Labor to go to election in the red – The Fin; China firm quits on iron ore project – The Aus; BHP pulls pin on NW resort bid – The West; Excuses as states wallow in deficits until 2015 – The Fin; Dockers to Cockburn in 2016 – The West
Labor to go to election in the red
The Gillard government will go into the next federal election carrying an estimated budget deficit of around $10 billion after it abandoned its promise to return the budget to surplus this financial year. The Fin
China firm quits on iron ore project
Metallurgical Corporation of China is shelving its $3 billion iron ore project in Western Australia and pulling its staff out of Perth as rising costs put the brakes on another resources operation. The Aus
BHP pulls pin on NW resort bid
BHP Billiton has rejected a $50 million offer for a collapsed Port Hedland resort project in a move that is likely to see the development liquidated. The West
Excuses as states wallow in deficits until 2015
State budgets will plunge further into deficit over the next two years amid an uncertain global economic outlook and a sharp drop in mining royalties. The Fin
Dockers to Cockburn in 2016
The Fremantle Dockers are set to move to Cockburn within four years with a formal agreement with the City of Cockburn for a new elite training and football facility expected to be announced today. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: The Fremantle Dockers are set to move to Cockburn within four years with a formal agreement with the City of Cockburn for a new elite training and football facility expected to be announced today.
The financial bottom lines of Australians are at their best in five years and their retirement nest eggs are soaring on the back of the strengthening share market.
Page 6: The WA Liberal Party's state director has imposed a media ban on MPs and candidates who are not ministers in the lead-up to the state election in a bid to minimise potentially embarrassing mistakes that could damage its chances of winning the March 9 poll.
Page 7: Julia Gillard will enter an election year with her government having broken broken another key promise to Australian voters – the delivery of a budget surplus.
WA is on the edge of its own mini fiscal cliff, with international giant Moody's placing the state's cherished triple-A financial rating on negative watch.
Page 11: A Perth businessman arrested in Thailand after a federal request for his extradition to face fraud charges yesterday lost a Supreme Court bid to throw out a judgement ordering he pay more than $20 million to the tax office.
Page 13: The Barnett government and the state's environmental watchdog were silent yesterday over a Supreme Court challenge that threatens to derail Woodside's proposed Browse LNG project.
It was the end of an era when “last drinks” were officially called at the Swan Brewery yesterday, as brewing of the last locally produced batch of Swan Draught got under way.
Page 14: Tony Sage yesterday left it to Perth Glory and his flagship mining company to distance themselves from an Australian Federal Police investigation that triggered a series of raids on the millionaire's business premises this week.
The future of Qantas' international operations, which have been losing market share, has been assured after the competition watchdog gave conditional draft approval to its comprehensive alliance with Dubai-based Emirates, the world's biggest international airline.
Page 16: More people are shopping online for Christmas to avoid shopping centre carpark stress, a survey reveals.
Page 26: WA's biggest haul of poached abalone and trochus shell has been made in Geraldton, where Fisheries Department officers seized 757 of the valuable molluscs.
Page 28: Treasurer Troy Buswell's legal team had not responded last night to a ceasefire offer from his former partner Adele Carles, who yesterday promised she would reveal no further details of their relationship if he dropped a Supreme Court defamation action against her.
Business: BHP Billiton has rejected a $50 million offer for a collapsed Port Hedland resort project in a move that is likely to see the development liquidated.
Port Bouvard's new $35 million debt facility will be unencumbered by financial handcuffs, enhancing the property developer's prospects of making a full recovery.
Barminco founder Peter Bartlett and Ausdrill's Ron Sayers have won a temporary reprieve against offshore tax avoidance charges.
French multinational SPIE has extended its reach to Australia by acquiring the Perth-based oil and gas engineering specialist Plexal Group.
Rox Resources has become the latest small cap resources company to experience an extraordinary share price spike, jumping more than 200 per cent in two days following a blue sky discovery at its Fisher East project.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 2: State budgets will plunge further into deficit over the next two years amid an uncertain global economic outlook and a sharp drop in mining royalties.
Page 3: The Gillard government will go into the next federal election carrying an estimated budget deficit of around $10 billion after it abandoned its promise to return the budget to surplus this financial year.
