Today's Business Headlines

Labor ends year behind as run stalls

Voter support for Labor and Julia Gillard has fallen after the final week of parliament, ending the government’s recent momentum and allowing Tony Abbott to edge closer as the nation’s preferred prime minister. The Aus

LNG exports to hit domestic gas prices

Australia faces spiralling gas prices and a domestic shortage by 2016 unless new reserves are opened up for production, according to the official energy forecaster. The Fin

Buswell sues Carles over new allegations

Troy Buswell is suing his former partner, Fremantle MP Adele Carles, for defamation over the latest claims made about the WA Treasurer's behaviour. The West

Macmahon weighs WA building exit

Mining and civil contractor Macmahon Holdings is mulling an exit from the West Australian construction sector as it prepares a rescue raising of about $100 million after two problem contracts led to profit downgrades and write-downs. The Fin

Standing order: no sitting down on the job

Staff working on Chevron's $US52 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project have been banned from using chairs and told not to sit down during their shifts in a bid to improve productivity on Australia's biggest resources development. The Fin

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:

Page 3: Troy Buswell is suing his former partner, Fremantle MP Adele Carles, for defamation over the latest claims made about the WA Treasurer's behaviour.

The Liberal Party backbench was largely – but not exclusively – supportive of Troy Buswell, saying he did not deserve to lose his portfolios over the latest allegations of poor behaviour.

Page 4: WA fly-in, fly-out workers are being warned they face fines and docked pay if they call in sick over the Christmas period, with staff on one mine site told the only excuse for not turning up to work was “death”.

Page 7: Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has called for an investigation into the taxi industry, claiming passengers are being subjected to poor service and high fares.

Page 10: Woodside faces further delays to its $40 billion Browse gas project after the environmental watchdog said it would seek legal advice over bungled state government efforts to compulsory acquire land at James Price Point.

WA-based proponents of a $1.5 billion theme park for the Swan Valley met state and local government authorities yesterday.

Page 17: Deep cuts in interest rates may do little to kickstart the economy because most Australians are likely to save the cash instead, research reveals.

Business: Macmahon Holdings may be on the verge of offloading its troubled construction arm to biggest shareholder Leighton Holdings.

WA's mining industry has called for a full review of resource development in the Kimberley, after Premier Colin Barnett appeared to rule out the development of a massive bauxite resource in the region owned by Rio Tinto and Alcoa.

Australia's gross domestic product could increase by $455 billion between now and 2035 if the full upside of the country's unprecedented oil and gas boom is realised.

Fremantle-based Carnegie Energy has won the race for Australia's first environmental approval of a wave power project, but yesterday's green light from WA's watchdog has swing the spotlight on streamlined approvals for the renewable energy sector.

The woodchip industry suffered another blow yesterday when Primary Securities Ltd moved to wind up a string of managed investment schemes near Bremer Bay on WA's south coast and Kangaroo Island in South Australia.

Mineral Resources could be in a position to double its own exports from the Pilbara within the next year, with the company filing environmental applications for a new mine this week.

Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power says the miner hopes to announce more asset sales within weeks after pulling in $190 million from the selldown of its Pilbara joint venture with BC Iron.

GPT Group, Australia's second biggest diversified real estate trust, has offered to buy Australand Property Group's industrial and commercial property assets and development business.

Atlas Iron shares jumped yesterday after the company said it had closed a $US325 million debt deal, lowering the cap on a term loan and dropping its repayment costs.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:

Page 1: Staff working on Chevron's $US52 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project have been banned from using chairs and told not to sit down during their shifts in a bid to improve productivity on Australia's biggest resources development.

Gas supplies could be so low within four years that shortages would become common, according to the official energy forecaster.

GPT Group's $3 billion bid for Australand's commercial and industrial property assets is likely to trigger a wave of consolidation across the industry, experts believe.

Almost 20 airlines, investors and industry consultants have rejected the NSW government's position that Kingsford Smith Airport can continue to meet demand and want a second airport in the Sydney basin fully operational well within a decade.

Page 3: Australia faces spiralling gas prices and a domestic shortage by 2016 unless new reserves are opened up for production, according to the official energy forecaster.

Page 5: Southern Cross Austereo is losing up to an estimated $180,000 a day from a self-imposed advertising ban on 2DayFM following the prank call that led to the death of a nurse in Britain.

Coles has hit back at the Transport Workers Union over claims that the retail giant uses its market power to drive down pay and conditions in the trucking sector, contributing to speeding, overweight loads and long working hours.

