End budget 'chaos': business
Business groups have demanded an end to federal budget “chaos”, calling for a credible return to fiscal surplus and an overhaul of taxation and carbon policies but fear industry will be slugged with higher taxes to fund election promises. The Fin
Low take-up for new gas offer
New domestic gas player Kleenheat has snatched just one per cent of the market from former monopoly Alinta Energy despite a multi-million dollar six-week advertising blitz. The West
Employers: reform IR now, not later
Employer groups say the Coalition will need to move faster to fix the industrial relations system if it wins the election, while accusing Labor of breaking key commitments on workplace policy. The Fin
Red tape blamed but not named
National Small Business Commissioner Mark Brennan claims the sector is undermining its own campaign to cut red tape, and failing to take advantage of its pre-election power, by not specifying which regulations need to change. The West
Subiaco accused of holding back progress
The City of Subiaco has been accused of being anti-development after the council refused to endorse a $95 million hotel, office and cinema development in the town centre. The West
Top Resources Headlines
Low take-up for new gas offer
New domestic gas player Kleenheat has snatched just one per cent of the market from former monopoly Alinta Energy despite a multi-million dollar six-week advertising blitz. The West
Minister joins Rio in mine appeal
The NSW government has joined Rio Tinto’s battle to overturn a court decision to halt the expansion of its Warkworth operation, but the miner has warned it is too late to avoid ‘‘significant’’ job losses at the mine. The Aus
Top Politics Headlines
End budget 'chaos': business
Business groups have demanded an end to federal budget “chaos”, calling for a credible return to fiscal surplus and an overhaul of taxation and carbon policies but fear industry will be slugged with higher taxes to fund election promises. The Fin
$258m plan for those on dole to help themselves
Unemployed Australians will be given extra help in tomorrow's federal budget – but only if they help themselves. The West
Employers: reform IR now, not later
Employer groups say the Coalition will need to move faster to fix the industrial relations system if it wins the election, while accusing Labor of breaking key commitments on workplace policy. The Fin
No-confidence motion in doubt
A key Coalition strategist has ignited doubts about Tony Abbott’s threatened noconfidence motion in the government, pointing out that independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott are likely to back the government. The Aus
Top Property Headlines
Subiaco accused of holding back progress
The City of Subiaco has been accused of being anti-development after the council refused to endorse a $95 million hotel, office and cinema development in the town centre. The West
Call to divide ritzy suburbs for housing
Western Suburbs “McMansions” should be converted into apartments to help deal with Perth's population growth, an expert says. The West
The West Australian
Page 1: Unemployed Australians will be given extra help in tomorrow's federal budget – but only if they help themselves.
Page 3: New domestic gas player Kleenheat has snatched just one per cent of the market from former monopoly Alinta Energy despite a multi-million dollar six-week advertising blitz.
Page 4: A child born today will be in high school before the federal government pays off debts left by Treasurer Wayne Swan.
The federal government is using a referendum on the constitutional recognition of local government to deflect from its woes, says Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop.
Page 6: The City of Subiaco has been accused of being anti-development after the council refused to endorse a $95 million hotel, office and cinema development in the town centre.
Page 9: The Department of Environment and Conservation has completed less than 10 per cent of its planned prescribed burns in the South West this financial year, triggering warnings of catastrophic fire threat.
Page 10: WA's growing number of home solar power users will now have a voice with the launch today of Australia's first solar energy consumer rights group.
Page 16: Trade unions are demanding the Coalition reveal terms reference for a planned Productivity Commission inquiry into workplace relations laws before the September 14 federal election.
Page 18: Western Suburbs “McMansions” should be converted into apartments to help deal with Perth's population growth, an expert says.
Page 19: WA growers fear rocketing fruit and vegetable imports will squeeze them out of the industry.
Business: National Small Business Commissioner Mark Brennan claims the sector is undermining its own campaign to cut red tape, and failing to take advantage of its pre-election power, by not specifying which regulations need to change.
The Australian dollar dropped below parity with the greenback for the first time in more than 10 months, after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates to a record-low.
A Victorian farmer behind the ambitious launch of a nationwide crop insurance scheme says it is now up to WA grain growers to decide how much they want the safety net some have spent years campaigning to have in place.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Business groups have demanded an end to federal budget “chaos”, calling for a credible return to fiscal surplus and an overhaul of taxation and carbon policies but fear industry will be slugged with higher taxes to fund election promises.
