Today's Business Headlines

Banks slams failures in productivity

Outgoing Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks has damned Labor's reform agenda by calling for an overhaul of the Fair Work Act, an increase in the GST, and a winding back of industry handouts, including to car manufacturers, to revive Australia's lagging productivity performance. The Fin

Another hit for WA industry

Downstream manufacturing in WA has taken another hit, with Incitec Pivot quietly dropping a proposal for a major new explosives plant on the Burrup Peninsula that could have cost as much as $800 million. The West

Gorgon's foreign worker deal

Australia's biggest resources development, the $43 billion Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia, has quietly struck a deal with the federal government to import 150 semi-skilled foreign workers, in a move that will anger unions and Labor MPs who want Julia Gillard to restrict the use of overseas labour. The Aus

Tardy WA sets OH&S minefield

Businesses face a workplace safety regulatory minefield, after the state government said it would not pass legislation to bring WA in line with national occupational health and safety laws by a January 1 deadline. The West

Corporate doctors visit Hedland's landmark resort

A $150 million landmark resort project in Port Hedland is in limbo after BHP Billiton put its developers into receivership with estimated debts for more than $50 million. The West

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 7: After almost two years on hold, Lloyd Rayney could now chase his multi million-dollar defamation lawsuit that alleges police ruined his legal career by naming him as the “prime” and “only” suspect in his wife's murder.

Page 13: A leading Perth nutrition adviser has attacked the marketing of a new range of infant fruit juices that come in plastic bottles fitted with a teat.

Page 18: The Nationals will add Kalgoorlie to their growing list of electoral prospects after Labor turned independent MP John Bowler announced his retirement from politics yesterday.

Business: Downstream manufacturing in WA has taken another hit, with Incitec Pivot quietly dropping a proposal for a major new explosives plant on the Burrup Peninsula that could have cost as much as $800 million.

Ann Pickard has bulked up her Shell Australia executive team by recruiting one of the chief lieutenants from her time running the Anglo-Dutch giant's Nigerian unit.

Businesses face a workplace safety regulatory minefield, after the state government said it would not pass legislation to bring WA in line with national occupational health and safety laws by a January 1 deadline.

Kingsrose Mining managing director Chris Start says this quarter will be another tough one for the Indonesian-focused miner, as it recovers from the temporary shutdown at its Talang Santo mine in Sumatra following a fatality.

A $150 million landmark resort project in Port Hedland is in limbo after BHP Billiton put its developers into receivership with estimated debts for more than $50 million.

A Kwinana mill is the latest fabricator to fall victim to the crumbling steel manufacturing sector, after announcing yesterday it will close at the end of the month.

One-time BHP iron ore boss Graeme Hunt has returned to full-time executive duties as managing director of troubled contractor Transfield Services after serving as its interim boss for the past month.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: Outgoing Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks has damned Labor's reform agenda by calling for an overhaul of the Fair Work Act, an increase in the GST, and a winding back of industry handouts, including to car manufacturers, to revive Australia's lagging productivity performance.

The author of the landmark 1989 report on Australia's future in Asia has warned that mining companies and the Gillard government have overestimated China's future demand for coal and iron ore, leaving shareholders and the budget exposed.

Page 3: Treasurer Wayne Swan and his department have emphasised a need to contain voters' expectations on government spending, indicating there will be more budget cuts in order to create fiscal space to pay for reforms.

Supreme Court registrar Corryn Rayney may have been killed in a random sexually motivated attack, a Supreme Court judge found as he acquitted her husband, prominent barrister Lloyd Rayney, of murder.

Page 4: The Gillard government has just seven parliamentary sitting days to pass its controversial plan to treat $760 million of privately owned superannuation and bank account savings as government revenue after it agreed to a parliamentary inquiry into the surplus-boosting deal.

Shipping lines have joined the competition regulator in pressing for higher productivity to lower costs on the waterfront after a downturn blamed on industrial pressure, but also argued that the stevedoring companies were not investing enough money in ports.

Page 8: Iron ore prices will drop over the longer term and BHP Billiton will become a bigger producer of middle-income commodities such as shale gas and potash, according to a senior executive of the world's largest mining company.

Page 9: Australians need to dump outdated attitudes to the Association of South East Asian Nations and the federal government will elevate engagement with the vital economic and security grouping to a new level, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says.

