WA can’t save federal budget: Barnett – The Fin; Premier fires another salvo at mining tax – The West; Mid West plea for Oakajee – The West; Revolt over ASX trading halt rules – The Fin; Jobs crunch taking its toll – The Fin
WA can’t save federal budget: Barnett
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett reiterated on Monday that his state’s iron ore could not single-handedly prop up the federal budget bottom line, as Labor MP Andrew Leigh said a surplus this year was possible. The Fin
Premier fires another salvo at mining tax
Colin Barnett renewed his attack on Federal Labor’s minerals resource rent tax yesterday amid revelations none of the major miners has paid a cent since its introduction on July 1. The West
Mid West plea for Oakajee
A group of Mid West iron ore miners has scheduled talks with the Labor party after it said it would scrap $339 million funding for the Oakajee Port near Geraldton if it wins the March election. The West
Revolt over ASX trading halt rules
Major companies, including BHP Billiton and Telstra, and the banking association are warning that a push by the stock exchange for greater use of trading halts ahead of major announcements could unintentionally wipe billions of dollars off the sharemarket. The Fin
Jobs crunch taking its toll
The jobs crunch in the long-suffering manufacturing sector may be spreading to resources in Western Australia and Queensland. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: Congestion at Perth Airport and a lack of runway capacity are costing the airline industry and its passengers an estimated $72 million a year according to a State Treasury report.
Page 7: Households are responding to economic uncertainty by taking on less debt, with figures for November revealing a record fall in credit card balances as well as an unexpected slide in home loan approvals.
Page 10: Colin Barnett renewed his attack on Federal Labor’s minerals resource rent tax yesterday amid revelations none of the major miners has paid a cent since its introduction on July 1.
WA farmers have revealed a radical plan to make taxpayers and environmentalists pay for the protection of bush on agricultural properties.
Page 11: Independent candidate for Nedlands Max Hipkins looks, walks and talk like a Liberal State Government MP.
Page 16: A strong performance by Margaret River helped to save WA wine exports last year.
The parent company of outdoor fashion brands North Face and Timberland has made a surprise $527 million takeover approach to troubled surfwear retailer Billabong International.
A group of Mid West iron ore miners has scheduled talks with the Labor party after it said it would scrap $339 million funding for the Oakajee Port near Geraldton if it wins the March election.
CBH has completed its $175 million transition to a new rail fleet as debate rages about the future of the Tier 3 rail line in the Wheatbelt.
Northern Star Resources is no longer on the acquisition trail, managing director Bill Beament says.
High-flying nickel exporter Rox Resources has come crashing down to earth, dropping more than 30 per cent yesterday after releasing maiden drilling results for its new nickel discovery near Wiluna.
Pura Vida placed its shares in a trading halt ahead of expected news that it has made an investment in acreage off Gabon.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Major companies, including BHP Billiton and Telstra, and the banking association are warning that a push by the stock exchange for greater use of trading halts ahead of major announcements could unintentionally wipe billions of dollars off the sharemarket.
The jobs crunch in the long-suffering manufacturing sector may be spreading to resources in Western Australia and Queensland.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has accused BHP Billiton of a “colonial era mentality” in an escalating row over control of a $1.4 billion development fund.
Page 3: Consumers face life insurance premium rises of between 30 per cent and 40 per cent over the next three years as a weaker economy drives up claims, insurers are required to hold more capital and investors grow more aware of their rights.
Page 4: The Coalition will use a parliamentary vote to try to force Treasurer Wayne Swan to reveal how much has been raised by the minerals resource rent tax, which some analysts believe may not generate any money in its first year of operation.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett reiterated on Monday that his state’s iron ore could not single-handedly prop up the federal budget bottom line, as Labor MP Andrew Leigh said a surplus this year was possible.
Page 5: The Federal Court has dismissed a stevedore’s appeal to be reinstated by cargo terminal operator DP World in a decision that should clarify for employers how to respond to workplace violence and bullying.
Page 6: The downturn in manufacturing and the privatisation of government utilities are reducing the number of apprentices and draining the economy of important skills, according to Skilled Group chief executive Mick McMahon.
Businesses under pressure from the strong dollar should be blaming foreign investors in Australian real estate and liquefied natural gas projects, currency analysts say.
Page 7: Retailers have blamed poor consumer sentiment for modest sales growth over the holiday period.
Foreign tourist numbers increased by 6.9 per cent to a record 6.1 million in the 12 months to November 2012, and are expected to grow further after Australia featured in the New York Times 2013 top 46 destinations.
Page 9: The West Australian election could be blown open by close results in up to 20 hotly contested and marginal seats despite the apparent statewide trend to the Liberal-led government, Premier Colin Barnett says.
Page 10: China’s unexpected surge in exports last month renewed concern from analysts at Goldman Sachs, UBS, and ANZ that statistics from the nation can be unreliable.
Page 11: European leaders declaring they’ve gained the upper hand in the three-year-old debt crisis are sharpening efforts to channel a rebound in financial markets into an economic recovery to chip away at soaring unemployment.
Page 13: Australia’s biggest steel maker BlueScope Steel have moved to stem financial losses at its local operations by slashing 170 jobs at its Western Port facility in south-east Victoria in a move which will save as much as $2 million a month.
Page 15: Mark Carnegie’s venture capital funds have spent more than $10 million snapping up a 55 per cent stake in Assetic, a software provider that records, tracks, and predicts future infrastructure spending by government.
