Hockey to push for Labor cuts
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has warned his frontbench colleagues that the Coalition must consider passing the savings and tax increases in Tuesday’s federal budget, raising the likelihood that the opposition could support most measures, including the abolition of the Howard government’s baby bonus. The Fin
Barnett breaks another promise
The Barnett government will break another promise, this time to give tax relief worth hundreds of millions of dollars to small business in its continuing scramble to prevent the state budget falling into deficit. The West
Mining slump fears hit markets
The end of the investment boom in Australian resources has hit the bottom lines of mining services contractors, who are now being forced to slash earnings forecasts and flag potential writedowns as project delays and cancellations work their way down the mining food chain. The Aus
Changes 'will discourage exploration'
Junior miners warn they will struggle to attract investment for new exploration projects under a raft of tax changes in the federal budget which are expected to hurt resource firms, large multinationals and infrastructure funding. The Fin
Half stake in Perth tower up for grabs
The Colonial First State Global Asset Management-run Private Property Syndicate will put its half stake in Exchange Plaza in Perth on the block with expectations of a sale price of about $180 million as it winds down. The Fin
Top Resources Headlines
Mining slump fears hit markets
The end of the investment boom in Australian resources has hit the bottom lines of mining services contractors, who are now being forced to slash earnings forecasts and flag potential writedowns as project delays and cancellations work their way down the mining food chain. The Aus
Changes 'will discourage exploration'
Junior miners warn they will struggle to attract investment for new exploration projects under a raft of tax changes in the federal budget which are expected to hurt resource firms, large multinationals and infrastructure funding. The Fin
Alcoa profit crashes by 81pc
Alcoa has delivered proof that even its low-cost WA bauxite and alumina operations are feeling the pinch of aluminium's persistent status as the world's most unpopular metal, reporting an 81 per cent slump in Australian profitability last year. The West
Oil companies rip into Timor governance
East Timor risks developing a reputation for poor governance, eroding investor confidence and threatening its economic and political stability, ConocoPhillips, which is embroiled in a tax dispute with the nation, has claimed. The Fin
Top Politics Headlines
Hockey to push for Labor cuts
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has warned his frontbench colleagues that the Coalition must consider passing the savings and tax increases in Tuesday’s federal budget, raising the likelihood that the opposition could support most measures, including the abolition of the Howard government’s baby bonus. The Fin
Barnett breaks another promise
The Barnett government will break another promise, this time to give tax relief worth hundreds of millions of dollars to small business in its continuing scramble to prevent the state budget falling into deficit. The West
Abbott to dodge savings trap
Tony Abbott will tonight leave open the prospect of supporting the Labor spending cuts and tax increases that pay for DisabilityCare in a budget reply speech aimed at sidestepping Wayne Swan’s fiscal booby trap. The Aus
Swan accuses BCA of Liberal bias
The federal government’s fractious relationship with business has deteriorated further, with Treasurer Wayne Swan accusing the Business Council of Australia of indulging in magic pudding economics and of being biased towards the Liberal Party. The Fin
Top Property Headlines
Half stake in Perth tower up for grabs
The Colonial First State Global Asset Management-run Private Property Syndicate will put its half stake in Exchange Plaza in Perth on the block with expectations of a sale price of about $180 million as it winds down. The Fin
Groups at odds over $1.66bn funding
The budget's injection of about $1.6 billion for WA infrastructure projects has been welcomed by construction companies, but the business lobby says it is not enough. The West
Funding doubts hit Heirisson bridge plan
Premier Colin Barnett and Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi have reached a stalemate over the newly released Heirisson Island draft master plan, putting the future of the project in doubt. The West
CSR posts loss but sees industry recovery soon
Building products group CSR has put on a brave face after posting a $147 million loss, saying it believes Australia's housing market is recovering. The West
The West Australian
Page 1: The Barnett government will break another promise, this time to give tax relief worth hundreds of millions of dollars to small business in its continuing scramble to prevent the state budget falling into deficit.
Page 3: A roof plumber who worked on a Rottnest Island unit's roof three years before its verandah collapsed and killed a toddler has denied there were “fundamental mistakes” with his work, saying while he didn't notice the column was not secure, his performance was worth a “10 out of 10”.
