Push to put GST review on agenda – The Fin; MPs condemn state deal with Zhongfu – The Aus; Another Pilbara miner sheds jobs as costs bite – The West; Wesfarmers tips retail boost – The Aus; Forrest banks on continued Chinese boom – The Aus
Push to put GST review on agenda
Two of the key independent MPs keeping the federal Labor government in power want the goods and services tax reviewed and tax benefits for the middle class and business cut to fund the government's education, dental and disability policies. The Fin
MPs condemn state deal with Zhongfu
Furious federal Liberal, Nationals and Australian Party MPs yesterday joined with West Australian Labor politicians to condemn the awarding of a prized 50-year ‘‘food bowl’’ development lease in Australia’s north to a private Chinese corporation. The Aus
Another Pilbara miner sheds jobs as costs bite
Ukrainian billionaire Gennadiy Bogolyubov's Consolidated Minerals has become the latest Pilbara operator to slash its workforce, with the manganese and chromite mine chopping jobs at both of its WA mines. The West
Wesfarmers tips retail boost
Richard Goyder, chief executive of Perth-based Wesfarmers — the largest private sector employer in Australia — is optimistic that rising consumer confidence sparked by lower interest rates will produce a stronger Christmas trading period for the nation’s retailers. The Aus
Forrest banks on continued Chinese boom
Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has made the bold prediction that China’s economic performance in the next decade will be ‘‘the best that we’ve seen’’, as the miner declared iron ore prices should remain above $US120 a tonne for some time. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The dire state of WA's overstretched and under-resourced public mental health services was laid bare yesterday in a damning report that shows the system is failing people and costing lives.
Page 3: Just three year 12 students were enrolled to sit the state two biology exam this year, compared with 1691 doing the same subject at stage three level, highlighting ongoing problems with WA's senior school system.
Page 6: The state government is facing renewed pressure to spend significantly on mental health, after the much-anticipated Stokes review found a system struggling to meet demand.
Page 7: Australia and the US will fast-track the deployment of a multi-million dollar radar system to WA's north to keep track of the growing amount of junk floating in orbit around the Earth.
Page 9: Colin Barnett concedes state and Commonwealth taxpayers will not see a commensurate return for their $512 million investment in the Ord Stage 2 expansion but says the project is justified because it will create indigenous jobs and develop WA's north.
Page 11: Businessman John Kizon says a landmark High Court decision that could force him into a retrial on insider trading charges should frighten “every punter on St Georges Terrace”.
Page 12: WA Liberal Ken Wyatt says it was unhelpful of Tony Abbott to describe him as an “urban Aboriginal”, saying all Aboriginal Australians are authentic wherever they live.
Page 15: Former WA treasurer and opposition leader Eric Ripper has called for private competition in WA's water market and an extensive review into the rental crisis gripping Perth.
Page 17: Pre-primary education has been made compulsory in WA after a Bill was passed in Parliament yesterday to ensure 13 years of compulsory schooling.
Page 26: Colin Barnett yesterday guaranteed no-one would be worse off following a review of pay rates in more than 200 state awards, affecting more than 100,000 workers.
Business: Sugar cane growers have backed moves by the Chinese company to revive the industry in WA under a lease agreement with the state government which will give it control of 15,000 hectares of prized Ord River farmland.
WA billionaire Ralph Sarich has continued his hot streak in technology stocks, turning a $10 million plunge on Perth-based Amcom Telecommunications and Michael Malone's iiNet into more than $34 million in under three years.
Ukrainian billionaire Gennadiy Bogolyubov's Consolidated Minerals has become the latest Pilbara operator to slash its workforce, with the manganese and chromite mine chopping jobs at both of its WA mines.
Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power says he is very confident the company will resume construction of its 40 million tonne a year Kings mine in the Pilbara, based on the recovery in the iron ore price.
WA's booming expatriate community will be targeted by global banking giant HSBC as part of an aggressive move into the WA market.
Mining industry veteran Michael Kiernan has been hit with an $8.4 million tax bill, with the Australian Taxation Office lodging a writ in the Supreme Court this week claiming the former Consolidated Minerals boss failed to pay $5.9 million tax in the 2007-08 financial year.
Wesfarmers is confident of “a half reasonable” Christmas trading period for its retail businesses but has reinforced the investor concerns around its coal operation by confirming a hefty financial hit.
Iron Ore Holdings is no longer considering acquiring new assets, preferring to conserve its $98 million cash balance to develop its own assets.
Future Fund chairman David Gonski has urged Australian business leaders to embrace the United State's corporate citizen model, saying more directors should go from corporate life into public service roles.
Mining contractor MACA has unveiled about $450 million in new work this month but its share price has been treading water in an unforgiving market.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Two of the key independent MPs keeping the federal Labor government in power want the goods and services tax reviewed and tax benefits for the middle class and business cut to fund the government's education, dental and disability policies.