Page 10: A fall in housing values has ended a four-month market recovery, and economists at the major banks warn it is unreasonable to suggest strong price growth for at least another year.

Page 11: Only 20 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions eliminated by the carbon tax in 2020 will come from Australia if the carbon price falls to $12 a tonne by 2015, according to government forecasts.

Page 12: Car parts maker Autodom has shut plants indefinitely in Melbourne and Adelaide that employ 400 workers, raising the prospect of production halts next week at Ford Australia and GM Holden.

Page 13: Whitehaven Coal managing director Tony Haggarty has launched an emotional defence of his 30-year record in coal after shareholders decisively voted down Nathan Tinkler's bid to throw out the miner's board.

Page 14: Chevron and its two major partners are split on the timing of their $US10 billion plus expansion of the Gorgon liquefied natural gas project, with ExxonMobil and Shell signalling they want a slower schedule.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Tony Abbott will link senior public servants’ bonuses to annual red tape cost reductions and pledge that many Coalition election campaign promises will not involve new spending.

The opposition has challenged Julia Gillard’s declaration that she did not know anything further about the workings of an AWU ‘‘slush fund’’ after she helped set it up for her then boyfriend in 1992.

Australia's biggest resources development, the $43 billion Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia, has quietly struck a deal with the federal government to import 150 semi-skilled foreign workers, in a move that will anger unions and Labor MPs who want Julia Gillard to restrict the use of overseas labour.

Lloyd Rayney walked away from court an innocent man yesterday, five years after being labelled the prime suspect in his wife’s murder.

Page 3: Former NSW Labor treasurer Eric Roozendaal was yesterday accused before the state’s corruption watchdog of receiving an ‘‘inappropriate financial benefit’’ as an inducement to deliver ‘‘favours’’ to the family of Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid.

Page 4: Industrial action and delinquent union behaviour is to blame for the potential collapse of car components maker Autodom, the Victorian government says.

Page 6: Federal and state officials designing the national disability insurance scheme have discussed a start date of 2020-21, two years later than recommended by the Productivity Commission.

Page 7: Former prime minister Kevin Rudd is in line with two ex-premiers of Queensland to be called before the 11th inquiry to delve into the so-called Heiner affair into child abuse at state institutions.

Property prices fell in all capital cities except Perth and Darwin last month after four months of modest gains, as recent interest rate cuts failed to ignite the market.

Page 8: Cuts to middle-class welfare have enabled the government to rein in the deficit without generating greater inequality, Wayne Swan says.

Page 9: Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd will today slam the ‘‘unnecessary hysteria’’ surrounding Chinese investment and urge Australia to be careful about sending a message that it discriminates against its biggest trading partner.

Page 10: The Gillard government is holding up free trade agreements with Japan and South Korea, despite its Asian Century white paper urging the removal of trade and investment barriers.

Business: Whitehaven Coal managing director Tony Haggarty has hit back at Nathan Tinkler’s aggressive attack on his reputation, telling him to get his ‘‘own house in order’’ after the miner’s largest shareholder failed in his bid to roll the board.

Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd has called an end to the era of excessive chief executive salaries as economic and productivity pressures realign interests with shareholders.

Steelmaker and iron ore miner Arrium slumped 12 per cent yesterday as speculators rushed for the exits in the wake of Posco and Noble Group abandoning their $1.2 billion bid.

Transfield Services’ new chief executive Graeme Hunt has forecast further cost cutting and job losses across the board as he looks to put his stamp on refining the company’s strategy and save a sinking share price.

Hills Holdings has scrapped its interim dividend and plans to shed up to 300 jobs after booking up to $110 million in impairment charges in the wake of a sweeping structural review by new chief executive Ted Pretty.

China's economy is showing renewed signs of life, but the upcoming leadership transition is still expected to be the major force behind the direction of the world’s fastest-growing nation.

Commodities giant Glencore International has offered to cancel its zinc-metal marketing agreement with Nyrstar in a bid to clinch approval from European Union regulators for its $US70 billion ($67.4bn) merger with Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata.

