Private super in frame for tax hit – The Aus; States back ALP into a corner on mining tax – The Fin; Special zone bid for Pilbara – The West; Market tops 5000 mark as consumer confidence soars – The Aus; Fortescue to offload more surplus tenements – The West
Private super in frame for tax hit
Treasury officials are sharpening their focus on the $460 billion held in self-managed superannuation funds as the Gillard government searches for ways to recoup tax revenue to pay for disability services and school reforms. The Aus
States back ALP into a corner on mining tax
The federal government has little option other than to redesign its mining tax to close the royalties loophole after the key mining states shut the door on any chance of a meaningful compromise that would stop them increasing royalties. The Fin
Special zone bid for Pilbara
One of the state's most prominent business leaders has called for tax incentives and a free trade zone in the Pilbara to attract more Chinese investment and regional workers and cut the use of costly fly-in, fly-out operations. The West
Market tops 5000 mark as consumer confidence soars
The Australian sharemarket index roared past the 5000 mark for the first time in three years yesterday as consumer confidence soared and Australia’s blue-chip companies’ half-year results beat investor expectations. The Aus
Fortescue to offload more surplus tenements
Fortescue Metals Group has moved to offload more surplus tenements from its massive WA landholdings, putting packages from some of WA's hottest exploration areas on the market this week. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Mining companies should consider getting fly-in, fly-out workers to sign “social contracts” promising to behave, according to a federal government inquiry.
Page 3: Former high-flying lawyer Lloyd Rayney received taxpayer-funded legal aid for his murder trial last year after he was involved in the sale of more than $2 million of property in Perth's south.
Page 4: Tax breaks and incentives for mine workers should favour those who live permanently near their workplace in a bid to discourage the use of fly-in, fly out labour, a federal parliamentary inquiry has recommended.
South West farmers are relying on backpackers to plug a chronic staff shortage fuelled by an exodus of fly-in, fly-out workers out of Busselton.
Page 7: Transport Minister Troy Buswell says Labor's Metronet rail plan needs a further $1.1 billion to duplicate the Midland line between Bayswater and Perth.
Colin Barnett has promised to unpick the mega environment department put together by Opposition Leader Mark McGowan during his time as environment minister in the previous government.
Page 14: Labor MPs furious at Kevin Rudd's antics have circulated an email critical of the former prime minister's “despicable” disloyalty.
Business: One of the state's most prominent business leaders has called for tax incentives and a free trade zone in the Pilbara to attract more Chinese investment and regional workers and cut the use of costly fly-in, fly-out operations.
Industry and government have hailed a new era in mining safety in WA, with confirmation there were no deaths in the state's mines last year for the first time in more than a century.
Fortescue Metals Group has moved to offload more surplus tenements from its massive WA landholdings, putting packages from some of WA's hottest exploration areas on the market this week.
The renewed debate over the Minerals Resource Rent Tax has again raised the spectre of resource nationalism but Canberra finds itself in good company as Asian governments target their mining and energy industries in the pursuit of fattening their fiscal coffers.
The WA Labor Party has asked federal Treasurer Wayne Swan to consider a radical tax plan to help save farmers from financial ruin.
Commonwealth Bank says its home loan rates could be cut independently of cash rate movements, as improving economic conditions helped it post another record profit.
Construction giant Leighton Holdings has reinforced the ferocious competition for construction work in WA, amid a tapering off of resources investment.
Engineering giant WorleyParsons has tempered its full-year forecast as it picks up more work in the key oil and gas sector.
Brookfield Infrastructure Group Australia and Qube Holdings have emerged as the frontrunners to build the $200 million Esperance Port expansion, following the state government's decision to kick-start the process earlier this month.
Northern Star Resources has underlined its commitment to return surplus cash to shareholders, declaring yesterday it would pay a 1c per share interim dividend for the half year to December.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Page 1: Better-than-expected results from some corporate heavyweights have tempered pessimism about the health of company earnings and helped propel the sharemarket above 5,000 for the first time since 2010.
Treasurer Wayne Swan has written to his counterparts in the powerful G20 Finance Minister's Group calling for a global action plan to be developed by June to counter international profit shifting and tax avoidance.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia chief executive Ian Narev has called on the government not to use the $1.5 trillion superannuation system to prop up the federal budget, warning retirement savings should not be treated as a “political football” during the election.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet conceded the federal government may be forced to lower forecasts of revenue from selling carbon permits because it overestimated the international carbon price.
Page 4: Rio Tinto will keep its unprofitable alumina refinery at Gove in Arnhem Land in operation, paving the way for a $1.2 billion investment and opening up a new future for the Northern Territory's gas industry.
WA Labor was preparing to use an accounting firm to cost its election promises well before controversy broke out over alleged interference in its West Australian state Treasury process last week, it has been learned.
