Today's Headlines

Swan warns no surplus til tax rebounds

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned that the budget will not return to surplus until tax collections recover from a strong dollar “sledgehammer” that he said pushed revenues $7.5 billion below official forecasts for this financial year. The Fin

Big miners put pressure on councils

The state's corruption watchdog has warned that the hundreds of millions of dollars mining giants shower on Pilbara councils has created pressure to deliver “outcomes”, including development approvals. The West

Gas heavies attack 'buy Australian' plan

Gas giants have written to politicians to warn that the Gillard government’s proposed new ‘‘buy Australian’’ measures are likely to fail, declaring some local industry misses out on work in resources and infrastructure projects because of ‘‘issues’’ over meeting Australia’s safety and environment laws. The Aus

Chinese going too far: Palmer

Mining magnate Clive Palmer has accused the Chinese owners of the struggling $6 billion Sino Iron magnetite project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region of trying to run the port “like they were in China”. The Fin

Perth heats up as Pilbara loses steam

The Perth housing market may be hitting unprecedented highs thanks to renewed buyer confidence, but the cooling resources sector means the once-hot Pilbara has come off the boil. The Fin

 

 

Top Resources Headlines

Chinese going too far: Palmer

Mining magnate Clive Palmer has accused the Chinese owners of the struggling $6 billion Sino Iron magnetite project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region of trying to run the port “like they were in China”. The Fin

Gas heavies attack 'buy Australian' plan

Gas giants have written to politicians to warn that the Gillard government’s proposed new ‘‘buy Australian’’ measures are likely to fail, declaring some local industry misses out on work in resources and infrastructure projects because of ‘‘issues’’ over meeting Australia’s safety and environment laws. The Aus

Big miners put pressure on councils

The state's corruption watchdog has warned that the hundreds of millions of dollars mining giants shower on Pilbara councils has created pressure to deliver “outcomes”, including development approvals. The West

Resource states surge as three-speed imbalance widens

Western Australia is still firmly in the fast lane of Australia’s three-speed economy thanks to an ongoing resource boom, while Tasmania and South Australia are languishing further behind. The Aus

Negativity on China 'puzzling'

Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power says he’s ‘‘a bit perplexed’’ about the negative reaction to Chinese GDP numbers implying slower economic growth. The Aus

 

Top Politics Headlines

Swan warns no surplus til tax rebounds

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned that the budget will not return to surplus until tax collections recover from a strong dollar “sledgehammer” that he said pushed revenues $7.5 billion below official forecasts for this financial year. The Fin

Deficits to hit $80bn if spending is not cut

Federal and state budgets will be generating yearly combined deficits of at least $80 billion within a decade unless welfare, health and education spending is cut, according to the Grattan Institute. The Fin

Education funding needs a tweak: Abbott

Tony Abbott says Australia's school's funding system is “not broken” and that any changes could be a matter of finetuning after the September election. The West

Referendum likely with federal poll

Australians look set to vote in a referendum on whether the Constitution should formally recognise local government as the Gillard government forges ahead with plans to put the question at the September 14 federal election. The Aus

Coalition states mum on GST 'deal' with WA

Coalition states have denied they are in “secret meetings” with West Australian Premier Colin Barnett on a new tax deal, after Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the states had agreed to a new system for distributing the goods and services tax. The Fin

 

Top Property Headlines

Perth heats up as Pilbara loses steam

The Perth housing market may be hitting unprecedented highs thanks to renewed buyer confidence, but the cooling resources sector means the once-hot Pilbara has come off the boil. The Fin

Property sales in SW hit record

Realtors have tipped a price rise in the South West, where low interest rates and affordable prices have whipped up a buying frenzy. The West

China's Wu Puingai eyes $700m Perth property play

One of China’s most successful private businessmen, Wu Puingai, who is investing $700 million in WA’s Ord River irrigation area, plans to spend a similar amount on Perth real estate over the next three years. The Fin

On the cusp of creating a new Perth

About one year since Premier Colin Barnett first turned the sod of one of the most significant waterfront projects in WA history, the Elizabeth Quay development is forging ahead and transforming the face of Perth. The West

 

The West Australian

Page 1: Wayne Swan appears to have abandoned any hope of booking a surplus for the next four years, after the continuing strength of the Australian dollar contributed to a $7.5 billion writedown of revenue.

Page 4: Tony Abbott says Australia's school's funding system is “not broken” and that any changes could be a matter of finetuning after the September election.

Tony Abbott has used the eve of a flying two-day visit to WA to describe Colin Barnett's beef over WA's shrinking share of the GST as the “small beer of politics”.

