Telstra to keep NBN cash
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has signalled that Telstra's 1.4 million shareholders would not be hurt by his plans to scale back the national broadband network, with renegotiations on the telco's NBN agreements expected to deliver a multi billion-dollar windfall if the Coalition wins power. The Fin
Barnett defends gift to Gindalbie investors
Premier Colin Barnett has defended a $15 million taxpayer-funded gift to Gindalbie Metals' shareholders saying the ad hoc royalty concession he gave the company yesterday was “how he worked”. The West
China deal the cornerstone of Gillard's Asian Century
Julia Gillard has scored a foreign policy coup, signing a historic pact with China for direct annual meetings with Premier Li Keqiang and pledges for formal co-operation on climate change, international aid and currency trading. The Aus
WA building costs face insurance hit
The cost of new homes and major renovations across WA could be forced up by hundreds of dollars because of a crisis facing the state's home building insurance market. The West
Crook to quit seat for better home life
WA Nationals MP Tony Crook will quit politics after one term in Federal Parliament, opening up the prized rural seat of O'Connor for the Liberals. The West
Top Resources Headlines
Barnett defends gift to Gindalbie investors
Premier Colin Barnett has defended a $15 million taxpayer-funded gift to Gindalbie Metals' shareholders saying the ad hoc royalty concession he gave the company yesterday was “how he worked”. The West
Hanlong lenders hold on Sundance
Chinese lenders could gain control of significant stakes in two Australian mining companies, with Hanlong Mining sitting on a combined $27.4 million loss on its debt-funded investments in Sundance Resources and Moly Mines. The Fin
Think local on new mines, institute says
Mining companies would need to negotiate agreements with communities on the local benefits of big projects before they received government approval, under a proposal to prevent the boom draining country towns. The Fin
Alcoa's jump in profit good news for Alumina
Shares in Alumina leapt yesterday after its joint venture partner Alcoa signalled that the aluminium industry had turned around with a jump in profit. The West
Gas reserving an investment turnoff
Santos has urged industrial gas customers in eastern Australia to drop demands for price subsidies and ring-fencing of supplies, and instead to consider joint investment in projects to help avoid shortages. The Fin
Top Politics Headlines
Telstra to keep NBN cash
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has signalled that Telstra's 1.4 million shareholders would not be hurt by his plans to scale back the national broadband network, with renegotiations on the telco's NBN agreements expected to deliver a multi billion-dollar windfall if the Coalition wins power. The Fin
Boat carrying 66 asylum seekers sails into Geraldton port
Julia Gillard's shambolic border protection regime has sunk to a new low after Sri Lankan boat people sailed undetected into the busy port of Geraldton yesterday. The West
China deal the cornerstone of Gillard's Asian Century
Julia Gillard has scored a foreign policy coup, signing a historic pact with China for direct annual meetings with Premier Li Keqiang and pledges for formal co-operation on climate change, international aid and currency trading. The Aus
Gillard snubbed by Scaffidi
Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi refused to meet Julia Gillard during her recent visit to Perth in an extraordinary snub to the unpopular Prime Minister. The West
Crook to quit seat for better home life
WA Nationals MP Tony Crook will quit politics after one term in Federal Parliament, opening up the prized rural seat of O'Connor for the Liberals. The West
Top Property Headlines
WA building costs face insurance hit
The cost of new homes and major renovations across WA could be forced up by hundreds of dollars because of a crisis facing the state's home building insurance market. The West
Low earners priced out of rental market
Perth's lowest-paid workers and those surviving on pensions are increasingly being priced out of the city's rental market. The West
PMH revives urban infill
The urban infill program has been given a fillip by revelations Princess Margaret Hospital is likely to be rezoned for apartments and other commercial opportunities, as two other inner-city development sites hit the market. The West
The West Australian
Page 1: Julia Gillard's shambolic border protection regime has sunk to a new low after Sri Lankan boat people sailed undetected into the busy port of Geraldton yesterday.