Boral's incoming chief executive Mike Kane has warned benefits from improving conditions in the US, an anticipated Australian housing recovery and a company review will not be seen until the second half of the 2013 financial year.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: Corruption inquiry hears the son of ALP kingpin Eddie Obeid told a car dealer he needed to secure a new car for former NSW treasurer Eric Roozendaal as he had "done a few favours" for his father. Digger given Victoria Cross for bravery in Afghanistan. Reserve Bank officials withheld damning information from a parliamentary committee, federal parliament hears.

Page 2: Rural NSW independents have told Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan to stop rushing legislation or risk having budget measures blocked.

Page 3: Students are disrupting classmates and wasting teachers' time after the compulsory school leaving age was raised to 17 in NSW.

World: New York counts the cost as the clean-up operation after superstorm Sandy continues.

Business: Nathan Tinkler's attack on Whitehaven Coal board fails.

Sport: Eels set to swoop after Israel Folau quits AFL.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: Digger awarded the Victoria Cross kept details of his heroics secret from his wife for two years.

Page 2: High-profile lawyer Lloyd Rayney cleared of wife's murder after a multimillion-dollar trial. Peter Slipper nominated for the prestigious parliamentary foreign affairs committee.

Page 3: The government is cracking down on asylum seekers who fail to make credible claims for entry and is sending some home for the first time. Tony Abbott's daughters attending Derby Day.

World: Death toll rising in the wake of superstorm Sandy.

Business: Mining boss Nathan Tinkler has fallen just short of registering a spill against the owners of Whitehaven Coal with shareholders mostly ignoring his calls for change.

Sport: Israel Folau is turning his back on at least $1.5 million to return to rugby league.

THE AGE:

Page 1: The chairman of Banksia Financial Group died in a head-on crash with a truck less than three months before it collapsed owing investors $660 million. Reserve Bank officials withheld damning information from a parliamentary committee when called to explain the banknote bribery scandal, federal parliament hears. Australian infantry corporal Daniel Keighran's bravery sees him become the third digger to receive a Victoria Cross medal in Afghanistan. Pakistani asylum seeker Fawad Ahmed plucked from Melbourne club cricket to help Australian bowlers prepare for the Test series against South Africa.

Page 3: Incoming CFMEU secretary John Setka wants to resume hostilities with builder Grocon amid frustration that a blockade in central Melbourne petered out, union sources say. Motorcycle club members whose weapons were seized by police threaten legal action against the Chief Commissioner unless he decides by noon Friday whether to give them back. Economic changes that hinder people's ability to move up in the workforce risk creating a labour market underclass, academics warn. State and federal governments set to launch Australia's biggest investigation into the links between social media and gambling.

Page 5: Coroner probing the deaths of two boys poisoned by carbon monoxide from a leaking gas heater fears many more homes in Victoria may have the same fatal conditions.

World: As the death toll rises to 70 from Hurricane Sandy, more than 3.75 million people have entered a third day without electricity.

Business: Nathan Tinkler's move against the Whitehaven Coal board falls short.

Sport: Investigators into `tanking' at Melbourne Football Club hear a large group of football staff was told in 2009 it would be sacked if Melbourne kept winning.

THE HERALD SUN:

Page 1: The nation salutes Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Daniel Keighran. Melburnians face water bill hikes of up to $310 on an average bill next year, new documents show.

Page 2: Retired federal MPs planning High Court challenge to clawback millions of dollars in perks, including lifetime Gold Pass and superannuation payments.

Page 3: Roadside memorial honouring slain Jill Meagher taken away by Melton City Council.

Page 7: Police drew their guns on two innocent removalists in St Kilda on Thursday morning. Facebook moves against internet trolls, launching Australia-wide "Be Bold, Stop Bullying" campaign.

World: Life in New York slowly trickles back to normal in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Business: Mining magnate Nathan Tinkler's attack on the Whitehaven Coal board fails to win shareholder support.

Sport: Melbourne Demons player breaks silence, revealing coach Dean Bailey called mid-2009 season player meeting to signal sudden change in tactics.

THE CANBERRA TIMES:

Page 1: Corporal Dan Keighran acknowledged for Afghan firefight.

Page 2: Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney found not guilty of murdering his wife.

Page 3: Canberra identities will be the big winners of the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.

World: Grisly clean-up of Hurricane Sandy begins. (New York)

Business: House prices fall in October.

Sport: Nathan Sharpe wins Wallabies players' player award. (Rugby Union)