Peter Slipper, last night followed an emotional meeting with crossbench MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, who advised Mr Slipper his position was untenable and that he should resign with dignity rather than being forced out sooner or later by Parliament. The Fin
Rio cuts forecast for China growth
Rio Tinto chief Tom Albanese says the global mining giant has cut its forecasts for Chinese growth this year as expected stimulus packages take longer to materialise. The Aus
Renewable energy plan under fire
Colin Barnett has joined a growing chorus of business and political leaders calling for Australia's renewable energy target to be axed, saying the Federal Government's carbon tax had made it redundant. The West
Big Australian boosts bond market
Investors have welcomed the success of BHP Billiton's record $1 billion bond raising as confirmation Australia can sustain a corporate bond market. The Fin
Boom leads to trades exodus
Almost a quarter of WA apprentices and trainees are walking away from their training, sparking fears young workers in unskilled mine jobs will be left without work as the boom slows. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard's hold on power has been rocked by Peter Slipper's resignation as Speaker last night after widespread condemnation over sexist and offensive text messages he sent to a former staffer.
Page 3: Almost a quarter of WA apprentices and trainees are walking away from their training, sparking fears young workers in unskilled mine jobs will be left without work as the boom slows.
Page 7: Tony Abbott is trying to prevent WA Liberals staging a revolt on wheat industry reform by promising to get a commitment for full deregulation from Nationals leader Warren Truss.
Page 9: Lisa Scaffidi has fought back against “horrible and bitchy” comments about her bid to be named World Mayor 2012 and pleaded with people to be nicer to one another.
Page 12: Mounted police faced off against dock workers in Fremantle yesterday at the start of a four-day strike that threatens to bring $300 million in cargo shipments to a halt.
Page 14: Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has backed calls for a third runway at Perth Airport, saying the cost of congestion and longer taxiing times was “quite significant” for the airline.
Page 15: Lifesavers want a watchtower built on Cottesloe beach in response to shark attacks they fear may deter people from going to the beach.
Page 16: A decade of change has left Australians wealthier, wider and healthier but the same cannot be said for the natural environment.
Business: Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese says the wave of project cancellations and deferrals by rival miners has led to some much-needed softening of cost pressures in Australia.
The corporate watchdog will investigate a serious technical glitch on the Australian Securities Exchange that left investors in the dark for four hours yesterday.
Prominent publican Peter Prendiville has vowed that the redevelopment of the Cottesloe Beach Hotel will not be derailed by problems surrounding an $80 million investment scheme that has entangled his half share in the venue.
Recent layoffs in the mining sector may be starting to flow to the rest of the WA economy, with Bankwest mirroring its parent Commonwealth Bank in posting lower business loans in August.
The International Monetary Fund has cut global growth forecasts as the euro area's debt crisis intensifies.
Maree Saraceni has vowed that her family's award winning Saracen Estate wine label will be unaffected by the $5.8 million sale of its former land and cellar-door buildings to the South West Monaco family.
Colin Barnett has joined a growing chorus of business and political leaders calling for Australia's renewable energy target to be axed, saying the Federal Government's carbon tax had made it redundant.
Billionaire businessman Len Buckeridge is taking the Stirling City Council to court for $60,000 in costs that he paid to successfully appeal against three decisions by the local government over an Osborne Park building.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The resignation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Peter Slipper, last night followed an emotional meeting with crossbench MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, who advised Mr Slipper his position was untenable and that he should resign with dignity rather than being forced out sooner or later by Parliament.
Investors have welcomed the success of BHP Billiton's record $1 billion bond raising as confirmation Australia can sustain a corporate bond market.
The Labor government has decided against making any significant changes to superannuation tax arrangements in the mid-year review of the budget.
Page 3: Prominent economist Ross Garnaut has called for a reduction in the guaranteed rate of return on investment for electricity networks, claiming the rules are “unsustainable”.
Page 10: Directors have rejected claims that boards are ignoring concerns over executive pay and that companies outside the top 100 are failing to act on gender diversity.
Qantas chief Alan Joyce pushed the case for the airline's partnership with Emirates in Canberra yesterday, saying the alternative would lead to job losses as he called on lawmakers to respond more quickly to the challenges of the mining boom.
Page 12: The International Monetary Fund says there is a one-in-six chance of a deep world recession next year, which would increase the Gillard government's surplus challenge.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has signalled it will closely watch for the danger of a new home price bubble after its cut in the official interest rate last week to a near emergency low.
Page 13: Miners may have understated the value of tax shields protecting them from paying some mining tax, to avoid spooking the government and the Greens into beefing up the impost.
Page 15: Rio Tinto will delay approving any major projects in the near term and look to cut more costs after lowering its expectations for Chinese growth.
The corporate regulator will investigate the Australian Securities Exchange over a technical glitch that prevented sensitive company announcements from being released to the market.
Page 21: Arrium has moved to bolster its takeover defence by selling its majority stake in New Zealand's Steel & Tube Holdings for $73 million, with the proceeds to be used to pay down debt.
Page 22: Big-box home improvement retailers are expected to command 25 per cent of the $42 million market within five years as Bunnings and Masters use their superior buying power and store footprints to steal share from independent retailers.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard has been left holding a knife-edge working majority of one seat after Peter Slipper dramatically resigned last night, just hours after the Prime Minister drew on the support of two independents and the sole Greens MP to save the Speaker from a bid to oust him from the chair for degrading women.