Page 3: Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi refused to meet Julia Gillard during her recent visit to Perth in an extraordinary snub to the unpopular Prime Minister.
Page 10: More than 70 per cent of Australians will be forced to pay to connect directly to the national broadband network under Tony Abbott's plan to deliver faster internet speeds.
Page 11: WA Nationals MP Tony Crook will quit politics after one term in Federal Parliament, opening up the prized rural seat of O'Connor for the Liberals.
Page 12: Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett remains optimistic a deal can be reached on education funding reform despite opposition from Liberal states.
Page 13: Five new faces have been added to state Labor's frontbench under its post-election re-shuffle, including factional heavyweight Dave Kelly and veteran Albany marginal seat hero Peter Watson.
Page 15: Mental stress is causing an increasing number of West Australians to take weeks off under the workers compensation scheme, with work pressure and workplace violence emerging as the biggest contributors to work-related mental stress.
Page 16: Energy-guzzling household devices such as air conditioners and pool pumps could soon be designed so they can be turned down or switched off by Western Power in peak demand periods.
Page 17: The cost of new homes and major renovations across WA could be forced up by hundreds of dollars because of a crisis facing the state's home building insurance market.
Page 18: Perth's lowest-paid workers and those surviving on pensions are increasingly being priced out of the city's rental market.
Business: Premier Colin Barnett has defended a $15 million taxpayer-funded gift to Gindalbie Metals' shareholders saying the ad hoc royalty concession he gave the company yesterday was “how he worked”.
Ten Network's new chief executive has backed the cautious pursuit of more major sporting events to help repair the damage wrought on the television broadcaster by disastrous ratings flops such as the Shire and Being Lara Bingle.
A company financed by the Qatar Government with major investment in WA farms has defended its record of returning value to the local economy.
Shares in Alumina leapt yesterday after its joint venture partner Alcoa signalled that the aluminium industry had turned around with a jump in profit.
There are plans to turn sleepy Bassendean into a hip urban hub in the town's biggest redevelopment project.
Hotel occupancy and room rates will drop from this year, with significant softening from 2015 when new stock hits the market, according to the Dubois Group.
The urban infill program has been given a fillip by revelations Princess Margaret Hospital is likely to be rezoned for apartments and other commercial opportunities, as two other inner-city development sites hit the market.
Vincent mayor Alannah MacTiernan has launched a stinging attack on some developers, warning design standards have to improve to avoid creating the “slums of the future”.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has signalled that Telstra's 1.4 million shareholders would not be hurt by his plans to scale back the national broadband network, with renegotiations on the telco's NBN agreements expected to deliver a multi billion-dollar windfall if the Coalition wins power.
The Coalition’s budget razor gang is targeting car industry assistance to help fund its election promises, a move that could generate savings of up to $2 billion.
Page 3: West Australian Premier Colin Barnett labelled the arrival of 66 people by boat at the mid west port of Geraldton an “unprecedented and unacceptable” breach of Australia's border security.
Australia's biggest class action, which is against 12 banks over exception fees and backed by listed litigation funder IMF (Australia), may be derailed because of a legal claim that IMF had acted unlawfully by adopting the plan.
Page 5: Australia has formally elevated its relationship with China to a notch below the United States after Prime Minister Julia Gillard claimed a rare foreign policy victory by forging a “strategic partnership” with Beijing.
Page 6: Treasurer Wayne Swan will open a new offensive against the opposition by challenging Joe Hockey to rule out moves to scrap the four pillars banking policy and enable mega-mergers.
The federal opposition is preparing to tip as much as $4 billion into the Reserve Bank of Australia's depleted emergency “reserve fund”, which protects it against losses on its foreign currency and gold holdings.
Page 7: The federal government is standing by its estimates that only about 16,000 people are likely to be affected by its proposed superannuation changes, amid suggestions official numbers show a much larger impact.
