Budget hole could hit $80bn
The shortfall in forecast budget revenue will be between $60 billion and $80 billion from now to 2016, forcing the Gillard government to dump spending pledges, including $1.8 billion in family assistance. The Fin
Ditching Browse was right move: Ferguson
Former federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has backed Woodside Petroleum's decision to ditch the $40 billion Browse project and pursue floating gas processing, saying the pioneering technology was the only way for workers and firms to secure a global future in the LNG industry. The West
Rio and Fortescue go for growth at Pilbara
Both Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto have confirmed they will continue expanding their iron ore operations in the Pilbara despite calls for capital to be returned to shareholders. The Fin
Indons eye WA cattle stations
Indonesian companies, including many owned by the government, are poised to spend tens of millions of dollars buying stakes in WA cattle stations to secure a beef supply. The West
Uneasy outlook spurs rate cut call
Momentum for further interest rate cuts gained traction yesterday amid renewed signals of weakness in the economy, prompting business leaders to call for the Reserve Bank to consider moving on rates — if not today, in the immediate months ahead. The Aus
Top Resources Headlines
Ditching Browse was right move: Ferguson
Former federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has backed Woodside Petroleum's decision to ditch the $40 billion Browse project and pursue floating gas processing, saying the pioneering technology was the only way for workers and firms to secure a global future in the LNG industry. The West
Rio and Fortescue go for growth at Pilbara
Both Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto have confirmed they will continue expanding their iron ore operations in the Pilbara despite calls for capital to be returned to shareholders. The Fin
Rio mine appeal won't save jobs
Rio Tinto has won the right to expedite the appeals process over the decision to block an expansion of its Warkworth coalmine, but the miner warns jobs losses are still likely because of the ‘‘unprecedented’’ move to stop the expansion. The Aus
Karoon back in good books after Brazil find
Karoon has recaptured some of its former highly-flying status after striking oil in its latest exploration well off the coast of Brazil. The Aus
Forrest eager for dividend return
Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power has cautioned investors not to expect the iron ore miner to ratchet up its dividends too quickly, despite his chairman Andrew Forrest calling for a resumption of dividends as soon as responsible. The Aus
Top Politics Headlines
Budget hole could hit $80bn
The shortfall in forecast budget revenue will be between $60 billion and $80 billion from now to 2016, forcing the Gillard government to dump spending pledges, including $1.8 billion in family assistance. The Fin
Coalition to bust welfare mentality
The Coalition has vowed to enforce a new ‘‘culture of self-reliance’’ to bring welfare spending under control as it faces a renewed debate over its economic platform because of the generosity of its $4.3 billion paid parental leave scheme. The Aus
Labor to spend big on Aussie jobs push
The Gillard government is preparing a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to entrench its ‘‘Aussie jobs first’’ slogan before the September election. The Aus
Top Property Headlines
Uneasy outlook spurs rate cut call
Momentum for further interest rate cuts gained traction yesterday amid renewed signals of weakness in the economy, prompting business leaders to call for the Reserve Bank to consider moving on rates — if not today, in the immediate months ahead. The Aus
Contractor strikes huge building deal
Leighton Properties plans to on-sell three office towers to be built at the Perth City Link, on the site of the former Perth Entertainment Centre, for $438 million to Dexus Property Group. The West
Leighton keeps full-year guidance
Leighton Holdings' operating companies are collaborating to cut costs as the contractor battles to recover money from clients in an increasingly tough Australian construction market. The Fin
Boral closes lower after profit warning
Shares in Australia’s largest building materials provider Boral closed more than 3 per cent lower yesterday after it issued a profit warning and said it was unable to predict when the soft conditions in the nation’s home building market would improve. The Aus
The West Australian
Page 1: Indonesian companies, including many owned by the government, are poised to spend tens of millions of dollars buying stakes in WA cattle stations to secure a beef supply.
Page 3: Average petrol prices across Perth have fallen to their lowest level in 10 months, delivering spare cash to financially-strapped families.
Corrective Services Minister Joe Francis is concerned that some prison officers have systematically rorted sick and personal leave as he declared the job required a “certain thickness of skin”.
Page 4: Tony Abbott is under mounting pressure to use the cover of budget week to retreat on his “signature” paid parental leave policy.
Page 5: Gina Rinehart's two estranged children will not be allowed to use the legal team which has fought their battle against the multi-billionaire for the past 18 months after a surprise decision by their sister Hope Welker to block the lawyers from forking for them.
Page 6: A new range of international funds is investing in Perth's central business district to cash in on strong rental yields that are up to twice as high as averages in many cities overseas.
Page 11: Ambulance patients will be diverted from Perth emergency departments to a private hospital under a plan to ease growing pressure on public hospitals and paramedics.