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting will formally begin asking lenders for $7 billion in debt financing for the Roy Hill iron ore project within days, although scepticism remains that the mine can be built in the current tough market.
Former prime minister Paul Keating has blasted Prime Minister Julia Gillard over foreign policy and warned that Australia's objectives have been surrendered to the United States, in a scathing critique that overshadowed Australia-US foreign and defence policy talks in Perth.
Page 3: Prime Minister Julia Gillard must explain if she was given $5,000 in 1995 by her then partner, union leader Bruce Wilson, Liberal deputy leader Julie Bishop said last night.
Page 6: Chevron only has itself to blame for any cost blowout at its massive Gorgon liquefied natural gas project, says the head of the West Australian arm of the Maritime Union of Australia.
Page 7: BHP Billiton predicts lower iron ore prices in future and more volatility as it ponders whether it should build an outer harbour at Port Hedland.
WorleyParsons has warned that sloppy management practices have driven rising costs on large resources developments, and branded Perth as “close to being the most expensive place for engineering in the world”.
Page 8: Fortescue Metals Group says it is under no time pressure as it explores a potential sale of infrastructure assets and that any deal is unlikely to involve giving up control of its Pilbara rail network.
The oil and gas industry has blasted the surprise move by the federal government for a cash-bidding system for offshore petroleum exploration licences, warning it will reduce funds available for drilling.
Page 10: Thousands of companies face more red tape and increased costs when they are forced to select new default superannuation funds for their employees under planned reforms to how compulsory contributions are allocated.
The federal government must get its budget into surplus by 2014 to help avoid triggering a downgrade of its AAA credit rating, according to the global director of public finance at Standard and Poors.
Page 13: Consumer confidence jumped to a 19-month high after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept official cash rates on hold on Cup day, supporting the view that October's interest rate cut may have had the perverse effect of dampening sentiment.
Page 21: Conditions for Australia's housing construction market have passed the worst, CSR managing director Rob Sindel said, pointing to higher finance approval figures, state government stimulus packages and evidence of a turnaround.
Emirates president Tim Clark has endorsed the five-year restructuring plan of Qantas chief Alan Joyce, and questioned the notion that a group of the Australian airline's former top executive sand financial backers could do more to turn around the unprofitable Qantas International.
Page 23: Sales have continued to grow as Wesfarmers's key retail chains this fiscal year, but the conglomerate has warned that lower coal prices, higher taxes and the strong dollar will significantly dent resource earnings.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Australia and the US must show China that their growing military alliance is good for the region and ‘‘the Pacific is big enough for all of us’’, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has declared.
The AWU official who first brought allegations that union money had been spent on renovations to Julia Gillard’s house to the attention of corruption fighter Ian Cambridge has now cast doubt on his recollections.
Page 2: Furious federal Liberal, Nationals and Australian Party MPs yesterday joined with West Australian Labor politicians to condemn the awarding of a prized 50-year ‘‘food bowl’’ development lease in Australia’s north to a private Chinese corporation.
Tony Abbott is seeking to make support for small business an election issue, despite government attacks on his plans to wind back small business tax breaks.
The cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme is set to blow out by at least $7 billion a year despite more than one million people with a recognised disability missing out on NDIS-funded support.
Page 6: Tony Abbott’s characterisation of the first indigenous member of the House of Representatives, Ken Wyatt, as an ‘‘urban Aboriginal’’ has sparked a fresh culture war led by Aborigines who have mocked tokenistic markers.
Page 8: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took time from the wrap-up of defence talks in Perth yesterday to make assurances that the widening US military scandal will not affect the mission in Afghanistan.
Business: Richard Goyder, chief executive of Perth-based Wesfarmers — the largest private sector employer in Australia — is optimistic that rising consumer confidence sparked by lower interest rates will produce a stronger Christmas trading period for the nation’s retailers.
Optus has said it may continue to shed staff after revealing it is still struggling to keep its earnings out of negative territory.
US oil major Chevron and its joint venture partners in the $43 billion West Australian Gorgon liquefied natural gas offshore project have refused to hose down speculation they are facing a $20bn cost blowout that would dwarf anything in the country previously announced.
Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has declared that ‘‘time will tell’’ whether Labor should dump its nuclear policy, despite growing recommendations the government should adopt the energy source.
Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has made the bold prediction that China’s economic performance in the next decade will be ‘‘the best that we’ve seen’’, as the miner declared iron ore prices should remain above $US120 a tonne for some time.
BHP Billiton’s proposal to develop the Olympic Dam mine using leaching technology has already been covered by the project’s original Environmental Impact Statement, according to the South Australian government.