Page 10: Santos has urged industrial gas customers in eastern Australia to drop demands for price subsidies and ring-fencing of supplies, and instead to consider joint investment in projects to help avoid shortages.
Electricity generators have been accused by the federal government's energy regulator of manipulating the national electricity market to trigger excessively high wholesale energy prices for commercial gain.
The Coalition would crack down on union's right of entry under its coming industrial relations policy, according to a source briefed on the draft policy.
Mining companies would need to negotiate agreements with communities on the local benefits of big projects before they received government approval, under a proposal to prevent the boom draining country towns.
Page 15: Hamish McLennanan concedes a financial turnaround for the beleaguered Ten Network will not occur until next year at the earliest for a business he describes as fragile.
Page 17: Chinese lenders could gain control of significant stakes in two Australian mining companies, with Hanlong Mining sitting on a combined $27.4 million loss on its debt-funded investments in Sundance Resources and Moly Mines.
Page 18: Billabong International founder and major shareholder Gordon Merchant and fellow director Collette Paull are backing a $287 million takeover proposal by suitors private equity firm Sycamore Partners and Paul Naude.
The Australian
Page 1: Tony Abbott will go to the election promising a national broadband network that embraces contentious elements of Labor’s plan — including keeping it off budget — but would require people to pay for super-fast fibre-to-the-home connections, could see those in the bush charged different access prices and claims to be $24 a month cheaper for consumers.
The Gillard government’s tough-love budget decision to force thousands of single mothers on to the dole is achieving one of its key objectives, with almost 4000 parents who were relying exclusively on welfare now drawing their own income.
Julia Gillard has scored a foreign policy coup, signing a historic pact with China for direct annual meetings with Premier Li Keqiang and pledges for formal co-operation on climate change, international aid and currency trading.
Page 2: Regional customers could pay more than their city cousins for high-speed broadband under a Coalition plan that sparked a new political stoush over ‘‘price parity’’ between the city and the bush.
Page 4: Unions and Labor MPs have called for further government intervention to ensure the viability of the automotive industry following Holden’s announcement of 500 redundancies from its Adelaide and Melbourne plants.
Small business owners are at the centre of a policy row ahead of the election as the federal government puts a $5 billion estimate on the tax benefits employers would lose if Tony Abbott wins in September.
Australian business remains unconvinced the economy is improving, claiming trading conditions fell to their worst level in almost four years last month, even if their overall outlook improved a little.
Page 7: Plans to expand the national literacy and numeracy testing program to include science for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be resisted by state education ministers, who yesterday questioned the value of the assessment program and rejected the idea of a national institute to monitor school performance.
Business: The government will terminate its support for the $45 billion mortgage-backed securities market, arguing that the market now has sufficient private sector support to operate on its own.
A torturous bidding process for Billabong has elicited a $287 million offer for the embattled surfwear group, but the proposal remains conditional and still could collapse.
Ten Network has posted a net loss after tax of $243.3 million for the half-year due to a non-cash writedown, as new CEO Hamish McLennan declared he was ‘‘clearing the decks for the future’’.
Australia's economy is coping better than expected with a persistently high local currency, offsetting the immediate need for more rate cuts to counter its adverse effect on exporters and manufacturers, according to a Reserve Bank board member.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has offered magnetite miners a royalty concession in a move he says illustrates to China that his state wants its investment.
Strong profits from US aluminium giant Alcoa gave its locally listed junior partner Alumina a welcome share-price boost amid indications the company’s Victorian aluminium assets have stopped leaking cash.
One of Gina Rinehart’s key lieutenants, geology professor and climate change sceptic Ian Plimer, says market-based solutions have been more effective in tackling carbon dioxide emissions than regulation-based approaches such as the carbon tax.
General Electric has continued its rapid expansion into the oil and gas services industry with a $US3.3 billion ($3.15bn) cash deal to buy the Texas-based Lufkin Industries.
