Barnett's Browse ultimatum – The Aus; Tourism backs Dixon over Joyce – The Fin; Pilbara lines may derail ore price – The Aus; Anti-uranium lobby storms Toro office – The West; CITIC denies grade problem at Sino Iron mine – The West
Barnett's Browse ultimatum
Colin Barnett has warned Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman and Shell Australia chairwoman Ann Pickard that he will insist the massive Browse gas project be developed onshore at James Price Point even if the $40 billion plan proves to be uneconomic. The Aus
Tourism backs Dixon over Joyce
The stand-off between Qantas Airways chief Alan Joyce and Tourism Australia chairman Geoff Dixon over the airline's future has widened, with the tourism body's board and the federal Tourism Minister backing Mr Dixon last night. The Fin
Pilbara lines may derail ore price
Construction of a new rail line through Western Australia’s resource-rich Pilbara region could drive down iron ore prices and force out of business the very mines the network would unlock, an exhaustive analysis of the iron ore industry has found. The Aus
Anti-uranium lobby storms Toro office
In a protest described by Toro Energy managing director Greg Hall as a disgraceful act of intimidation, anti-nuclear activists have stormed the company's West Perth office, signalling a major escalation in the simmering battle between protesters and uranium mining hopefuls. The West
CITIC denies grade problem at Sino Iron mine
CITIC Pacific has hosed down speculation the company's Sino Iron project in the Pilbara faces operational issues amid talk the troubled $8 billion iron ore venture may be unable to produce the planned-for grade of magnetite concentrate. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: West Australians are leading the online shopping revolution – and most of us are doing it while we are at work.
Page 4: Storm causes chaos across Perth, South West.
Page 7: One of the key business leaders behind the defeated “yes” daylight saving campaign in 2009 has conceded the idea will not be revived, but urged firms to take their own steps to engineer a closer time zone with the east coast.
Page 9: Aboriginal landowners have applied to the state government for an aerial cull of more than 10,000 brumbies they say are endangering the local community and causing devastating environmental damage to pastoral land.
Page 10: Julie Bishop has come under sustained attack from the federal government after it was revealed union bagman Ralph Blewitt spoke to her on more than the one occasion she had previously admitted.
Margaret River council last night approved a bid for a new fast food outlet in the town centre amid overwhelming opposition from the community.
Page 11: Almost 50,000 HBF policyholders face a premium rise of up to $520 a year because of fresh federal government plans to cut back the 30 per cent rebate, WA's dominant health fund warns.
Page 14: Perth's high hotel room rates are set to soar by another third over the next three years, according to the latest forecasts of Deloitte Access Economics.
A local contractor is employing three tradespeople an hour in a bid to fill 600 vacancies by Christmas, in the first stage of a campaign to find thousands of workers.
Page 17: Treasurer Troy Buswell's mid-year financial review is shaping up as a pre-election “mini budget” with the Barnett government set to announce new spending commitments to as-yet unfunded transport projects.
Page 19: Qantas has scrapped its 40-year relationship with Tourism Australia, alleging a conflict of interests with its chairman, former Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, who the airline claims is part of a group committed to unravelling the carrier's strategies.
Business: In a protest described by Toro Energy managing director Greg Hall as a disgraceful act of intimidation, anti-nuclear activists have stormed the company's West Perth office, signalling a major escalation in the simmering battle between protesters and uranium mining hopefuls.
CITIC Pacific has hosed down speculation the company's Sino Iron project in the Pilbara faces operational issues amid talk the troubled $8 billion iron ore venture may be unable to produce the planned-for grade of magnetite concentrate.
Peet has become the latest WA property group to incur the wrath of investors after encountering a big protest vote against pay-related matters at its annual meeting.
Woodside Petroleum has appointed the former boss of a company trying to mine copper and gold from the sea floor after Papua New Guinea to take charge of its Sunrise LNG development.