Signs that shoppers are picking up basement-priced bargains from the nation's retailers may be enough to stop the Reserve Bank cutting official interest rates today.
Business: Former federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has backed Woodside Petroleum's decision to ditch the $40 billion Browse project and pursue floating gas processing, saying the pioneering technology was the only way for workers and firms to secure a global future in the LNG industry.
Never mind that Kagara is one slip from liquidation, veteran director Joe Treacy yesterday wooed creditors with a vision of the world's biggest lead mine being developed near Broome.
Fortescue Metals Group managing director Nev Power says there is no pressure from sharehodlers holding out for a dividend as the company transforms itself into a yield and capital growth miner.
Engineering work at a $US800 million Pilbara explosives factory is more than half finished, according to joint partner Orica.
Leighton Properties plans to on-sell three office towers to be built at the Perth City Link, on the site of the former Perth Entertainment Centre, for $438 million to Dexus Property Group.
Leighton Holdings has championed its diversity against the backdrop of a downturn in mining by reaffirming its full-year forecast.
Pre-drilling excitement has engulfed Neon Energy, with investors sending shares in the Perth explorer up 6 per cent just a month out from the spudding of a key well in Vietnam.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The shortfall in forecast budget revenue will be between $60 billion and $80 billion from now to 2016, forcing the Gillard government to dump spending pledges, including $1.8 billion in family assistance.
Senior Liberals are angry at their own MP Alex Hawke, believing his public criticism of the Coalition’s paid parental leave scheme has scuttled any last chance of shelving or amending the policy.
Page 3: Australia's top union leader urged employers to remember that “governments come and go” and that they should continue to engage with the labour movement if the Coalition wins the federal election in September.
Page 5: Tax experts warn that there is no wide-spread abuse of debt deduction rules and the planned crackdown in next week's budget will hurt the legitimate efforts of businesses wanting to expand globally.
An influential group of monetary policy experts and former Reserve Bank of Australia board members has urged the central bank to keep rates steady on Tuesday and wait to assess the economic impact of next week's budget.
Page 6: Business economists said Tony Abbott's proposed paid parental leave scheme risks a revenue shortfall and increases compliance burden on companies.
Page 7: Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has warned that a Coalition government would implement drastic welfare and spending cuts and streamline government service delivery, but many of the details will not be finalised until after the federal election.
Page 8: Workers hired by major construction contractor Service Stream have been warned not to question NBN Co management directly about contractual conditions or pay rates.
Page 15: Both Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto have confirmed they will continue expanding their iron ore operations in the Pilbara despite calls for capital to be returned to shareholders.
Australian Agricultural Company chief executive David Farley says Australia's chances of becoming Asia's food bowl are being jeopardised by political disinterest in agriculture and the dismal state of current trade agreements.
Page 17: Leighton Holdings' operating companies are collaborating to cut costs as the contractor battles to recover money from clients in an increasingly tough Australian construction market.
Increased pressure on the domestic agriculture sector threatens to spiral into an agricultural loan loss cycle for Australian banks at a time when bank shares are soaring near record highs.
Orica, the world's biggest explosives maker, is confident a revival in United States coal volumes and cost cuts will help turn around its struggling mining consumables division as it reafirms forecasts for higher profits this year.
Boral has downgraded earnings expectations after weakness in the Australian housing sector impacted profits from its construction materials and building products in the third quarter.
Page 35: DEXUS Property Group has advanced its ambition to become Australia's dominant office landlord, with the listed trust and its DEXUS Wholesale Property Fund snapping up Leighton Properties' Kings Square development in Perth for $434.8 million.
The Australian
Page 1: The Coalition has vowed to enforce a new ‘‘culture of self-reliance’’ to bring welfare spending under control as it faces a renewed debate over its economic platform because of the generosity of its $4.3 billion paid parental leave scheme.
Voters have overwhelmingly endorsed plans for a national disability insurance scheme and support for both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott has lifted after a bipartisan approach was reached for a Medicare levy increase to fund the scheme.
Page 4: An online debate on the differences between Labor and the Coalition’s national broadband network policies descended into mud-slinging yesterday when Malcolm Turnbull branded Communications Minister Stephen Conroy a ‘‘grub’’.
Page 5: The generation that grew up in the economic boom years of the late 1990s and the new millennium are struggling to break free of their parents emotionally as well as financially.
Page 6: Boosting foreign aid to reach global development goals would cost taxpayers $2.6 billion across the next four years, according to confidential cost estimates that will reignite a row over Labor’s decision to postpone the target.
Governments’ combined spending has more than doubled to nearly two-fifths of national income since federation while the flow of new legislation has leapt more than tenfold, threatening Australia’s long-run prosperity, according to new research.
Page 7: The Gillard government is preparing a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to entrench its ‘‘Aussie jobs first’’ slogan before the September election.