Tony Abbott says he will not ‘‘go to war’’ with Telstra or its shareholders should the telco giant’s multi-billion-dollar NBN contracts have to be renegotiated under a Coalition government.
Target's new managing director Stuart Machin has a difficult task ahead in turning the discount department store’s fortunes around as analysts point to myriad obstacles it faces in the mid-market of Australian retail.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: A fishing boat donated to Sri Lanka in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami has carried 66 asylum seekers to the Australian mainland.
Page 2: A formal complaint will be lodged with ALP officials against Nicola Roxon over claims the former attorney-general accused a female candidate of spreading a dirt sheet against a preselection rival.
Page 3: The half-brother of star mare Black Caviar has sold for $5 million - a southern hemisphere record.
World: US President Barack Obama has told his country "now is the time to act" to ban military-style assault firearms and tighten restrictions around guns.
Business: The federal opposition's broadband plan has been slammed as a second-rate "horse and buggy" plan by the government, the Greens and key independents.
Sport: Des Hasler has told Bulldogs fans who have been waiting five years for the return of Sonny Bill Williams to behave, or else.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: Technology experts say the coalition's national broadband plan will put Australia behind the rest of the world.
Page 2: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has landed a foreign policy triumph as Australia and China formally commit to annual leadership talks.
Page 3: The owner of the Star has launched a counter-attack against James Packer's Barangaroo casino plan.
World: The varied UK reactions to the death of Margaret Thatcher, at the age of 87, speaks to deep divisions in British society.
Business: Sources close to NBN Co have raised doubts over the coalition's planned $29 billion broadband policy, saying it would be difficult for the company to manage Telstra's legacy copper network without involving the firm.
Sport: NSW officials plan to provide the anti-doping authority ASADA with a list of Blues players they want exempted from questioning over the NRL drugs scandal during State of Origin.
The Age
Page 1: Almost 20 per cent of Victorian independent schools could lose money next year under the commonwealth's funding reforms, Independent Schools Victoria says.
Page 2: Premier Denis Napthine moves to assert his authority over the public service with a series of departmental mergers linking the environment to agriculture and planning to transport. Melbourne asylum seekers engaged in a hunger strike could have just days to live, Australian Medical Association president says. Crown Casino and Victoria's multi-billion-dollar poker machine industry the big winners from new Napthine government rules that prevent councils setting higher rates on some businesses.
Page 3: Sixty-six asylum seekers land within the harbour limits of Geraldton after telling rescuers they'd spent 44 days at sea from Sri Lanka. Former de-facto wife of respected 30-year policeman who shot himself at work wins six-figure compensation payout from Victoria Police's insurer.
World: Margaret Thatcher's death aged 87 exposes Britain to a stark reminder of the divisions at its heart.
Business: Coalition to buy back Telstra's copper network and use it as an integral part of its alternative national broadband policy, but analysts say this would create a slower telecommunications network than the current government's.
Sport: Melbourne Football Club CEO Cameron Schwab quits following the team's disastrous start to the AFL season.
The Herald Sun
Page 1: Ousted Melbourne Football Club chief Cameron Schwab may be just the first head to roll as the AFL's oldest club heads deeper into crisis.
Page 2: Police investigating a former staffer from a youth detention centre and her sexual relationship with an inmate.
Page 3: Champion race horse Black Caviar's half-brother sells for southern hemisphere record of $5 million at auction. The US Embassy in Canberra considered Bob Hawke, then-president of the Labor Party and the ACTU, a potential national leader, but also considered him capable of giving less than straightforward accounts of himself, WikiLeaks revelations show.
World: US President Barack Obama exhorts the country not to forget the Newtown massacre as Congress prepares to debate gun control.
Business: Surfwear group Billabong all but agrees to a cut-price buyout offer from former director Paul Naude.
Sport: AFL denies any involvement in Cameron Schwab's sacking, saying it was a Melbourne decision in response to supporter backlash.