Page 8: The federal government has little option other than to redesign its mining tax to close the royalties loophole after the key mining states shut the door on any chance of a meaningful compromise that would stop them increasing royalties.
Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and their iron ore joint venture partners could be liable for around $750 million of minerals resource rent tax payments for the financial year if the iron ore price remains at today's levels, said UBS analyst Glyn Lawlock.
Mining companies are benefiting from tax concessions that encourage them to use fly-in, fly-out workers in a phenomenon described as a “cancer of the bush”, a scathing report by a federal parliamentary committee says.
Page 9: The Fair Work Commission says it will need more money for its proposed new task of dealing with workplace bullying claims and admits it was barely consulted by the Labor government before the anti-bullying measures were announced this week.
Supporters of Kevin Rudd are starting to fret that the former prime minister is overreaching and thus jeopardising any chance of making a comeback.
Page 10: A leading independent budget forecaster has welcomed as a “massive deal” plans by the Treasury and Finance departments to include longer-term spending such as the Gonski education funding in their pre-election assessments.
Page 13: Public spending on agricultural research must rise if farmers are to remain competitive and take advantage of growing Asian demand for food and fibre, the sector's main lobby group says.
“Significant” rollout issues for the government's $37.4 billion national broadband network are hurting businesses and could affect its popularity at the September election, telecommunications executives and MPs say.
Page 21: Investors believe Australian shares can climb higher but have warned price growth may be slow, after stocks closed above the critical 5,000 point mark for the first time since 2010.
Bob Ingham is considering a $1 billion float for his chicken producer, Ingham's Enterprises, as a sharemarket rally stokes hopes of recovery in initial public offerings.
Page 23: Leighton Holdings chief executive Hamish Tyrwhitt has won back investor confidence after tackling the biggest write-downs in the company's history, delivering strong 2012 profits by improving cash flow and reducing debt.
Page 24: WorleyParsons chief executive Andrew Wood has defended a semantic change in the contractor's full-year profit guidance, insisting the groups outlook remained healthy despite a flat first half.
THE AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Treasuryofficials are sharpening their focus on the $460 billion held in self-managed superannuation funds as the Gillard government searches for ways to recoup tax revenue to pay for disability services and school reforms.
Page 2: The Australian sharemarket index roared past the 5000 mark for the first time in three years yesterday as consumer confidence soared and Australia’s blue-chip companies’ half-year results beat investor expectations.
The corporate regulator has proposed tough new laws to overhaul the $4.5 billion debenture industry, which has been littered with collapses hitting tens of thousands of retiree investors.
Workers will ‘‘absolutely’’ get a superannuation increase from a Coalition government under a pledge from Joe Hockey yesterday aimed at rebuffing Labor accusations that he cannot be trusted to deliver the rise.
Page 3: A major wave of redundancies is poised to strike Telstra’s directories arm Sensis as the telco giant prepares to slash as many as 500 jobs from the ailing print and digital business.
Page 4: Tony Abbott has lamented Australia’s failure to sign a treaty between indigenous Australians and the government in his strongest declaration of support for a referendum to change the Constitution to recognise Aborigines.
Page 6: Miners have slammed proposals by a parliamentary committee that could strip them of tax breaks for fly-in, fly-out workers in regional Australia and raised fears the plan could be used to offset the mining tax shortfall.
Mining giant Rio Tinto will continue to operate its loss-making aluminium refinery in Arnhem Land, ending months of speculation the plant could close with the loss of up to 1500 jobs.
Page 8: Employers would be required to consult genuinely with employees before changing their working hours or face potential action through the Fair Work Commission and the courts, under proposed Labor changes.
Business: Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ian Narev has mapped a potential tipping point in wholesale funding markets that could lead the nation’s largest bank to cut home loan rates outside of the Reserve Bank, after improved margins boosted the lender’s interim profit to $3.8 billion.
Rio Tinto has established a high-profile team led by former WA News chairman Peter Mansell and including former BHP Billiton China boss Clinton Dines to oversee a possible $2 billion listing of its higher-cost Australian and New Zealand aluminium assets.
Japanese brewing giant Asahi is taking legal action against private equity investors PEP and Unitas Capital, claiming they lied about the earnings of the Independent Liquor business it acquired in 2011 for .5 billion ($1.2bn).
Leighton Holdings has delivered some long-awaited good news to shareholders, announcing a return to profitability and more intense focus on growth this year as it looks to leave its troubled past behind.
OZ Minerals has laid out conceptual planning that envisages it will still be producing copper and gold from its South Australian interests in more than 25 years’ time.
Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh will today unveil what is thought to be the company’s first full-year corporate loss and one of Australia’s biggest.