The federal government will delay for another year reaching its foreign aid spending target, a move that could save as much as $3 billion and help it forecast a surplus in 2016-17.
Page 3: The Coalition has approached Ziggy Switkowski to be a director of NBN Co if it wins the election, in another sign that it plans to shake up the board of the $37.4 billion broadband project.
David Jones chief Paul Zahra has snared new brands from arch rival Myer, taking advantage of supplier unrest after Myer's legal battle with designer Kym Ellery.
Page 5: Economists predict Treasurer Wayne Swan will announce almost $40 million of accumulated budget deficits but come painfully close to a return to a surplus by 2017.
Unions and industry stepped up their criticism of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's paid parental leave scheme as shadow treasurer Joe Hockey hinted changes were being contemplated to keep the cost of the scheme down.
Page 6: Employer groups say the Coalition will need to move faster to fix the industrial relations system if it wins the election, while accusing Labor of breaking key commitments on workplace policy.
Business groups have called for an overhaul of carbon policy but are divided over whether Australia should have an emissions trading scheme before its major trading partners.
Page 15: David Jones has given international suppliers a 12-month deadline to reduce wholesale prices or risk being removed from shelves.
NAB CEO Cameron Clyne says he may cut mortgage rates out of step with the central bank as loan funding costs stabilise and competition intensifies in the $1.3 trillion home loan market.
Page 17: Most Australians would not have owned shares in Chinese companies, but they will get the chance when Sino Australian Oil and Gas lists on the Australian Securities Exchange next month.
The Australian
Page 1: Big business has launched a pre-emptive strike against expected hits in tomorrow’s budget, declaring that any tinkering with the tax system risks dashing confidence and undermining Wayne Swan’s goal of supporting jobs and growth.
Employer groups expect their members to scale back their parental leave schemes if the Coalition goes ahead with a 1.5 per cent levy to fund a bigger government scheme, saying market pressures will force the cuts.
The NSW government has joined Rio Tinto’s battle to overturn a court decision to halt the expansion of its Warkworth operation, but the miner has warned it is too late to avoid ‘‘significant’’ job losses at the mine.
Page 2: A key Coalition strategist has ignited doubts about Tony Abbott’s threatened noconfidence motion in the government, pointing out that independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott are likely to back the government.
One of the federal government’s top migration advisers has backed a landmark finding that only a ‘‘small proportion’’ of employers are abusing the skilled worker program in another blow to Labor claims of widespread rorting.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox has likened the unions’ attack on individual flexibility arrangements to its ‘‘scare campaign’’ over 457 visa rorts.
Page 3: All eyes in the Australian market today will be on our currency and whether it stays above parity with the US dollar, in the wake of the weekend’s downward lurch.
The Ten Network is expected to be confirmed as the broadcaster for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, while its aggressive bidding policy looks set to deliver a slice of Cricket Australia media rights, long held by the Nine Network.
Page 4: Recipients of the Newstart Allowance will be able to earn more before their government payments cut out and single mothers will get an additional payment if they study while on the dole, under a $300 million initiative in tomorrow’s budget.
More than $30 billion of spending and savings measures have been unveiled in the weeks leading up to the budget as the government prepares the electorate for further years of deficits.
Page 6: One of Australia’s foremost China experts says then prime minister Kevin Rudd may have fallen victim to ‘‘bite your friend’’ syndrome during his dealings with the Asian power, as Beijing expected too much in return.
Premier Colin Barnett is resisting pressure to follow the Northern Territory and sign on to the national disability insurance scheme, saying Western Australia will only join when the federal government agrees to a decentralised and federated system.
Business: Companies are failing to properly embrace technology to help simplify communications with investors and need to be far more prepared to disclose the risks associated with their business activities to prevent unwelcome surprises driven by changes in their core markets, according to a high-powered panel of experts.
Cashed-up Asian companies are on the prowl in Europe and the US, looking to buy businesses with low multiples which are now becoming highly affordable.
More than two-thirds of Australians would recycle food scraps if the right ways and means were available, according to research commissioned by a firm backed by Melbourne packaging billionaire Raphael Geminder and a former executive of the Pratt family’s Visy Group.