Page 5: The animosity between taxi drivers and passengers in Perth is growing, with new figures showing an increase in complaints about behaviour, standards and service.

Page 9: WA scientists behind groundbreaking research into a devastating muscle-wasting disease have signed a $US7.1 million deal with an American drug company to develop further treatments.

Page 10: About one year since Premier Colin Barnett first turned the sod of one of the most significant waterfront projects in WA history, the Elizabeth Quay development is forging ahead and transforming the face of Perth.

Page 12: Julian Assange's WikiLeaks Party insists WA will be one of three states to field Senate candidates in the federal election, despite new polling showing lower support in the west than anywhere in Australia.

Page 13: The state's corruption watchdog has warned that the hundreds of millions of dollars mining giants shower on Pilbara councils has created pressure to deliver “outcomes”, including development approvals.

Page 14: Realtors have tipped a price rise in the South West, where low interest rates and affordable prices have whipped up a buying frenzy.

Page 15: Juggling the conflict between work pressures and family life will only get more difficult unless governments speed up reforms to provide better support to working parents, leading academics say.

Dingo conservationists are furious after a mining company confirmed it would kill a wild dog that attacked an employee at its Pilbara site.

Business: Citic Pacific's $10 billion Sino Iron project has been hit by further delays, with faulty equipment and technical hitches lengthening the path to production.

Businessman Pankaj Oswal believes an inquiry into spending by the insolvency firm handling Burrup Fertilisers will reveal further excessive costs.

Institutional investors have bolstered their presence at Gage Roads Brewing in an $8 million capital raising by the contract craft beer producer.

The Construction, Forestry Mining and Energy Union says the decision to shut down a Kwinana workshop is a sign more contracts are going to offshore firms.

Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig has urged WA farmers to find alternatives to shooting sheep in the wake of a well-known veterinarians warning about a potential animal welfare disaster.

 

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned that the budget will not return to surplus until tax collections recover from a strong dollar “sledgehammer” that he said pushed revenues $7.5 billion below official forecasts for this financial year.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer has accused the Chinese owners of the struggling $6 billion Sino Iron magnetite project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region of trying to run the port “like they were in China”.

Page 3: Australia will step up pressure on Japan to cut decades-old barriers to imports of important agricultural products following a decision by the Japanese government to join region-wide free trade talks.

Page 4: Federal and state budgets will be generating yearly combined deficits of at least $80 billion within a decade unless welfare, health and education spending is cut, according to the Grattan Institute.

Page 5: Coalition states have denied they are in “secret meetings” with West Australian Premier Colin Barnett on a new tax deal, after Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the states had agreed to a new system for distributing the goods and services tax.

Page 6: The federal Coalition is considering a school funding plan that would adopt the Gonski report's loadings for disability and social disadvantages and add them to the existing school funding model a move with a price tag of between $1.7 billion and $2.5 billion.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard could have reached a deal on the Gonski education reforms on Friday, but she pushed the states away, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says.

The federal government would keep adjusting its policies on 457 visa holders to meet demand Prime Minister Julia Gillard told Chinese media on Saturday.

Page 9: Advertising executives are claiming the government’s advertisements to publicise the increase in compulsory superannuation contributions are misleading.

Page 10: The Perth housing market may be hitting unprecedented highs thanks to renewed buyer confidence, but the cooling resources sector means the once-hot Pilbara has come off the boil.

One of China’s most successful private businessmen, Wu Puingai, who is investing $700 million in WA’s Ord River irrigation area, plans to spend a similar amount on Perth real estate over the next three years.

Page 13: Wesfarmers’ Coles division has rejected claims it misused its market power to drive smaller rivals out of business, arguing it sacrificed sales of almost $1 billion over the last four years in closing 100 marginally profitable supermarkets and dozens of liquor stores.

Page 15: iiNet and M2 Telecommunications engaged in serious merger talks last year as part of an audacious plan to create a new, multi billion-dollar force in the broadband market, ahead of the arrival of the NBN.

The timing of BHP Billiton's biggest petroleum expansion project in the Gulf of Mexico is up in the air after the lead partner said rising costs had forced a review of development options.

Page 41: A United Kingdom-based alternative investment company has defended claims it can generate returns of more than 20 per cent over five years on small holdings of West Australian wheat farms.

 

The Australian

Page 1: Australian governments are facing a budget black hole so large that politically painful cuts to growth in public health and education spending are all but unavoidable if the nation is to avoid a European-style debt quagmire.

Australians look set to vote in a referendum on whether the Constitution should formally recognise local government as the Gillard government forges ahead with plans to put the question at the September 14 federal election.

Page 2: Infrastructure costing an estimated $1.6 billion will need to be built in Northern Australia to accommodate a fully-equipped, 2500-strong US Marines task force due in Darwin in about 2016.