West Australian port workers striking for a roster comprising four days work followed by six days off will cause almost $300 million in delays and lost business by the end of the week, Fremantle Ports estimates.
Page 2: The International Monetary Fund has warned the risk of global recession is ‘‘alarmingly high’’ as politicians in advanced countries refuse to confront the magnitude of their sovereign debt crises.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals has called on the federal government to back the immediate construction of a massive meatworks in Australia’s north to end the live cattle trade to Indonesia.
Page 6: Taxpayer-funded spending and subsidies for green schemes risk wasting resources on a ‘‘grand scale’’ because of chaotic supervision and inadequate scrutiny, a high-powered panel has found.
Industry could pull the plug on millions of dollars of promised research funding because of uncertainty over the federal government’s freeze on discretionary spending in its bid for a budget surplus.
Australia has been urged to embrace nuclear power and impose a tariff on goods imported from nations that have not priced carbon, instead of compensating trade-exposed industries.
Page 8: Julia Gillard survived a caucus revolt over cuts to welfare for single mothers yesterday, with at least 10 MPs trying to force a delay to the reform until a Senate inquiry is complete.
Tony Abbott has moved to quell unrest in his ranks over the deregulation of the wheat industry, with the Coalition firming up its opposition to a Labor bill set to abolish the export authority.
Business: Rio Tinto chief Tom Albanese says the global mining giant has cut its forecasts for Chinese growth this year as expected stimulus packages take longer to materialise.
Women continue to make steady inroads into the boardrooms, claiming nearly one in five board seats at the top 100 companies last year and providing a catalyst for the renewal and expansion of the ranks of company directors.
Tokyo Gas is in talks to acquire a stake of up to 10 per cent in BG Group’s flagship $20 billion liquefied natural gas project in Gladstone, Queensland, a move that would guarantee vital new energy supplies for Japan.
Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Bush and chief executive David Gyngell have offered Goldman Sachs between 6 per cent and 7 per cent equity in a restructure of the debt-laden media company as they desperately try to stave off receivership.
Rail operator QR National won market support yesterday as analysts raised their assessments, largely thanks to the Queensland government’s cleverly structured partial exit from the company’s registrar this week.
Oil Search has brought French energy major Total into gas exploration acreage in and around the Gulf of Papua, handing over 50 per cent of its interest in five blocks for an undisclosed sum and a commitment to fund some drilling costs.
Pessimism within the civil and mining construction sector has returned to levels not seen since the global financial crisis as a new survey reveals that a slowing mining boom and a lack of infrastructure funds are taking a toll.
Surf, ski and skatewear company Billabong has appointed former Just Group chairman Ian Pollard to head its board, but says he will take the position only if the company is not sold to private equity group TPG.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce yesterday warned there was no going back if the regulators do not give the green light to the airline’s far-reaching deal with Dubai-based Emirates.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Peter Slipper, has quit hours after a motion of no confidence moved by Tony Abbot failed to remove him. A report by the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research predicts hundreds of thousands of jobs will go offshore over the next three decades. The police officer who fired the Taser at Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti, who later died, has defended his actions, saying he was told in training he was allowed to fire a second time.
Page 2: NSW treasurer Mike Baird recommended a Liberal Party donor and one of the countries wealthiest businessmen to a $600,000 a year job running the state's electricity networks.
Page 3: Australia's most successful swimmer at the London Olympics, 24-year-old Alicia Coutts, has returned to work at an animal welfare shelter in Canberra.
Page 4: Full page Holden advertisement.
World: Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis as conflict in the country makes life increasingly difficult for its civilians.
Business: After warning the world economy could go into recession unless American and European leaders addressed their debts, the International Monetary Fund downgraded Australia's economic prospects.
Sport: The Canterbury Bulldogs NRL team has used a YouTube video of one its players dancing with an elderly lady as part of its defence against allegations of "mad Monday" misconduct.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Embattled federal parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper has quit after narrowly surviving an attempt by the coalition to oust him.
Page 2: The Facebook page linked to the mass desertion of advertisers from Alan Jones' radio show was set up by Australian Services Union official Sally McManus.
Page 3: The Nine Network could be placed in administration next week, as concern abounds about its ability to pay off its $2.3 billion debt.
World: US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has promised to arm Syrian rebels, called Russian President Putin a threat and suggested that 2014 could be too early to withdraw from Afghanistan in a speech to the Virginia Military Institute.
Business: The Nine Network's management team has warned its lenders it is running out of time to reach a new agreement on its $2.3 billion debt.
Sport: Premiership winning Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy could be heading to New Zealand after the 2013 season, in a deal believed to be worth $4 million over three years.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: Besieged parliamentary speaker Peter Slipper last night resigned, forcing the Gillard government to provide a replacement from its already wafer-thin majority in the parliament.
Page 3: South Australian taxpayers will pay $3500 to find out intimate details of former Labor Premier Don Dunstan's colourful love life.
World: Mitt Romney has outlined an aggressive return to world affairs under his presidency, identifying Russian President Vladimir Putin as a threat, promising to arm Syria's rebels and hinting that 2014 might not be the time to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Finance: Virgin Australia managing director John Borghetti is aiming for continued growth out of Adelaide and is predicting an upgrade for the company's executive lounge in the next two years.
Sport: Adelaide's trade talks with Sydney for defecting key forward Kurt Tippett amounted to no more than a cup of coffee yesterday.
