Today's Business Headlines

Gillard's poll support collapses

Labor's support has plummeted and Julia Gillard has lost her lead over Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister in findings which threaten to increase leadership pressure just seven months from the election. The Fin

Innovation bill falls on big business

Big business says a $1 billion cut to research and development tax concessions for up to 20 of the nation’s largest companies in Julia Gillard’s jobs plan risks undermining confidence and will add to international concerns about the stability and predictability of our tax arrangements. The Aus

Premier puts science front and centre at campaign launch

Colin Barnett put science and children's health at the forefront of the Liberals' state election campaign yesterday at a launch rally that doubled as an attack on Julia Gillard's federal government. The West

Rinehart rethinks foreign labour

Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill iron ore project no longer needs the 1700 foreign workers it applied for under the first of the federal governments enterprise migration agreements. The Fin

Horizon eyes gas option for Pilbara

Horizon Power has begun a $400 million search to avert a generating crisis in the Pilbara, launching a global tender for a new gas-fired power station in Port Hedland. The West

THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Page 1: Colin Barnett put science and children's health at the forefront of the Liberals' state election campaign yesterday at a launch rally that doubled as an attack on Julia Gillard's federal government.

Page 3: Perth's elite private boys' schools have banned spectators from drinking alcohol during interschool sport fixtures or risk the match being forfeited.

Page 4: Federal Liberal candidate and former state treasurer Christian Porter has risked stirring conflict inside the coalition by suggesting that the states should be given the power to raise income tax.

Kevin Rudd claims he is not interested in taking back the Labor leadership and would knock back the job even if drafted.

Page 5: The mining industry has attacked the Gillard government's plan to “embed” an official in big companies to pressure them to buy Australian materials.

Page 6: Labor tried to put more pressure on the state government yesterday over the cost of its public transport projects, calling on Transport Minister Troy Buswell to submit his plans to Treasury as soon as possible.

One of the Barnett government's key ministers is under threat with Labor singling out Terry Redman's seat of Warren-Blackwood as one of six where it will preference the Liberal over the National.

Page 7: Federal opposition leader Tony Abbott heaped praise on Colin Barnett yesterday, describing him as a “beacon of hope” for the Liberal Party when it was at its lowest ebb.

Labor promised yesterday to set up a sentencing council to monitor penalties handed out by the courts as both major parties shifted the campaign focus from transport to law and order.

Page 8: State-owned electricity generator Verve Energy would be banned from building new power stations under a Labor government to encourage private investment and competition in the energy industry.

Mark McGowan is preparing for a negative attack from Colin Barnett when the pair go head-to-head on television tomorrow night, Labor strategists believe.

Page 9: The proposed James Price Point gas hub could be the catalyst for regular flights between Singapore and the Kimberley, says the boss of Broome airport.

National bus carrier Greyhound Australia has axed its Perth to Broome service and shut its travel centre in the town because the route was unprofitable.

Page 14: Farmers who travelled hundreds of kilometres to demand a higher profile for agriculture at a colourful rally in Perth at the weekend believe free trade is the way forward for the struggling sector.

Page 17: The number of criminal charges heard in WA courts continues to fall, with Children's Court cases dropping 20 per cent in the past financial year.

Business: Horizon Power has begun a $400 million search to avert a generating crisis in the Pilbara, launching a global tender for a new gas-fired power station in Port Hedland.

Google is in discussions with payment companies including Visa, Mastercard and Paypal to put illegal download websites out of business by cutting off their funding.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Page 1: Labor's support has plummeted and Julia Gillard has lost her lead over Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister in findings which threaten to increase leadership pressure just seven months from the election.

Coca-Cola Amatil chief executive Terry Davis has called for a national debate over aggressive supermarket practices, including selling popular products below cost as “loss leaders”, but cautioned against a mandatory code of conduct for the food industry.

Labor plans to cut $1 billion from research and development grants to big business to fund its new manufacturing jobs plan.

Page 3: Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill iron ore project no longer needs the 1700 foreign workers it applied for under the first of the federal governments enterprise migration agreements.

Page 5: Tax experts have warned that the government's plan to cut $1 billion from research and development tax concessions undermines the goals of its own white paper on the Asian Century.