Page 6: Eight former executives of the Reserve Bank of Australia's note-printing subsidiaries facing criminal allegations of bribery have accused prosecutors of trying to ambush them with a new star witness signed under a secret government deal ahead of the trial.

Page 7: West Australian MP Adele Carles denied she is a “jilted lover” out for revenge after she described how her former partner, West Australian Treasurer Troy Buswell, embarrassed himself by pretending to have sex with a man after a drunken lunch with friends.

Page 9: The federal government's new pledge to reduce emissions under the Kyoto Protocol will not be legally binding under international law and amounts to no more than it was already planning to do.

Page 10: Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has conceded it would not necessarily have been possible to maintain a budget surplus in the wake of the global financial crisis, contradicting claims by opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne.

Members of the federal government's latest tax review say there are no easy answers to the global phenomenon of multinationals paying little tax, and a solution could take years.

Page 13: Mining and civil contractor Macmahon Holdings is mulling an exit from the West Australian construction sector as it prepares a rescue raising of about $100 million after two problem contracts led to profit downgrades and write-downs.

THE AUSTRALIAN:

Page 1: Voter support for Labor and Julia Gillard has fallen after the final week of parliament, ending the government’s recent momentum and allowing Tony Abbott to edge closer as the nation’s preferred prime minister.

He's in charge of Western Australia’s $238 billion economy, but Troy Buswell in the space of a few days has been accused by his former lover of ‘‘dry humping’’ a businessman and being an alcoholic with psychological issues – allegations he denies.

Australia's rush to become the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas exporter could lead to high prices and a shortfall in domestic supplies, leaving most of the country to rely on coal-fired electricity for the next 25 years.

ABC chairman and former top jurist Jim Spigelman has warned that a planned overhaul of discrimination law will impose unprecedented restrictions on free speech, including making it unlawful to offend people, leaving the nation isolated from international norms.

Page 3: The radio hosts whose prank call has been blamed for playing a part in the death of London nurse Jacintha Saldanha have sheeted home responsibility to 2Day FM management for letting their ‘‘innocent’’ act go to air.

Page 5: Retailers will be forced to reimburse transport operators required to wait unreasonable times to unload goods under a union plan to be put to an industrial tribunal.

Page 6: Australia faces a new deadline to reveal its contribution to a $100 billion climate change fund in the wake of a global deal that for the first time recognises the ‘‘loss and damage’’ to developing nations from greenhouse gas emissions.

Big business has expressed concern about whether the world’s biggest polluters will sign up to a comprehensive binding climate agreement by 2015.

Another mistake in acquiring land for Woodside’s Browse gas hub in the Kimberley has made targeted timeframes ‘‘tight’’, West Australian Lands Minister Brendon Grylls concedes.

Australia should delay formalising a deeper defence relationship with Japan, a leading academic and former senior defence official has warned.

Business: The $6.4 billion GPT Group has launched a conditional bid worth close to $2.8bn for the industrial and commercial property business of Australand Property Group in the largest takeover play in the listed real estate sector since before the global financial crisis.

Outgoing Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe will be taking a long-awaited break over Christmas and avoiding headhunters for at least three months before he decides what to do next.

Australia's LNG projects are becoming increasingly uncompetitive and the window of opportunity for new developments may have already closed, a leading analyst has warned.

The transfer of some of Australia’s largest and most valuable rural properties to foreign investors is continuing apace, with the sale of the once-largest rice farm in the nation to a US global agricultural fund.

China’s trade balance has fallen sharply, with the nation’s exports hit by the weak demand resulting from the global economic slowdown.

Fortescue Metals Group has sold half its stake in BC Iron’s Nullagine project to the junior miner for $190 million in a sign it is close to restarting its Kings project.

Mining services company Macmahon Holdings is looking to sever links with its past by offloading its construction business as it strives to rebuild value and renew investor confidence.

Mining companies that provide greater transparency about their true production costs run the risk of confusing and deterring potential investors, executives and fund managers have warned.

The international expansion of Woodside Petroleum under chief executive Peter Coleman has continued, with the company yesterday confirming it had picked up a second exploration permit off the coast of Myanmar.

Increased regulatory scrutiny of Woolworths’ land and store acquisitions is unlikely to slow the company’s expansion plans, according to a key institutional investor.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:

Page 1: High-risk drinking out of control in NSW, with a culture of "pre-loading" on alcohol leading to alcohol-related crime, violence and assault. Prime Minister Julia Gillard voted Australia's most influential woman. DJs shattered by the death of nurse after prank call.

