Reform tax or risk our prosperity – The Fin; PM facing rebellion in the ranks – The Aus; Labor decades behind us on Asia links, says Barnett – The Aus; Trade shortage to hit new home build times – The West; Barnett slams Shell as LNG tensions rise – The Aus
Reform tax or risk our prosperity
The federal government has been told by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to fix the tax system or expose Australians to a crunch in living standards from the end of the commodity price boom. The Fin
PM facing rebellion in the ranks
Julia Gillard’s grip on her ministry and the backbench has slipped after the Prime Minister faced a cabinet rebellion and successful caucus revolt over foreign policy on Israel and Palestine, as well as a debilitating failure to make a decision on media reforms. The Aus
Labor decades behind us on Asia links, says Barnett
Colin Barnett has savaged the Gillard government’s ‘‘simplistic’’ and ‘‘patronising’’ white paper on the Asian Century, declaring Western Australia was 20 years ahead of Canberra in forging links in the region. The Aus
Trade shortage to hit new home build times
WA faces the worst trade shortage the home building industry has seen, with builders warning construction times could double in the next 12 months. The West
Barnett slams Shell as LNG tensions rise
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has confirmed for the first time that Royal Dutch Shell is pushing to develop the enormous Browse gasfield through its revolutionary floating liquefied natural gas solution, as tensions between the state government and the international oil and gas giant continue to rise. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: WA faces the worst trade shortage the home building industry has seen, with builders warning construction times could double in the next 12 months.
Page 3: The Corruption and Crime Commission is assessing allegations of misconduct against police arising from the Rayney murder trial after receiving a notification from WA police.
Page 4: Julia Gillard's union boss former boyfriend Bruce Wilson says his former bagman Ralph Blewitt packaged up money allegedly defrauded from several companies 20 years ago and buried it in his backyard.
Colin Barnett has savaged the federal government's Asian Century white paper, calling it simplistic, patronising and lacking in analysis or objectivity.
Page 7: The grain harvest hit top gear yesterday as farmers raced to beat the rain and protect crops estimated to bring $3.3 billion to the WA economy.
The agency responsible for managing Perth's most important drinking water source – the Gnangara groundwater system – has admitted it does not know how much water from the aquifer is squandered.
Page 14: The Barnett government could never again question the legitimacy of the carbon tax after using it to remove greenhouse conditions from the Kimberley gas hub, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said yesterday.
Page 27: Forcing small councils to amalgamate could lead to local government being dominated by big political parties, a community forum has been told.
Page 28: Subcontractors who are owed tens of millions of dollars for work they did under a national building program have hired high profile lawyer John Hammond to represent them in a looming class action against the state government.
Business: Media and mining services mogul Kerry Stokes has backed a $700 million plunge by Chinese investors to grow sugar on the banks of the Ord River as a maturing of Australia's relationship with Asia.
Emerging wave power play Carnegie Energy is poised to capitalise on a landmark WA defence contract, with speculation it will appoint Mike Fitzpatrick to its board and tap wealthy investors for about $3.5 million in fresh development capital.
Premier Colin Barnett has called on the broader Browse Basin gas industry to shoulder more of the load in developing a land-backed processing hub at James Price Point, saying they could help cap surging capital costs and unlock new fields.
Sandfire Resources' first annual meeting since it started mining was not a happy one for shareholders, with the copper and gold producer registering a strong protest vote against the only two directors up for re-election.
Wyllie Group is cashed up, buoyant and ready to buy after a major property sale and a four-fold increase in annual profit.
The new chair of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Women in Mining network fears gender imbalance in the industry may get worse because more women than men have lost their jobs in the latest round of layoffs.
A Singapore company's takeover bid for Neptune Marine Services was cleverly timed to take advantage of a revamp before its benefits were realised, Neptune shareholders have been told.
Resolute Mining does not expect a quick turnaround from its investment in Noble Mineral Resources, with chief executive Peter Sullivan warning it will take significant effort to turn around Noble's Bibiani operations in Ghana.
The promise of an uninterrupted view of play from the western boundary of the WACA has clinched a spate of sales for an apartment project to be built at the famous cricket ground.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The federal government has been told by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to fix the tax system or expose Australians to a crunch in living standards from the end of the commodity price boom.
Bruce Wilson, Prime Minister Julia Gillard's former partner, last night declared there was nothing wrong with setting up a union slush fund with Ms Gillard's help that was used to buy a house for him to live in.
Shell Australia head Ann Pickard dismissed West Australian Premier Colin Barnett's criticism of the company's floating liquefied natural gas technology and said it could be the saviour of the local industry.
Page 3: General Motors says a Coalition win at the next federal election could affect its plans to spend $1 billion building and selling two new car models in Australia up to 2022.
Seven Network's outgoing veteran news and current affairs head Peter Meakin, 70, attributes his success to hiring people smarter than him.
Page 10: The West Australian government says it doesn't support federal legislation to introduce the national disability insurance scheme, describing the bill as too prescriptive and likely to set the state back 30 years to a time when people with disabilities had little control over their support services.
Page 13: A group of 22 male chief executives including Alan Joyce, Elmer Funke Kupper, Ian Narev, Mike Smith and David Thodey, called for all companies to set targets on improving female representation in corporate leadership positions.
Page 15: UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti has warned that increased regulation will put pressure on investment banking returns for years to come unless banks adopt simpler and smaller business models.
Brickworks independent director Robert Webster has declared the board's door open to all proposals advocating a potential break-up of the cross shareholding between the brickmaking company and Washington H Soul Pattinson.
Page 17: Canning Basin explorer Buru Energy says its landmark gas deal with the West Australian government has the potential to open up the remote region both for domestic gas sales and, in the longer term, for LNG exports.