Page 6: Indigenous groups that acquire native title rights may have to pay huge amounts in capital gains tax unless the government can push through an exemption.

A Coalition government will not feel obligated to honour five major regulatory appointments that will be made by the Gillard government before the election if it is not consulted on them.

Page 7: Treasurer Wayne Swan has seized on a pledge by G20 finance ministers to tackle tax avoidance and profit shifting by “unscrupulous” multi-nationals, warning that the practice is a growing risk to the tax revenues of the world's largest economies.

Page 9: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says he hopes to model himself on West Australian Premier Colin Barnett.

Page 15: The billionaire owner of Chinese private equity group Cathay Fortune has hit back at claims he flouted Australian takeover law in withdrawing an $830 million bid for copper miner Discovery Metals.

Page 17: Embattled surf and boardsports company Billabong International is expected to tell suitors to finalise their takeover offers by mid-March, as chief executive Luana Inman prepares to update investors on her four-year strategy this week.

THE AUSTRALIAN

Page 1: Big business says a $1 billion cut to research and development tax concessions for up to 20 of the nation’s largest companies in JuliaGillard’s jobs plan risks undermining confidence and will add to international concerns about the stability and predictability of our tax arrangements.

WayneSwan has called for more debt-financed public spending to revive economic growth and create jobs in the developed world, suggesting fiscal austerity had failed.

One of the world’s biggest pension funds has backed the vision of Australia’s agriculture sector becoming a food bowl for Asia, saying it has set up a team to examine investment opportunities in land, ports and other infrastructure to ride what could be the nation’s next boom.

Local councils are seizing data from residents’ mobile phones without warrants to chase unregistered pets, illegal rubbish dumping and unauthorised advertising.

Page 4: The digital divide is in danger of widening, despite Labor’s promise the NationalBroadbandNetwork would bridge it, and the plan to use the NBN to improve healthcare and education may be undermined by a failure to address inadequate technology skills.

Page 6: The federal government’s plan to develop innovation precincts is a great idea but whether it will work is a mystery, says one of Australia’s foremost innovation authorities, Terry Cutler.

Page 7: Australian Workers Union boss Paul Howes has sought to rally unions to oppose mining industry leaders he claims are ‘‘corporate robber barons’’ selling workers down the river.

Tony Abbott says he is confident he can be elected prime minister in September if West Australians vote next month to return Liberal Premier Colin Barnett, whom he described as a model of good government, decency and substance.

Kevin Rudd has declared he is ‘‘not interested’’ in a return to the Labor leadership, even if the position were made vacant and he was drafted by his colleagues.

Labor is making a pitch to the nation’s 2.7 million small businesses with a vow to protect the most vulnerable employers while challenging the Coalition to reveal its plans for the sector.

Business: Echo Entertainment plans to roll out more multi-terminal electronic gaming machines and migrate a raft of customer service functions to the internet as new chief executive John Redmond ramps up a sweeping cost-cutting program across the group’s casino operations.

The $85 billion mutuals sector is stepping up its push for an independent inquiry into the nation’s financial system, launching a campaign today to win support for its bid to break the dominance of the major banks.

Higher net interest margins were not the sole contributor to the Commonwealth Bank’s record half-year profit, according to chief executive Ian Narev, who has defended the decision to hold back some of the cuts to official interest rates.

Investors will be looking for confirmation that Australian companies have overcome the worst of local conditions and are delivering earnings outlooks that justify the big run-up in share prices during the biggest week so far of the reporting season.

Australia's growing focus on trade with Asia will not affect its long-standing and close relationship with Britain, according to the new high commissioner to Britain, Mike Rann.

Surf, skate and skiwear company Billabong International could find out as soon as this week if either of its takeover suitors plans to proceed with a bid for the company.

The Super Retail Group may have been one of the best performers on the ASX last year, but it is a company which believes in sticking close to its customers.

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Page 1: A Herald/Nielsen poll shows support for Julia Gillard and her government has slumped, while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott now leads as preferred prime minister for the first time in seven months.

Page 3: Children as young as 12 could be allowed to hunt with bows and arrows in national parks under plans by the Game Council NSW.