Page 4: Chinese investment is vital to boosting Australian food production but could be deterred by green tape and challenges in obtaining government approval, according to a report commissioned by the governments of the two countries.
Page 7: A paper from the Reserve Bank of Australia backs the view that cutting interest rates is less effective in boosting the economy than it used to be and says this is because more people depend on income from deposits.
Tony Abbott has accused the national broadcaster of left-wing bias and criticised the Canberra press gallery for reporting what the government says, irrespective of whether it is true or not.
Page 8: Fair Work Australia says federal MP Craig Thomson is wrong to claim it has run out of time to pursue him for misusing union funds.
Page 12: The Bank of Japan expanded its asset purchase program for the third time in four months, and will reconsider its objectives for inflation as incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urges more action to end price declines.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: China's military expansion is changing the balance of power in the Pacific, posing a direct challenge to Australia’s strategic weight in the region.
Labor's budget strategy is in disarray with the prospect of deficits for at least the next two years and Wayne Swan conceding that he cannot meet his self-imposed target for returning to surplus.
Page 2: Tony Abbott has used his presence at an Australia-Israel-United Kingdom leadership dialogue in London to deepen his support for Israel and accentuate the split with the Gillard government over Middle East policy.
Page 4: Tony Abbott has recommitted to deliver a budget surplus in every year of a Coalition government, but tied his pledge to current economic forecasts, leaving room to drop the promise when official figures are revised next year.
Plummeting resource royalties have pushed the NSW budget into the red for an additional year but left Treasurer Mike Baird confident he can continue to buttress the state’s all-important AAA credit rating.
Business groups have declared that a sweeping review of the scope and size of government in Australia is necessary to return the budget to surplus in future years.
Page 6: Australia will consider hosting new US Defence communications capabilities to help Washington’s efforts to boost its focus on the Asia-Pacific region, according to a draft copy of next year’s defence white paper.
Business: Origin Energy has inked the east coast’s most expensive domestic gas agreement to date, signing a deal with Chinese-controlled miner MMG to supply gas for north Queensland mines at prices more than double the current rate and 50 per cent higher than other recent long-term deals.
Telstra's troubled classifieds arm, TradingPost, faces an uncertain future after the competition watchdog blocked its proposed merger with Carsales.com.
Metallurgical Corporation of China is shelving its $3 billion iron ore project in Western Australia and pulling its staff out of Perth as rising costs put the brakes on another resources operation.
Qantas and Emirates are expected to win the backing of the competition regulator to extend their landmark alliance beyond five years after the deal was granted conditional regulatory approval yesterday.
Australia has promised China it will iron out problems with excessive ‘‘green tape’’ and environmental approvals to encourage and fast-track greater Chinese investment in Australian agriculture.
Companies associated with Perth businessman Tony Sage yesterday moved to distance themselves from a series of raids the Australian Federal Police conducted on offices linked to the Perth Glory owner.
Most of Orica’s executives missed out on their 2012 short-term bonuses after a poor performance in 2011, prompting chief executive Ian Smith — who was entitled to his bonus — to forgo it.
The Nine Network is likely to be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange by 2014, after the Federal Court yesterday rejected a bid by some of the company’s original bank lenders to oppose its $3.4 billion recapitalisation.
Elders chairman John Ballard has outlined the board’s reasons for taking the ‘‘unpalatable step’’ of putting the iconic agribusiness up for sale, conceding that a massive debt load and difficulty attracting fresh capital had left it with little choice.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has forced changes in the way AMP manages advice processes at the AMP Horizons group following ‘‘concerns’’ about standards.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Wayne Swan has ditched his promise to deliver a balanced budget, saying a "sledgehammer hit" to government revenue meant a return to surplus was unlikely.
Page 3: The consultant employed to test the noise levels of helicopters for the controversial heliport on Sydney Harbour has admitted he is not an acoustic engineer and has never previously produced a report on helicopter noise.
World: Religious leaders across the US have vowed to mobilise their congregations to push for gun control legislation.
Business: For a man who used to pose in Ferraris, the properties related to Tony Sage that were raided by federal police on Wednesday are anything but glamorous.
