Treasury exposes mining tax flaws – The Aus; Labor wields axe to fund rail – The West; Walsh pledges new Rio discipline – The Fin; Goyder hits back at ACCC – The Fin; Shell pleads for green tape reduction as energy fears aired – The Aus
Treasury exposes mining tax flaws
Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson has admitted the design of the mining tax is responsible for its failure to generate revenue, not the falling commodity prices, higher currency and state royalties blamed by the government. The Aus
Labor wields axe to fund rail
Mark McGowan has made the biggest play yet in the state election campaign, vowing yesterday to axe big-ticket Barnett government projects to fund his $3.8 billion Metronet public transport plan. The West
Walsh pledges new Rio discipline
Rio Tinto's new chief, Sam Walsh, has promised an “unrelenting focus on pursuing value for shareholders”, including pursuing only projects that will deliver attractive returns, after the resources giant posted its first loss. The Fin
Goyder hits back at ACCC
Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder rejected the need for a formal code of conduct or further regulation following a long-running investigation into allegations by about 50 suppliers that supermarkets are abusing their market power. The Fin
Shell pleads for green tape reduction as energy fears aired
Shell Australia chairwoman Ann Pickard says Australia’s green tape is becoming a disincentive to investment, with the process of having to clear the same hurdles up to three times adding to costs the oil major has said has slowed its progress here. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Mark McGowan has made the biggest play yet in the state election campaign, vowing yesterday to axe big-ticket Barnett government projects to fund his $3.8 billion Metronet public transport plan.
Page 3: Perth bus drivers say many of them do not know how to use a fire extinguisher properly or how to evacuate their bus in the event of a fire.
Page 4: Australia's consumer watchdog is stepping up its investigations into Coles and Woolworths after evidence the supermarket chains are bullying suppliers.
Treasurer Wayne Swan has ruled out increasing income tax in this year's budget as senior bureaucrats admitted they operated largely in the dark when projecting mining tax revenue.
WA's fly-in, fly-out workers have hit back at criticism of their behaviour, claiming most are mature family men keen to become part of the communities in which they work.
Page 6: Subiaco residents whose homes stand in the way of a Labor-built stadium at Kitchener Park hit out at the plan yesterday but businesses and the local council welcomed it.
Mining companies hoping to use the planned Oakajee port have slammed Labor's decision to axe it if elected, accusing it of threatening billions of dollars in investment to appease city commuters.
Page 11: WA unions have denied they contemplated pulling support from sitting Labor Senator Louise Pratt.
Page 13: South West residents were told to stay on high fire alert yesterday, even as emergency warnings were downgraded.
Page 14: After more than seven years as vice-chancellor of Curtin University, one of Australia's biggest tertiary institutions, Jeanette Hacket will step down in August.
Business: New Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh has moved quickly to dispel suggestions he might only be a caretaker manager, telling investors he intends to remake the Anglo-Australian resources giant in his own image.
Sam Walsh has asked Rio Tinto Copper boss Andrew Harding to succeed him as head of them miner's most important unit, iron ore.
Wesfarmers has managed to flip the two-speed economy upside down, with all but one of its retail brands surging while its resources business slumped because of depressed coal prices.
ASG is now talking to several companies said to be interested in matching a mystery takeover proposal lobbed at the IT services group four months ago.
Farmers will lobby for agriculture to become part of school curriculums amid fears Australia will let slip the golden opportunity created by emerging Asian markets.
Sembawang Engineers and Constructors has made a renewed and unconditional $35 million offer for the construction projects of Macmahon Holdings.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Page 1: Rio Tinto's new chief, Sam Walsh, has promised an “unrelenting focus on pursuing value for shareholders”, including pursuing only projects that will deliver attractive returns, after the resources giant posted its first loss.
A parliamentary committee will investigate whether concessions granted to mineral giants are responsible for the mining tax revenue shortfall, a step that will prolong the political pressure on the Gillard government.
Treasury expects heavy pressure on the federal budget for at least the next two years because lower commodity prices are hurting profits.
Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder rejected the need for a formal code of conduct or further regulation following a long-running investigation into allegations by about 50 suppliers that supermarkets are abusing their market power.
Page 3: Big technology companies that sell their products over the internet such as Apple and Microsoft, will be forced to cut prices for Australian consumers, Adobe's global chief executive, Shantanu Narayen says.
Page 5: The future home of the AFL in Western Australia has emerged as an election issue after WA Labor announced plans to switch from the Barnett government's chosen site.
Page 6: One of the oil and gas industry's most powerful voices, Ann Pickard, says the government must cut red tape and boost labour productivity to help cut energy costs.