BHP Billiton has agreed to sell its stake in the Ekati diamond mine in Canada for $US500 million ($478m), bringing sales in the past three months to $US2.84 billion as the mining giant continues to rid itself of assets it does not consider ‘‘tier one’’.
Australian company directors are more pessimistic now than at any time in the past two years as they wrestle with a slowdown in the Chinese economy, budget cuts and a growing regulatory burden.
A weak housing market and a sluggish aluminium price has forced CSR to take a 60 per cent hit to its first-half profit and slash interim dividend.
Fairfax Media has offloaded its US rural media business for $US79.9 million ($76.4m) following pressure from shareholder Gina Rinehart.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Police officers involved in the death of a Brazilian student who was tasered 14 times face possible charges after the NSW Coroner handed down a scathing finding into the incident.
Page 2: Confidential documents made by a lawyer for the Obeid family, shown to the Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry, revealed that the Obeids knew about a government expressions of interest (EOI) process to open up coal mining in the Bylong Valley months before the EOI was issued.
Page 3: Former Prime Minister Paul Keating has accused the federal government of eroding Australia's foreign policy influence by clinging to the United States.
World: After a year of scandals, the administration of China's General Secretary Hu Jintao and the Premier Wen Jiabao begin a handover to a new team led by their deputies.
Business: Deep cuts in interest rates have raised hopes of a retail recovery in the lead-up to Christmas.
Sport: Cricketer Shane Watson's chances of featuring in next week's second Test against South Africa have plummeted.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Sydney and Melbourne race clubs have withheld almost $600,000 from Nathan Tinkler's racehorse winnings.
Page 2: Labor MPs are reportedly considering raising the Australian Workers Union scandal with Julia Gillard.
Page 3: Convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby's bid for early release from Bali's Kerobokan jail has been put on hold indefinitely.
World: US President Barack Obama has publicly backed General John Allen after the general was dragged into the sex scandal that saw former CIA director General David Petraeus resign.
Business: Deep cuts in interest rates have raised hopes of a retail recovery in the lead-up to Christmas.
Sport: Benji Marshall's manager says he will seek an immediate release from the player's NRL contract so that he can pursue opportunities in Japan.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Former prime minister Paul Keating says Australia's foreign policy has been too influenced by our alliance with the United States and at the expense of our Asian neighbours. A brother from the St John of God order at the centre of least seven abuse allegations between 1975 and the 1990s was reported to officials in Rome, but not to police or his victims' families. Museum Victoria will receive its first full humpback whale skeleton on Thursday. Auditor-General says the the Baillieu government's budget surplus was built on a series of risky decisions to siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from publicly-owned agencies.
Page 2: Former Catholic priest David Rapson blamed God for his sexual abuses of children at Salesian College in Rupertswood, a court hears. Nicola Roxon flags that royal commission on child sex abuse might become a joint federal-state venture. Pell lawyers apply to a Melbourne judge to inspect a court file from a trial of convicted pedophile and Catholic brother Robert Charles Best.
Page 3: Auditor-General says Melbourne Water could face severe debt problems because of its obligation to repay the $230 million it overcharged customers. Lawyers say Victorian government laws to crack down on bikies are a serious assault on civil liberties. Arts Minister Simon Crean to inject $20 million into computer game industry.
World: Chinese handover of leadership on Thursday likened to the rise and fall of dynasties.
Business: Interest rate cuts gaining traction as consumer confidence jumps in the lead-up to Christmas.
Sport: Adelaide-Kurt Tippett secret pay agreement scandal claims another victim with the club's football boss Phil Harper charged by the AFL.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Teachers to be given the right to pull unruly parents into line or their kids won't be enrolled in school.
Page 2: The Voice singer Rachael Leahcar hopes a new bionic eye under development in Melbourne will be able to restore her sight.
Page 3: Rabbit orphanage looking for new homes for its abandoned pets. Speculation that up to 10 jockeys have bet on horses through third parties.
World: Radical Islamist preacher Abu Qatada is released from prison in the UK after judges rule against his extradition to Jordan.
Finance: Consumer confidence lifts to its highest level since early last year despite a wage growth slowdown.
Sport: North rocked by Brian Cook's decision to remain chief executive at Geelong.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Former PM Paul Keating has blasted the federal government for eroding Australia's foreign policy relations with Asia.
Page 2: Pipe-fitter at $550 million Nishi apartment complex says he lost his job after raising safety issues.
Page 3: ACT Labor Party officials warned the Greens to lift their game in final weeks before October election.
World: US President Barack Obama backs the top American commander in Afghanistan after the four-star general was dragged into a sex scandal that brought down CIA director David Petraeus.
Business: Sydney airport chairman squares off against his Qantas counterpart over the need for a second airport in the city.
Sport: Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has called for a yearly plan to protect stars such as David Pocock from running them into the ground.