Premier Colin Barnett has issued a blunt warning to Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman and Shell Australia chair Ann Pickard that he expects the $40 billion Browse gas project to be built onshore at James Price Point.
Crucial investments from British-based property mogul Graham Edwards have reinvigorated Navigator Resources in a bid to turn around its flagging operations at the Bronzewing gold mine, new managing director Andy Tudor says.
Investors have wiped about $90 million from the value of NRW Holdings after the contractor warned tighter margins would see annual profit fall by up to 20 per cent.
Local gold producer Regis Resources' positive share price run looks like continuing today after the miner announced it was now debt-free and confirmed it would pay a maiden dividend next year.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The stand-off between Qantas Airways chief Alan Joyce and Tourism Australia chairman Geoff Dixon over the airline's future has widened, with the tourism body's board and the federal Tourism Minister backing Mr Dixon last night.
Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson has cast doubt over whether the Gillard government should keep doling out billions of dollars in superannuation tax breaks that favour wealthy individuals at the expense of most Australians.
The industry hit hardest by internet piracy, music, is about to pass a historic turning point: sales of music downloads will overtake CD and vinyl sales for the first time in Australia this year.
Page 3: The Gillard government is close to announcing an extension of the commercial television licence fee rebate in a move that will come as a relief to the embattled Ten Network.
Page 4: The Victorian and West Australian governments have criticised the federal schools funding reform bill as impinging on states rights ahead of being asked to contribute billions of dollars to the changes.
Page 6: The committed new investment in Australia's resources and energy major projects has increased to a record $268.4 billion, the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics has revealed, but a mining lobby says a much bigger potential sum is at risk.
Page 15: China's “backbone” electricity supplier State Grid Corp is set to buy a $500 million stake in South Australian electricity supplier ElectraNet from the Queensland government in the first major investment by a Chinese group in an Australian utility.
The head of Rupert Murdoch's media operations in Australia has said that next year's split of News Corp will increase attention on the viability of local newspapers, such as The Australian and the Herald Sun.
Page 17: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has applied further pressure on the Browse joint venture partners to process gas from the $40 billion project onshore, warning Woodside Petroleum that it will be firmly held to the terms of its operating licence.
BlueScope Steel has asked Australian Customs authorities to impose penalties against coated-steel exporters in China, which alleges are unfairly subsidised by their government.
Page 22: JB HI-FI chief executive Terry Smart has hit back at critics of the company's expansion into home appliances, saying the retailer must explore opportunities to grow and augment its core consumer electronics business.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard admitted during a secret internal probe to writing to a government department to help overcome its objections to the creation of an association for her then boyfriend and client, union official Bruce Wilson.
The Liberal Party will stagger into the election year of 2013 without a candidate on the ground in Labor’s most marginal seat in NSW.
Changes to superannuation tax breaks worth billions of dollars are back on the agenda after Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson challenged their equity and their cost to the budget.
Page 2: John Howard has branded Julia Gillard’s backdown over her push to vote no for UN observer status for Palestine as an ‘‘embarrassment’’ as the issue reignited internal criticisms within the government about the Prime Minister’s judgement and leadership style.
Tax rules must be reviewed to prevent avoidance by companies that buy Australian farms and businesses, a Senate committee has urged in a report that steps up the row over overseas ownership.
Page 4: Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce yesterday defended his strategy to turn around his ailing airline as he ended a 40-year relationship with Tourism Australia and accused chairman and former mentor Geoff Dixon of a conflict of interest.
The childcare sector is gearing up for a fight with the federal government over its edict that each centre have at least one university-qualified teacher by 2014.
Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating has called for the compulsory superannuation guarantee contribution to be increased from the proposed 12 per cent to 15 per cent to fund the growing proportion of retirees older than 80.
Page 5: The number of people on the dole has grown at a staggering level over the past year, bolstering a push by welfare groups for a $50-a-week rise in Newstart on the eve of the release today of a Senate report into the allowance.
Nearly one in four of the nation’s working women in their 50s is on the public sector payroll, new analysis has revealed.