Boral chief executive Mike Kane has flagged more job cuts in his drive to transform the company from a local cement and building products firm to a global brand.
Labour hire firm Skilled Group expects its exposure to the West Australian resources sector, especially the oil and gas industry, to offset ongoing challenging conditions in its core workforce services business after reporting a 23 per cent increase in interim net profit.
The continued rise of the global unconventional oil and gas industry has helped insulate WorleyParsons from the volatility that dogged the mining industry in recent months, as the resources contractor delivered a slight increase in earnings for the first half yesterday.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Page 1: Sydney radio personality Ray Hadley of 2GB is at the centre of a row involving Macquarie Radio managing director Rob Loewenthal, the company's biggest shareholder John Singleton and claims of workplace bullying. The government has admitted an Australian diplomat knew Melbourne man Ben Zygier was in an Israeli prison before he died. Online dating is becoming increasingly popular among young people.
Page 2: A business associate of former NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald, who was to be a key witness in the corruption inquiry into decisions made by Mr Macdonald, has checked himself into a mental health centre.
Page 3: Retailers hope a lift in consumer confidence will be reflected in higher spending figures.
World: In his latest State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama has come out swinging for the low paid and middle class.
Business: The Commonwealth Bank is on track to deliver a record full-year profit of more than $7 billion this year.
Sport: NRL clubs have been told their links with sports scientist Stephen Dank are the reason they have been investigated by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Page 1: The real political contest in 2013 could be between former prime minister Kevin Rudd and opposition leader Tony Abbott. Mr Abbott is considering a plan to build up to 100 dams to reshape Australia's water management policies.
Page 2: Employees working for the National Broadband Network company have been treated to coffee machines worth more than $164,000, funded by the taxpayer.
Page 3: The federal government's school laptop program has come close to running out of money.
World: Two people have been killed and another 11 injured after a driver rammed his car into a shop in Guam, then stabbed bystanders.
Business: The Commonwealth Bank has announced half-year net profits of $3.66 billion.
Sport: Australia's anti-doping authority will interview 150 NRL and AFL players, staff and administrators and expects to charge 70 to 80 people.
THE AGE
Page 1: A property developer was behind donors kicking in tens of thousands of dollars to fund last year's election campaign by Lord Mayor Robert Doyle. ASIO was investigating Ben Zygier, who died alone in an Israeli maximum-security prison, because they suspected he was using his Australian passport to spy for Israel. Government backflips and says an Australian diplomat knew Melbourne man Ben Zygier was being held in an Israeli prison before he died in his cell. Two firefighters killed while battling a bushfire in Victoria's alpine region.
Page 2: A Crown casino bouncer recently cleared by a Supreme Court jury over the death of a patron is facing charges of breaking another patron's wrist.
Page 3: Former principals and casual relief teachers drafted in to supervise children while teachers hold their third strike in a year. Farmers want free-trade agreements with crucial and continued foreign investment in the sector. Iran makes a mess of its photoshop attempt trying to prove its purported stealth fighter jet is the real deal.
World: Obama's State of the Union speech outlines a second term agenda to tax the rich, boost the minimum wage and force action on climate change.
Business: Commonwealth Bank on track to deliver $7 billion full year profit.
Sport: Suspended Essendon conditioning coach Dean Robinson is devastated by the controversy surrounding his program and says he is an innocent man, according to his lawyer David Galbally.
THE HERALD SUN
Page 1: Two firefighters die while battling a blaze in Victoria's alpine region. Anti-doping investigators examine 150 ARL and NRL players, support staff and administrators as the drug scandal in sport drags on.
Page 2: Pre-election showdown looms between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
Page 3: Coalition looking at 100 dam projects across Australia the country to prevent floods, fuel power stations and irrigate farms. Teenager Coen Ashton heads back to Queensland after spending 18 months in The Alfred hospital waiting for a lung transplant.
World: Police raid two UK meat plants looking for the source of horse meat in kebabs and burgers.
Business: Commonwealth Bank soars after reporting a first half profit that sets it up for a whopping $7.55 billion full-year profit.
Sport: The AFL wants law changes to allow it access to wire taps and police surveillance in its fight against organised crime and doping in football.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER
Page 1: The Australian Sports Anti-doping Authority will interview 150 players, support staff and administrators form the AFL and NRL about their involvement with banned drugs.
Page 3: Liberal leader Steven Marshall claims he "won't block" small bar legislation but is still refusing to voice support for Labor plans to introduce cheap new licences for CBD venues with a capacity below 120 patrons.
World: US president Barack Obama has staked his second term political capital on a full-bore drive to cut gun crime, reform immigration and ignite economic growth.
Sport: Adelaide and Port Adelaide are fuming as they prepare to throw open their doors to investigators who will make or break clubs in AFL's integrity crisis.