Page 7: The industrial relations policy debate has reached a new low, business groups say, with politics trumping policy development and proposed changes to the Fair Work Act likely to weaken the economy.
Page 8: The federal Coalition is considering offering an accelerated depreciation scheme to business, as part of a strategy that companies should exploit the high Australian dollar to update their plant and equipment.
Page 11: Prime Minister Julia Gillard's caucus numbers are holding firm but morale within Labor has plummeted after a week in which the government has been humiliated over its mining tax.
Page 13: Wesfarmers is set for a stoush with the competition regulator after dismissing calls for a grocery industry code of conduct despite growing evidence the major retailers have been misusing their market power.
Rio Tinto has anointed Australian-born Andrew Harding as the leading internal contender to succeed chief executive Sam Walsh by naming him head of the company's biggest and most important division, iron ore.
Page 15: David Jones blames a spike in international online competition, widespread price deflation, and a strategy to abandon “unprofitable” promotions for its weaker sales during the key Christmas and New Year trading period.
Page 18: Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder has warned that conditions for the company's coal business will remain challenging after higher sales volumes failed to offset lower prices in the six months to December 31.
THE AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson has admitted the design of the mining tax is responsible for its failure to generate revenue, not the falling commodity prices, higher currency and state royalties blamed by the government.
Kevin Rudd was left out of a key event marking the fifth anniversary of his historic apology to the Stolen Generations and the annual Closing the Gap report that he initiated.
Page 2: TheTransport Workers Union will push for minimum 4 per cent annual wage rises and yearly superannuation increases for 12,500 Toll Group employees, but declared it will not accept productivity trade-offs as part of the new national pay deal.
Digital transmission of songs, movies and games through online platforms such as Apple’s iTunes has cut hard into the profit margins of physical media, leading mass retailer David Jones to quit selling DVDs, CDs and computer games altogether.
Page 3: One of Australia’s senior sports administrators has lamented the ‘‘perhaps hysterical’’ initial response to the Australian Crime Commission’s report into organised crime and drugs in sport.
Page 4: The Gillard government will defend a High Court challenge to its mining tax next month by arguing that the states are free to alter their royalty rates — despite Wayne Swan’s threats to slash funding to states that hike mining royalties.
Wayne Swan has stumbled over the nation’s unemployment rate and the government’s income tax plans as leadership tensions continue to simmer in an increasingly despondent Labor caucus.
Page 5: Julia Gillard has rebuffed a direct plea to rule out tax changes to almost 500,000 superannuation funds as Labor mulls over ways to recoup budget revenue and pay for big election promises.
Page 6: West Australian Labor would shift the site for a new 60,000-seat sports stadium away from the current location next to billionaire James Packer’s Crown casino as part of a range of cost savings designed to pay for its key election public transport promise.
The Greens may introduce legislation to block the federal government from cutting research funds, sparking a parliamentary battle that pitches Labor against a Greens-conservative alliance.
Business: New Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh has kicked off his reign with a clear-the-decks financial report, announcing a record .9 billion ($2.79bn) full-year net loss while at the same time moving to soothe investors with the message that cash returns to shareholders are the company’s new mantra.
A strong result from its Coles supermarket chain underpinned a near 10 per cent lift in Wesfarmers’ interim profit and chief executive Richard Goyder yesterday signalled there would be no let-up in its price war with arch rival Woolworths.
David Jones chief executive Paul Zahra has warned that interest rate cuts and a recovery in equity markets are no longer enough to stimulate consumer spending, as consumers remain fixated on discounts.
US aluminium powerhouse Alcoa is under pressure to finally decide on making a $3.1 billion-plus takeover bid for Melbourne-based Alumina after being blindsided by a $452 million placement deal that establishes China’s state-owned Citic as Alumina’s biggest shareholder.
Australian pilots are concerned that Qantas international routes may be swallowed by the Dubai-based juggernaut Emirates if the alliance between the two carriers proceeds.
Downer EDI has returned to form by delivering a better than expected interim profit, reiterating full-year guidance and surprising the market with a return to dividends.
Shell Australia chairwoman Ann Pickard says Australia’s green tape is becoming a disincentive to investment, with the process of having to clear the same hurdles up to three times adding to costs the oil major has said has slowed its progress here.
Macmahon Holdings is considering another proposal for its construction business by Indian-owned Sembawang Engineers and Constructors.
Optus has declared that its strategy to increase its business and return to revenue growth is the right one despite Telstra beating the No 2 telco by a factor of 10 in the past year in adding new mobile phone customers to its network.
Fund managers have cautiously backed a potential float of Inghams amid growing expectations of a stronger year for the depressed initial public offering market.