Sport: Crowds and ratings are down, but Cricket Australia are keeping their faith in the Big Bash League.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: An alleged model-turned-drug mule has been granted bail after the Australian Customs service was engulfed in a drug importation scandal.
Page 2: After four years of shortfalls totalling more than $173 billion, Treasurer Wayne Swan and the federal government have to work harder on their economic management, the nation's top business group says.
Page 3: A three-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after she swallowed a battery, but doctors diagnosed her as having a virus.
World: A French actress is suing her mother for taking pornographic pictures of her when she was a child and passing them to Playboy magazine.
Business: Qantas is celebrating a crucial milestone in the campaign to revive its ailing international business, with the competition watchdog tentatively supporting an alliance with Emirates.
Sport: Tim Sheens has decided to walk away from the Wests Tigers.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Treasurer Wayne Swan ditches his long-held promise to deliver a balanced budget, blaming a huge hit to government revenue. Up to two dozen illegal handguns passed through Sydney customs after officers falsified paperwork to say the weapons' containers had been X-rayed.
Page 2: Broadcasting watchdog dismisses allegations 7.30 host Leigh Sales showed bias against Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
Page 3: Federal electoral authorities probing the fundraising activities of embattled Liberal MP Geoff Shaw. Google ends its arrangement with the North American Aerospace Defence Command and sets up its own "Santa tracker". University of Canberra researchers investigating how mistletoe can be used to improve the effectiveness of cancer treatments.
Page 5: Plans for a mosque and evangelical church to be built side-by-side in Melbourne's east draws anti-Islam sentiment.
World: Religious leaders across the US this week vow to support politicians willing to take on the gun lobby and help drive a push for gun control legislation.
Business: Qantas is granted tentative approval for an extensive international alliance with Emirates.
Sport: Sri Lankan cricket legend Muthiah Muralidaran looks to move on from the infamous "throwing" saga, urging his countrymen to cherish their first Boxing Day Test since the controversy.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Gillard government dumps its sacred election promise to deliver a budget surplus.
Page 2: Police are searching for a woman following a racial attack on two Indian women in central Melbourne. Baillieu government plans to speed up sale of government-owned land in established neighbourhoods to fund infrastructure projects.
Page 3: Veteran Seven Network weatherman David Brown unsure about his future.
World: Outraged Indians demanding authorities crack down on violence against women, following a series of vicious attacks across the country.
Business: Qantas celebrating a crucial milestone in its campaign to revive its ailing international business, with tentative support for a deal with Emirates.
Sport: Wicket-keeper Matthew Wade says concentration lapses, not technical faults, have caused his recent mistakes.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Police are investigating how three prisoners, including two child sex offenders, were able to obtain and distribute child pornography in the ACT's jail. The ACT government has delayed the installation of smart parking meters by a year, meaning commuters will need to carry up to $67.50 in change each week. Up to two dozen illegal handguns passed through Port Botany after customs officers falsified paperwork about the container they were in.
Page 2: The ACT Ombudsman has dropped an investigation of Canberra Liberals' complaints of political bias by Legislative Assembly staff.
Page 3: An influx of alcohol- and drug-affected people has led to the ACT's sobering-up shelter having to turn people away for the first time.
World: The UK will reduce its force in Afghanistan from 9000 to 5200 by the end of 2013.
Business: The ACCC's draft decision to approve a Qantas-Emirates partnership have given a boost to the Australian airline's plans to overhaul its international operations.
Sport: Members of the Matildas squad wrote to the Football Federation of Australia indicating their preference for the next Australian women's football coach to be male.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: South Australians have been warned to brace for longer waits at government offices and fewer police, education and health staff as the public service is slashed further.
Page 3: Motoring holidaymakers can now save cash by filling up in some regional centres rather than in Adelaide after the pricing cycle reaches a peak, the state's largest motoring organisation says.
World: With a lingering gloom in the air, the anguished community of Newtown said final goodbyes yesterday to more victims of last Friday's deadly rampage inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Business: Port Spencer has been approved by the state government, paving the way for iron mines in the southern Eyre Peninsula.
Sport: Crows coach Brenton Sanderson says he will never understand why Kurt Tippett decided to quit Adelaide for Sydney but insists he has "certainly moved on" from the controversial departure.