Page 16: Shale gas explorer Armour Energy has put itself forward as a potential rival source of gas for Rio Tinto’s alumina refinery at Give, with executive chairman Nick Mather pointing to significant potential at the company’s Northern Territory acreage.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Wayne Swan has stepped up his plans to find budget savings to deliver Labor’s mammoth election-year policies as he concedes his controversial mining tax is not raising the revenue it was meant to add to the government’s bottom line.
Page 15: Australia’s mining executives are growing increasingly concerned that the minerals resource rent tax could be expanded to other commodities in the event a Labor government is re-elected, with the tax in its current form continuing to fail to generate receipts for the government.
Wayne Swan has called on the US to develop a sustainable pathway to fiscal consolidation that would restore growth and boost confidence in global markets.
Page 16: Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have both suffered new year’s analyst rating downgrades.
China-backed MMG is firming as a potential acquirer of Altona Mining’s Roseby copper deposit in Queensland, after mining giant Xstrata walked away from an option to acquire a majority stake in the project.
Page 17: Commonwealth Bank hopes to retire nearly $5 billion of government-guaranteed funding this week as it takes advantage of favourable market conditions to refinance at lower costs.
Supermarket giant Woolworths has begun stocking locally sourced groceries from small producers as it seeks to tap into the popularity of buying local.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The worst bushfires in NSW for more than a decade have ripped through the state's northwest, taking 33 homes and destroying 40,000 hectares of land.
Page 2: Australia is considering providing military equipment and funding to speed up the deployment of African troops to Mali to quell an Islamist insurgency.
Page 3: Less than one minute and eight seconds after a camera captured Sion Gittany dragging his fiancee inside their apartment she lay dead on the footpath 15 storeys below, a Sydney court has heard.
World: Ousting Islamist insurgents from Mali's desert north may prove more difficult for France's forces than their weekend success in reversing the rebels' advances in the former French colony.
Business: Bluescope Steel has announced it will soon cut 170 of about 740 jobs at its plant east of Melbourne.
Sport: David Gilbert's 11-year reign as chief executive of Cricket NSW came to an end on Monday night when he handed in his resignation.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: The home of an RFS captain, who helped fight the state's worst bushfire in more than 10 years on Sunday, was one of 33 that burned down in the blaze.
Page 2/3: A "prefect storm" created an inferno that tore through Warrumbungle National Park in northwest NSW, razing 33 homes and 50 sheds.
Page 4: A promising rugby league player who witnessed his friend being speared in the head by a gatecrasher at a birthday party feared he would be killed by the same gang when they assaulted him on his way home.
World: A camera in a capsule which can be swallowed could help doctors spot early signs of oesophageal cancer, research has shown.
Business: Australia is facing a dramatic spike in unemployment that could see upwards of 40,000 jobs lost before spring.
Sport: Bernard Tomic will start his Australian Open campaign with odds more suited to superhorse Black Caviar.
THE AGE:
Page 1: A win's a win as Sam Stosur fights her way past the first round of the Australian Open. Australia could provide military equipment and funding to assist African troops quell an Islamist insurgency in Mali. Victorian taxpayers left in the dark over the cost of high-profile infrastructure projects.
Page 2: Anaesthetist tells Fair Work Australia that Geelong Hospital tried to sack him because he blew the whistle on a senior colleague accepting business-class flights to New York from a drug company. CFA warns of severe fire danger for Thursday's scorcher. City turns on a cracker of a day for the first day of the Open.
Page 3: Concern mounts in the housing estates about a proposal to knock them down and use the land for public and private housing. Jerry Hall coming back to Australia to reprise her role as Mrs Robinson in The Graduate. First day back at work and BlueScope Steel announces that 170 jobs will go before March.
World: France has a fight on its hands trying to oust Islamist insurgents from Mali's desert north.
Business: Softer job market and a drop in housing loans point to a softening economy.
Sport: Former manager of football at AFL club Melbourne Chris Connolly smells a conspiracy over tanking inquiry where he's alleged to have reminded assistant coaches and other football department staff in 2009 of the consequences if the Demons won more games.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Principals warn that parents may have to start paying for their kids' internet access at government schools. Now for the Oscar as Hugh Jackman wins the Golden Globe.
Page 2: Fires continue to rage across the nation as a firefighter dies in Tasmania.
Page 3: Paul De Waard, the young Dutchman who was shot trying to save a woman from being beaten by bikie gang member Christopher Hudson, returns to Melbourne with his mother to again thank the surgeons who saved his life on the operating table. Brian Lake, who was thrown into jail for being drunk last week, says he has to earn the respect of his new teammates at Hawthorn.
World: French warplanes pound Islamist strongholds in Mali.
Business: American group behind clothing labels such as Lee and Wrangler pounce on Australian rag trader Billabong.
Sport: Sam Stosur clears the cobwebs to get past the first round at Australian Open.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISIER:
Page 1: Long-serving Labor minister Patrick Conlon will resign from cabinet, triggering a major SA government shake-up and front bench reshuffle.
Page 3: Hugh Jackman wins Golden Globe award.
World: Six suspects have been arrested in another gang rape of a bus passenger in India.
Business: Strong sales of beer have motivated Coopers Brewery to undertake a $20 million capital expansion.
Sport: Lleyton Hewitt's career resurrection last night hit a wall by the name of Janko Tipsarevic.