Mirvac Group’s 69 per cent fall in half-year net profit to $55 million came as little surprise to the market yesterday, after the property group last week flagged $273m in provisions on its developments in Western Australia and Queensland and its rival Stockland wiped a similar amount off its projects just one day earlier.
Diversified property group GPT has more than doubled its full-year net profit and says it is on track to deliver further earnings growth even if its $3 billion bid for Australand is unsuccessful.
Dexus Property Group, one of the country’s largest office landlords, has increased its interim net profit by 83 per cent to $267 million as it competes to keep its tenants amid challenging market conditions.
Andrew Harding has strengthened as a likely Rio Tinto chief executive of the future after he won the race to head the mining giant’s immensely profitable iron ore division.
Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder says he retains strong faith in the conglomerate model despite the broader earnings impact of a major slump in its resources division sparked by weaker coal markets and the strong Australian dollar.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Page 1: Australian-Israeli man Ben Zygier may have been planning to expose the use of Australian passports in Israeli intelligence operations before he was arrested by that country and died in prison. South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has allegedly shot and killed his model girlfriend. The competition watchdog will investigate improper pricing claims levelled at supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths.
Page 2: A slipped fan belt brought Sydney's train network grinding to a halt this week, signalling the system's vulnerability.
Page 3: Former NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald has told a corruption inquiry that accusations he is a crook are "fantasy".
World: Californian police have come under fire after officers were apparently recorded discussing a plan to burn down a cabin where cop killer Christopher Dorner was hiding out.
Business: Rio Tinto has declared its first net loss but surprised investors with a 15 per cent dividend rise.
Sport: The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority has rejected claims by the Cowboys chief executive that that club's players and others in north Queensland involved in an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs had been cleared.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Page 1: The federal government is expected to sign a deal with Hollywood bosses that would bring the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo production to Australia, along with stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. A by-election in Robert McClelland's Sydney seat could test Prime Minister Julia Gillard's leadership.
Page 2: Former NSW mining minister Ian Macdonald created "sham" loans to disguise $450,000 in payments and throw Independent Commission Against Corruption investigators off the scent, an inquiry has heard.
Page 3: The Paralympian dubbed `Blade Runner', Oscar Pistorius, has allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend.
World: The hunt for cop killer Christopher Dorner is over as tributes pour in for his victims.
Business: New Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh has pledged an "unrelenting focus" on shareholder value.
Sport: It took a reporter less than an hour to procure $1000 worth of human growth hormones and peptides that are on the World Anti-Doping Authority's banned list.
THE HERALD SUN
Page 1: Jeff Kennett has slammed Ted Baillieu's leadership style with his stinging criticism later endorsed by members of the premier's own cabinet.
Page 3: Motorists watched in amazement as a woman held a baby while dinking on a bicycle in peak-hour traffic.
Page 5: One of Melbourne's prime riverside locations has been turned into a campervan enclave.
World: Pope Benedict XVI urged an end to religious hypocrisy and "rivalry" in the Catholic Church as he donned his papal mitre for the last time at an emotional mass in St Peter's Basilica.
Business: New Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh has pledged an "unrelenting focus" on shareholder value, saying he will not pursue "growth for growth's sake".
Sport: Essendon seems certain to be found guilty of a breach of the AFL Anti-Doping Code if even one player admits being given legal intravenous infusions at Windy Hill.
THE AGE
Page 1: The power of Australia's supermarket giants, Coles and Woolworths, is under attack from the nation's most powerful competition regulator.
Page 3: Customs wants its staff to dob in colleagues who are seen smoking marijuana at parties outside work, leaked internal documents reveal.
Page 5: Teachers have voted against a serious escalation of their pay dispute with the state government that would have resulted in a 48-hour strike during NAPLAN testing.
World: Thousands of Catholics said an emotional farewell to the Pope at two of his final public appearances.
Business: Rio Tinto has done a lot of "soul searching", according to new chief executive Sam Walsh, after .4 billion in write-downs dragged the company to report its first net loss.
Sport: Just four months after champion jockey Damien Oliver was outed for 10 months for placing a $10,000 bet, another three jockeys are embroiled in a betting scandal.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER
Page 1: Cutting the number of judges and magistrates is the only way hefty budget cuts demanded by the government can be met, the state's most senior judicial officer says.
Page 3: Mercedes-Benz unveils its new V8 Supercar.
World: A drug banned for human use has been found in horse meat produced in Britain and has made its way into processed food.
Business: Global miner Rio Tinto's new chief executive, Sam Walsh, has stamped his authority on the company and cleared the books of past bad decisions.
Sport: Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson insists his Crows are clean and benefiting only from hard work.