Page 2: Brian Flannery was dismissive of a potential 78-fold rise in Cascade stock, the Independent Commission Against Corruption hears. Bonus for Australia Post staff shrinks.

Page 3: Two pedestrian crossings in Sydney's Oxford Street are to get a rainbow makeover in time for next year's Mardi Gras.

Business: Fallout from the 2Day FM prank call tragedy has hit Southern Cross Austereo, with a $1 million loss in advertising revenue in the past week.

World: Egyptian protesters refuse to back down.

Sport: Manchester United to play in Sydney in July next year.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:

Page 1: Deejays break down as they speak publicly about the royal hoax phone call. Manchester United visit a coup for NSW premier. Violent prisoner flees NSW after cutting off an electronic monitoring device.

Pages 2,3 and 4: 2Day FM deejays face the cameras for the first time after the death of a British nurse who received a prank phone call from them.

Page 5: Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has asked the people of NSW to join him at the funeral of Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson in Parramatta on Wednesday afternoon.

Business: Ten's shares have weakened amid doubts about its ability to reverse its fortunes.

World: Mexican-American music superstar Jenni Rivera dies in a plane crash.

Sport: ARL chairman John Grant has given players an ultimatum over the salary cap dispute.

THE AGE:

Page 1: Radio hosts say they just recorded the tragic royal phone prank and it was up to their departments to make a decision on whether it should go to air. Disconnections of gas and electricity soar in Victoria as households struggle to pay energy bills. Inquiry finds education system is failing gifted students.

Page 2: A state inquiry hears that two pedophiles were preying on the Jewish community with most members unaware of them. Bega schoolgirls killer Leslie Alfred Camilleri pleads guilty to the 20-year-old murder of teenager Prue Bird.

Page 3: Call for young people involved in sexting to be charged with lower-level offences rather than more serious child pornography offences. Australia in race to win control of two UN Security Council committees that monitor worldwide sanctions against al-Qaeda terrorists and Taliban insurgents. The Rischitelli siblings making a killing selling Christmas trees from outside their grandparents' home.

World: Egypt's opposition movement remains defiant against President Morsi and calls for another mass rally on Tuesday over the governments decision to press ahead with a controversial vote on the country's constitution.

Finance: 2Day FM radio prank triggers fall in Southern Cross Austereo share price as well as a $1-million-a-week crash in advertising revenue.

Sport: Kurt Tippett's road to Sydney Swans assured after the AFL told Brisbane and Greater Western Sydney they have no room in their salary caps to lure the ex-Crow.

THE HERALD SUN:

Page 1: Shattered radio hosts make an emotional plea to reach out to nurse Jacintha Saldanha's grieving family after their royal prank call ended in tragedy.

Page 2: Bega schoolgirls killer Leslie Alfred Camilleri pleads guilty to murdering 13-year-old Prue Bird 20 years ago. Concerns for ill Nelson Mandela, who has stopped talking amid deteriorating health.

Page 3: Tens of thousands of customers are being disconnected by electricity and gas companies for not paying their bills. Victorian woman Pamela Bou Sejean wants to meet the Spanish boy whose umbilical cord helped her beat cancer.

World: US commando killed in raid to free American doctor from Taliban.

Business: Investors back in housing market but owner-occupiers shy away from mortgage debt.

Sport: Kurt Tippett, who's banned from the first 11 AFL games next season, will make up lost time with a $70,000-a-game payment from the Sydney Swans.

THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:

Page 1: The management of 2Day FM Austereo remain in the cross-hairs after dodging responsibility for the royal radio prank, as its "shattered" DJs confirmed the decision to broadcast the hoax call was "taken out of our hands".

Page 3: Children as young as 13 are working past midnight on school nights and being subjected to dangerous workplaces because there are no child labour laws to protect them, unions say.

World: Egypt's opposition has called for mass street protests, rejecting a December 15 referendum on a new constitution that has largely been drafted by President Mohamed Morsi's Islamist allies.

Business: A two-tier property market is emerging as investors hunting higher yields return to bricks and mortar but cautious owner-occupiers continue to hold off trading up and first home buyers stay on the sidelines.

Sport: Kurt Tippett will be paid around $70,000 a game next year at Sydney, with the deal to be confirmed in Tuesday's pre-season draft.