Page 3: Improved affordability coupled with low interest rates has prompted an investor resurgence in Australia’s housing market, which has experienced its strongest start to the year since 2010.

Page 4: The Victorian ALP has moved to sharply distance itself from Julia Gillard and NSW Labor in a bid to stem the electoral pain caused by scandal and politically unpopular decisions.

Gas giants have written to politicians to warn that the Gillard government’s proposed new ‘‘buy Australian’’ measures are likely to fail, declaring some local industry misses out on work in resources and infrastructure projects because of ‘‘issues’’ over meeting Australia’s safety and environment laws.

Page 6: Consistency of message is required to reposition Australian wool as a luxury product and get a better deal for sheep farmers, Italy’s Paolo Zegna says.

The nation is ‘‘heading for a work and care tsunami’’ unless workers with caring responsibilities receive better leave and superannuation entitlements.

Business: Australian Agriculture Company chief executive David Farley has called for a comprehensive government policy on agribusiness if Australia is to take advantage of the increasing demand for high-quality food in Asia.

Stockland's new boss, Mark Steinert, is believed to be considering a partnership with the listed FKP Property Group for its retirement operations as it struggles to find ways to cut overheads for the low-yielding division.

Western Australia is still firmly in the fast lane of Australia’s three-speed economy thanks to an ongoing resource boom, while Tasmania and South Australia are languishing further behind.

The March quarter consumer price index, to be released this week, is expected to confirm the Reserve Bank’s view that it has scope to cut interest rates further if demand weakens.

Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power says he’s ‘‘a bit perplexed’’ about the negative reaction to Chinese GDP numbers implying slower economic growth.

The fate of beleaguered surf, skate and skiwear group Billabong is expected to be unveiled tomorrow as the company wraps up negotiations with the former head of its US division over a proposed takeover deal.

 

The Daily Telegraph

Page 1: The Central Coast Mariners have beaten the Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League grand final. Just 664 applications have been made for the state government's family energy rebate.

Page 2-3: Advertisements.

World: US police say one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers could have been responsible for the death of his brother, whom he mowed down with a car.

Business: Self-managed super funds are proving too complex, causing a number of people to switch out of them.

Sport: The Mariners are champions of the A-League with a 2-0 win over Western Sydney.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Page 1: The Central Coast Mariners have defeated the Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League grand final. Australia could face a decade of budget deficits, an expert panel has warned.

Page 2: A house in Sydney's east has been sold for $33 million. A man was carjacked and ordered to drive from Griffith to Wagga Wagga, sparking a manhunt.

Page 3: A new lung cancer treatment could be used to help treat other forms of the disease, a researcher says. The federal government's multibillion welfare-to-work scheme is at risk of being defrauded by employment agencies.

World: US authorities are now examining the motives of those suspected of being behind the Boston bombings.

Business: Outgoing CSL boss has appeared before lawyers over the company's alleged involvement in an international cartel that may have fixed blood plasma prices.

Sport: The Central Coast Mariners have won the 2013 A-League competition.

 

The Age

Page 1: Australia could face a decade of budget deficits unless drastic action is taken, a think tank has warned. Victorian police commissioner Ken Lay says the state's violence problem is worse than feared.

Page 2-3: Authorities have cleared the way for direct flights from Manila to Avalon Airport. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has urged Prime Minister Julia Gillard not to appoint the country's next governor-general. Economic turmoil in Italy is sending young Italians to work in Melbourne's cafes and restaurants. A new lung cancer treatment could prove effective in the treatment of other cancers.

World: American authorities are now investigating the motives behind the Boston Marathon bombings.

Business: The head of CSL has been questioned by American lawyers over the company's alleged involvement in cartel behaviour.

Sport: Melbourne has avoided a calamity with a stellar last quarter performance against GWS in their AFL clash.

 

The Herald Sun

Page 1: Victoria urgently needs road and rail upgrades, including a cross city tunnel and an airport link, a coalition of state leaders says.

Page 2: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott rejects the Gonski reforms as too expensive. The government says families in marginal seats will be $2200 a year worse off if the coalition is elected.

Page 3: Beer brewers ask the federal government for tax relief. A South Australian woman is suing McDonald's after being scalded by hot coffee. Rolf Harris's wife has spoken of her distress as her husband is named as a suspect for historic sex offences.

World: Residents displaced by a massive fertiliser plant explosion in Texas have begun to return home.

Finance: The Australian market is expected to open higher on the back of strong performances overseas.

Sport: North Melbourne's Majak Daw took a big mark and kicked a goal before being concussed in his AFL debut.