Business: Momentum for further interest rate cuts gained traction yesterday amid renewed signals of weakness in the economy, prompting business leaders to call for the Reserve Bank to consider moving on rates — if not today, in the immediate months ahead.
The major banks have taken aim at the prudential regulator over a conservative timetable for new liquidity rules designed to strengthen the global banking system.
APN News & Media shareholder Simon Marais has welcomed the appointment of long-serving News Limited executive Michael Miller to lead the company’s turnaround, and urged him not to rush into a fire sale of assets.
Rio Tinto has won the right to expedite the appeals process over the decision to block an expansion of its Warkworth coalmine, but the miner warns jobs losses are still likely because of the ‘‘unprecedented’’ move to stop the expansion.
Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power has cautioned investors not to expect the iron ore miner to ratchet up its dividends too quickly, despite his chairman Andrew Forrest calling for a resumption of dividends as soon as responsible.
Karoon has recaptured some of its former highly-flying status after striking oil in its latest exploration well off the coast of Brazil.
Leighton Holdings has reconfirmed full-year guidance and delivered a $123 million net profit in the first quarter of its financial year, turning around a $80m loss.
Explosives maker Orica is confident it will beat its 2012 fullyear profit result — provided the global economy avoids any further deterioration.
Shares in Australia’s largest building materials provider Boral closed more than 3 per cent lower yesterday after it issued a profit warning and said it was unable to predict when the soft conditions in the nation’s home building market would improve.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: Former friends John Singleton and Gai Waterhouse have traded insults at a NSW Racing stewards' meeting. 70 Australians with incomes of more than $1 million each paid no income tax in 2010-11 and spent millions on lawyers and accountants to exploit loopholes in the tax code.
Page 2: Cheap eating will be favoured over fine dining when tenders for several venues at the Opera House are made public later in the week.
Page 3: A Catholic mafia within police ranks colluded with church officials to cover up sex abuse in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese.
World: Malaysian opposition leader has announced a legal challenge to the results of the country's recent election, claiming it was fraudulent.
Business: Building products supplier Boral has dropped its profit forecast citing a decrease in the demand for new housing.
Sport: NSW Origin coach Laurie Daley must finalise his team and decide whether he will attempt to match the size of the Queensland forwards within the next week.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: Gai Waterhouse called former friend John Singleton a "drunk" and "an absolute sham" during a six-hour stewards hearing at Racing NSW.
Page 2: Federal Climate Change Minister Greg Combet's partner and ABC newsreader Juanita Phillips was taken off-duty the night Mr Combet gave evidence at an ICAC inquiry for fears of a conflict of interest.
Page 3: Bernard Tomic's father could be banned from tennis tournaments for life if he's found guilty of assaulting his son's training partner.
World: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is refusing to concede defeat in the country's election, saying it was fraudulent.
Business: Retail figures for the first three months of 2013 show the strongest period of growth in the sector for more than a decade.
Sport: Bernard Tomic's former Davis Cup team mentor Wally Masur says the young star shouldn't be coached by his father, who was reportedly arrested for assaulting Frenchman Thomas Drouet in Madrid.
The Age
Page 1: 70 Australians with incomes of more than $1 million each in 2010-11 avoided paying any income tax. Essendon bleeding after internal report on its controversial supplements program is released.
Page 2: Victorian treasurer promises a string of surpluses for the years ahead as he gets ready to deliver the stat budget. Two old friends - john Singleton and Gai Waterhouse - slug it out at the stewards inquiry over the disappointed run of champion horse More Joyous.
Page 3: More Victorians died from prescription drug overdoses last year than were killed on the roads.
World: Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim says the general election was stolen from him and will mount a legal challenge to overturn the decision.
Business: Boral boss Mike Kane says demand for new housing might be going backwards despite historically low interest rates.
Sport: Former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski releases damning recommendations following an internal review of Essendon and its supplements program and details the managerial failures last season.
The Herald Sun
Page 1: Underworld informers and police at risk after being identified in secret documents stolen by a corrupt cop and handed to outlaw bikies. Bernard Tomic's father John faces a Spanish court accused of head-butting Frenchman Thomas Drouet.
Page 2: Healthcare and transport sectors to be big winners in Victorian state budget. Spat between Malcolm Turnbull and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy turns ugly.
Page 3: Trainer Gai Waterhouse labels former client and millionaire horse owner John Singleton "a drunk and sham" as stewards inquiry turns rowdy.
World: Malaysia's ruling coalition retains its 56-year hold on power but
opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says the election was rigged.
Business: The group behind Hungry Jacks seeks breathing space from its lenders on a $100 million debt pile after breaching its loan conditions.
Sport: Missing letter from Essendon doctor Bruce Reid warning the club about its supplements regimen is at the heart of the Bombers woes.