Page 4: New research shows despite 30 years of product boycotts and regulation, big companies are still promoting infant formula in ways that put babies and small children at risk in developing countries.

World: The Vatican says it could speed up the election for a new pontiff, as lobbying for Pope Benedict's job intensified.

Business: Australia has been re-rated on international re-insurance markets after another summer of flooding and fires raised the country's peril profile.

Sport: The head of the Australian Crime Commission says the biggest problem facing Australian sport is match-fixing.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Page 1: The premier is being urged to stop the sales of assets by former minister Ian Macdonald and former union boss John Maitland, amid concerns they're selling up before any charges are laid as a result of the ICAC hearings.

Page 2: Wallabies star Kurtley Beale says he rejected offers from several NRL clubs to switch codes because he was excited about the upcoming rugby series against the British and Irish Lions in June.

Page 3: New figures from the Australian Crime Commission show the number of steroids and hormones seized at Australia's borders is at a record high.

World: South African police have found a bloodied bat at the home of paralympian Oscar Pistorius, following the killing of his model girlfriend.

Business: Two out of three Australians think there's not enough competition in the banking system, a survey has found.

Sport: Statistics reveal NRL player Sonny Bill Williams played in only 60 per cent of games in his five years at the Bulldogs, raising doubts about his ability to last a full season at the Sydney Roosters.

THE AGE

Page 1: Support for Julia Gillard and Labor eroding as Tony Abbott the preferred prime minister for the first time in seven months, according to Neilsen/Fairfax poll. Dry summer puts towns in Deputy Premier Peter Ryan's electorate back on to water restrictions.

Page 2: Environmentally-bent Bentleigh Secondary College has a new project - to separate urine from the school toilet and pipe it to a tank to turn it into fertiliser. Speculation over who will get Tim Holding's blue ribbon state seat of Lyndhurst. Parents on alert for high pressure sales people selling educational software costing up to $8000.

Page 3: Sailing program for the disabled comes adrift with water level dropping at Albert Park Lake. Claims that executives are ignoring or denying the mental illness of their staff. Volunteer firefighters may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder leading to suicide, alcohol abuse and depression. Celebrity TV show carries haunting footage of Oscar Pistorius slain girlfriend speaking about the need to leave a positive mark on life.

World: Election of a new pope could be be fast-tracked.

Business: Customers to pay more after Australia is re-rated on international reinsurance markets after another summer of flooding and extreme weather.

Sport: Match fixing is a bigger problem than players taking performance-enhancing drugs, says Australian Crime Commission chief John Lawler.

THE HERALD SUN

Page 1: Victorian police could be forced to submit to hair tests for signs of illicit drug use. Woman gives birth on the footpath outside Monash Medical Centre.

Page 2: Senator Nick Xenophon says his deportation from Malaysia has backfired on its government.

Page 3: Primary school children's lunchtime is getting later because they concentrate better in the first half of the day. Hand-reared zebra at Werribee Zoo is starting to make his own way in the world. The Falcon GT back on the assembly line at Ford's Broadmeadows plant for the first time in 37 years.

World: Women and children among 79 killed in bomb blast in a Pakistan market.

Business: Analysts expect BHP Billiton's profit to fall for the third consecutive half this week as plummeting iron ore price takes a toll.

Sport: North captain Andrew Swallow says the game is being let down by players who use illicit drugs.

THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

Page 1: Australians need to keep working rather than retire at 65 because Baby Boomers reaching the pension age are intensifying pressure on the nation's finances, Ageing Minister Mark Butler says.

Page 3: Commuters face longer delays on our roads as the number of vehicles is set to overtake the state's 1.654 million population for the first time, the RAA says.

World: Reeva Steenkamp's last wish for her family before she was shot dead at boyfriend Oscar Pistorius' home was for them to watch her in a reality TV show that aired in South Africa on Saturday night, two days after her killing.

Business: The China-Australia Property Development Group's connection to Adelaide started off as personal, and has developed into a prominent business, with a $75 million project soon to get underway.

Sport: After a summer of blowtorch scrutiny on the AFL, the focus turned back to what happens on the field at AAMI Stadium yesterday, with the Crows opening their NAB Cup defence in 38.7C.