Page 6: Labor has attacked the integrity of Julia Gillard’s main accusers in the AWU ‘‘slush fund’’ affair, with Climate Change Minister Greg Combet questioning Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop’s morality as a lawyer for an asbestos miner and the Prime Minister denigrating former talkback host Michael Smith.
The peak union body is stepping up its fight for sweeping wage negotiations that cover entire industries or employer groups, as it takes aim at ‘‘offensive’’ claims about workplace relations from one of the federal government’s top economic advisers.
Page 8: Australia has become mesmerised by China and the US alliance, according to the lead author of a report on southeast Asia to be launched today.
Business: Colin Barnett has warned Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman and Shell Australia chairwoman Ann Pickard that he will insist the massive Browse gas project be developed onshore at James Price Point even if the $40 billion plan proves to be uneconomic.
American coal giant Alpha Natural Resources has credited Australia’s rising costs, driven by the carbon and mining taxes and Queensland’s royalty hikes, for boosting the US position in the global coking coal market.
The unwinding of Nathan Tinkler’s empire is likely to extend to his key $560 million shareholding in Whitehaven Coal if he fails to make a loan payment to creditors by the end of the week.
The pipeline of the nation’s advanced resources projects has risen to a record value for all the wrong reasons.
Construction of a new rail line through Western Australia’s resource-rich Pilbara region could drive down iron ore prices and force out of business the very mines the network would unlock, an exhaustive analysis of the iron ore industry has found.
Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi is rebranding the last of its struggling Clive Anthony home appliance stores as JB Hi-Fi HOME in an effort to distance itself from the collapsed whitegoods chain.
The pace of growth in online spending has almost doubled over the course of the year and it now accounts for $12.3 billion in annual sales, according to the National Australia Bank online retail sales index for October.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: All accused people facing NSW courts will get a chance at bail through the use of a risk-assessment model.
Page 2: The incorporation of an AWU slush fund was enabled by the prime minister, who claimed the fund had no union links, a newly released document shows.
Page 3: Scientists say the release of methane and other gases from the Arctic will make it hard to meet human greenhouse gas emissions cuts.
Business: Tourism Australia has backed its chairman Geoff Dixon in the standoff between the tourism body and Qantas.
World: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will submit a bid to the UN to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority, thumbing Israeli threats to abandon the Oslo Accords and defying Barack Obama.
Sport: Australian cricket selectors have been told fastbowler Peter Siddle is a high injury risk for the final test match against South Africa.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith has revealed 174 electronic home detention bracelets worn by criminals malfunctioned in the first nine months of 2012, 18 of which were worn by dangerous sexual offenders.
Page 3: A Family Court judge has ordered a woman to allow her eight-year-old daughter to receive conventional immunisations, rejecting the woman's homeopathic remedies.
Page 4: Tensions have developed in the Labor party over Julia Gillard's decision not to vote against Palestine in an upcoming UN ballot.
Business: JB Hi-Fi will start selling whitegoods in a bid to get a slice of Australia's $4 billion homewares market.
World: UN ambassador Susan Rice apologised for failing to call attacks on Libya's US consulate a terrorist act.
Sport: NRL's All Stars game may be boycotted by players frustrated over delays in finalising the new salary cap.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: The Adelaide Football Club will plead guilty to all charges at the AFL Commission on Friday.
Page 3: Emergency and disaster officials have warned people not to reply on inaccurate social media sources for their heatwave and bushfire planning this summer as the state braces for another extreme fire danger day.
World: A retired Marine Corps colonel has denied a three-star general directed the harsh pre-trial confinement of an army private charged with passing teams of classified documents to the secret-spilling website WikiLeaks.
Business: Qantas's decision to suspend its partnership with Tourism Australia was required to protect the airline's interests, chief executive Alan Joyce says.
Sport: Club great Warren Tredrea says Port Adelaide should abandon plans to draft Liam Jurrah.