Investors will be watching the Australian dollar closely this week following its drop of nearly US2c late last week to just above parity with the greenback.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: Logging would be allowed in NSW national parks and a freeze imposed on the declaration of new conservation areas under recommendations of a government-dominated state parliamentary inquiry.
Page 2: Big banks have failed to pass on most interest rate cuts to their credit card customers, despite the Reserve Bank cutting them to their lowest level in more than 50 years.
Page 3: Saleyard prices for cattle have plummeted to crisis levels but consumers will pay no less for their favourite cuts of beef, say meat industry groups.
World: The former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has claimed victory in the Pakistani election, reaping the benefit of a protest vote against the incumbent Pakistan People's Party, whose five years in power have been marked by corruption scandals, economic mismanagement and militant violence.
Business: Australian taxpayers will help Rio Tinto to fund a $US5.1 billion mine expansion in Mongolia, after Australia's export credit agency decided to continue its controversial habit to lend to multinational corporations.
Sport: The frenetic series of phone calls between Andrew Johns, Eddie Hayson, Allan Robinson and John Singleton will be the focus of the stewards when the More Joyous inquiry resumes at Racing NSW headquarters on Monday.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: Sydney families are being slugged up to $5000 a year more in cost-of-living expenses than any other capital city.
Page 2: Former jockey Allan Robinson has revealed that it was only after an SOS from good friend John Singleton that he changed his mind and decided to give evidence at today's More Joyous inquiry. He, Andrew Johns and brothel owner Eddie Hayson will all attend.
Page 3: Lawyer Chris Murphy may use freedom from defamation laws at today's racing inquiry to attack Gai Waterhouse and to probe perceptions of a conflict of interest between her training operations and the bookmaking business of her husband and son.
World: Hours after escaping alleged kidnapper Ariel Castro, Amanda Berry called her grandfather, who told her he'd kept a 1896 Chevrolet that he'd promised her 11 years ago.
Business: As the budget outlook worsens and key government handouts for households are axed, rising debt levels are tipped to send consumer and business confidence into reverse and erase the benefits from the recent interest rate cut, economists warn.
Sport: Although the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency has called off interviews with Cronulla Sharks players, the investigation is far from over as ASADA explores other avenues of what may have happened involving various players at various clubs.
The Herald Sun
Page 1: Victoria will get $525 million in the Federal Budget to complete the M80 Ring Road and repair 63 of the state's worst road accident black spots. More than 44,000 take to the Tan for breast cancer research.
Page 2: Taxpayers are forking out $85 million to build toilets and workspaces for protective services officers at train stations.
Page 3: Serious offenders, drunk drivers and arsonists all face having to wear GPS-monitored bracelets to track their movements. Two men kicked out of Etihad Stadium for racially abusing North Melbourne's Majak Daw. Ten years old, 1.7m tall but Jarrah, the western grey kangaroo, still loves knocking back a bottle of milk.
World: Forty dead as two car bombs explode in a city on the Syrian-Turkish border.
Finance: Business and consumer confidence waning because of rising debt levels and the axing of government handouts.
Sport: Gold Coast star Nathan Bock under investigation because he might have been given banned peptides.
The Age
Page 1: The big banks have not been passing on interest rate cuts to credit card customers, despite the Reserve Bank cutting rates to their lowest level in more than 30 years.
Page 2: Lives are at risk because of a breakdown in the Metropolitan Fire Brigade's dispatch system, the firefighters' union has warned.
Page 3: Superannuation funds would preference Australian-made goods when they invest in local building projects as part of a "Buy Australian" proposal being worked on by powerful Victorian building unions and major industry funds.
World: The former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has claimed victory in the Pakistani election, reaping the benefit of a protest vote against the incumbent Pakistan People's Party, whose five years in power have been marked by corruption scandals, economic mismanagement and militant violence.
Business: Australian taxpayers will help Rio Tinto to fund a US$5.1 billion mine expansion in Mongolia, after Australia's export credit agency decided to continue its controversial habit of lending to multinational corporations.
Sport: Coach Mark Neeld will come under massive pressure this week after Melbourne plummeted to even greater depths after a 60-point loss to Gold Coast.