One worker has died and a further 10 remain in hospital after an industrial accident at a chemical plant outside Shanghai, owned by Perth miner Galaxy Resources.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard’s grip on her ministry and the backbench has slipped after the Prime Minister faced a cabinet rebellion and successful caucus revolt over foreign policy on Israel and Palestine, as well as a debilitating failure to make a decision on media reforms.
Former union boss Bruce Wilson said last night $100,000 from an association, which was set up with legal advice from his then girlfriend Julia Gillard, was used to buy a house in Melbourne where the future prime minister would stay ‘‘from time to time’’.
Page 2: Colin Barnett has savaged the Gillard government’s ‘‘simplistic’’ and ‘‘patronising’’ white paper on the Asian Century, declaring Western Australia was 20 years ahead of Canberra in forging links in the region.
The system of distributing billions of dollars to the states and territories via national partnership deals needs to be overhauled to cut red tape and provide greater economic certainty, according to an inquiry by the Victorian parliament.
Page 4: Regional universities made an offer to almost every person who applied this year, while the proportion of school-leavers who gained a place with a university entrance score under 50 has more than doubled in three years.
The big shoes of Seven Network news and current affairs boss Peter Meakin have been filled by not one but two replacements after he yesterday announced he would step down from the role.
Native title claims across the country will be thrown into ‘‘legal chaos’’ next year after Attorney General Nicola Roxon axed funding for a 16-year-old scheme that provides legal representation for pastoralists, attracting the ire of politicians and farmers groups.
Page 6: The political fight over union ethics is set to persist into the election year as Tony Abbott seeks to impose criminal sanctions on union leaders when parliament resumes in February.
Former Australian Workers Union employee Wayne Hem stands by his claim that Bruce Wilson told him to deposit $5000 into Julia Gillard’s account after the Prime Minister on Monday declared she could not remember such a transaction.
Page 10: The nation’s biggest energy retailer has warned there is ‘‘considerable’’ risk that moves to reduce the oversupply of carbon units in the EU’s emissions trading scheme will drive up Australian carbon prices.
Business: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has confirmed for the first time that Royal Dutch Shell is pushing to develop the enormous Browse gasfield through its revolutionary floating liquefied natural gas solution, as tensions between the state government and the international oil and gas giant continue to rise.
Australia and India need to do more business together, particularly in the technology sector, the head of India’s largest conglomerate, Ratan Tata said last night.
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman has ruled out investing in the emerging east African oil and gas industry, declaring the company will focus instead on being an ‘‘early mover’’ in cheaper frontier nations such as Myanmar.
Activist investor Mark Carnegie has urged directors of Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson to engage with fund manager Perpetual about unlocking a long-standing cross-shareholding that directors say cannot be easily broken.
Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power has backed China’s new leadership regime to continue moving the country along its economic growth path, with the urbanisation of its interior set to boost the country’s demand for Australian iron ore.
China's slowing growth and an expected move away from big infrastructure projects are highlighting the appeal of BHP Billiton’s range of revenue streams — including oil — compared with its iron ore-reliant rival Rio Tinto.
The head of the Australia China Business Council says Chinese companies have an opportunity to counter fears of foreign investment in Australia by increasingly engaging with local communities as they develop mining or agricultural projects.
Some of Australia’s top chief executives — including Grant O’Brien from Woolworths, Qantas boss Alan Joyce, Telstra’s David Thodey and ANZ’s Mike Smith — have called for more companies to set targets for promoting women into leadership positions.
Woolworths has completed the $20 million sale of consumer electronics chain Dick Smith to private equity group Anchorage Capital.
Australia is expected to be one of the fastest-growing economies for the next two years as the rest of the advanced world struggles with the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Julia Gillard has withdrawn Australia's support for Israel in a UN vote after being warned her leadership would be at risk if she pushed ahead.
Page 2: Consumers do not understand smart meters and that is the problem with them, according to an RMIT University researcher who studied NSW energy consumption.
Page 3: The CFMEU state secretary says a crane that caught fire and then toppled over in Sydney's CBD was an accident "waiting to happen".
Business: More Australian retailers will go broke next year after the Christmas sales end, according to Harvey Norman executive director Gerry Hardy.
World: The decision of Israel's defence minister to retire will bring to an end the career of a man who has been at the core of the country's military establishment for more than half a century.
Sport: Australian cricket great Steve Waugh says it would be an honour to share his record as Australia's most capped Test player with Ricky Ponting.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Julia Gillard's leadership was almost undermined after a cabinet revolt forcing her to abandon plans to support Israel in an upcoming UN vote.
Page 2: A 40-year partnership with Tourism Australia has been abandoned by QANTAS amid allegations of sabotage.
Page 3: One man is dead and another fighting for his life after a shooting in Punchbowl.
Business: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has warned a major recession "cannot be ruled out" in the next two years.
World: The Nobel Prize doctor who performed the world's first successful kidney transplant has died at 93.
Sport: Australian selectors still want Ricky Ponting to tour England next year despite a performance slump, says coach and selector Mickey Arthur.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: Free outdoor wi-fi is set to be rolled out across the Adelaide city square by the end of next year, in an Australian first.
Page 3: Holden boss Mike Devereux has warned voters they will face an election choice between keeping an Australian automotive industry or allowing it to fold at the cost of thousands of jobs.
World: The remains of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were exhumed from his grave yesterday so that international forensic experts could search for additional clues to his death.
Business: Gerry Harvey believes his Harvey Norman chain will be "the last man standing" as other retailers go bust due to tough trading conditions.
Sport: Port Adelaide has put strict conditions on drafting Liam Jurrah.