Page 9: In a seemingly impossible feat, Fremantle Harbour hosted one of its more spectacular sights yesterday as the crane ship Zhen Hua 21 arrived from China delivering heavy machinery.
Page 10: Tony Abbott is expected to dodge Labor's attempted budget wedge and not block the Gillard government's proposed axing of the baby bonus despite some internal coalition concerns.
Page 11: The mining sector fears it will be left worse off after a new move by the federal government to target the industry's exploration tax practices.
Joe Hockey may have to breach the country's $300 billion debt ceiling if he becomes Treasurer in a Tony Abbott-led government.
Page 18: Premier Colin Barnett and Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi have reached a stalemate over the newly released Heirisson Island draft master plan, putting the future of the project in doubt.
Business: Alcoa has delivered proof that even its low-cost WA bauxite and alumina operations are feeling the pinch of aluminium's persistent status as the world's most unpopular metal, reporting an 81 per cent slump in Australian profitability last year.
Navitas chief executive Rod Jones yesterday cited growing investor belief in the educational provider's recovery story as a key factor in its recent share price surge.
The state has devised a blueprint for billions of dollars in private sector investment in the regional freight network over the next two decades based on forecasts that the volume of freight will more than double.
The budget's injection of about $1.6 billion for WA infrastructure projects has been welcomed by construction companies, but the business lobby says it is not enough.
Small businesses have overwhelmingly rejected the federal budget for continuing to “overtax and overlook” the struggling sector.
The downturn in resources work has forced another three contracting companies to cut earnings forecasts and slash overheads.
Northern Star Resources managing director Bill Beament has urged the gold sector to reinvent itself, saying investors will continue to leave WA in droves unless drastic measures are taken.
Building products group CSR has put on a brave face after posting a $147 million loss, saying it believes Australia's housing market is recovering.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has warned his frontbench colleagues that the Coalition must consider passing the savings and tax increases in Tuesday’s federal budget, raising the likelihood that the opposition could support most measures, including the abolition of the Howard government’s baby bonus.
The federal government’s fractious relationship with business has deteriorated further, with Treasurer Wayne Swan accusing the Business Council of Australia of indulging in magic pudding economics and of being biased towards the Liberal Party.
Page 4: Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has reshuffled the airline's executive team, moving corporate and government affairs head Olivia Wirth to an expanded role and bringing in public affairs expert Andrew Parker from new alliance partner Emirates.
Page 5: East Timor risks developing a reputation for poor governance, eroding investor confidence and threatening its economic and political stability, ConocoPhillips, which is embroiled in a tax dispute with the nation, has claimed.
Page 7: An emotional Julia Gillard wept in Parliament on Wednesday as she introduced the bill that will help fund her governments' DisabilityCare scheme.
Former prime minister John Howard has dismissed the Labor government's budget as an attemptto divide the country, and warned the Coalition it cannot ignore the drastic need for reform if it wins office.
Page 9: The budget has allocated $50 million for government advertising before the elections and many millions more in grants programs, some of which can be doled out in marginal seats.
Conservative state governments have attacked the Gillard government's $24 billion road and rail program saying it was “all smoke and mirrors” with most money not flowing until next decade.
Page 10: Junior miners warn they will struggle to attract investment for new exploration projects under a raft of tax changes in the federal budget which are expected to hurt resource firms, large multinationals and infrastructure funding.
The resources industry has angrily rejected Prime Minister Julia Gillard's description of the immediate deduction for exploration acquisitions as a “rort”, claiming tax changes will lower the takeover prices in mining deals.
Page 11: Business has criticised Labor's decision to double the fees it charges for 457 visas used by skilled migrants, warning of further costs for business.
Page 12: The Gillard government expects revenue from its mining tax will soar by 250 per cent by the end of next financial year despite forecasts of lacklustre iron ore prices and weaker terms of trade.
Page 23: UGL chief executive Richard Leupen has called on governments to stimulate private investment in infrastructure to counter the resources slump after the contractor slashed profits guidance for the second time in four months.
Rio Tinto has been granted long-delayed federal environmental approvals for its $1.5 billion-plus South of Embley project in Cape York, but the miner's austerity drive means the window for board approval may have been missed.
Page 25: Virgin Australia has warned that softening domestic demand will cause earnings will fall this year, backtracking on previous guidance that profits would rise after a switch to a new reservation system.
New BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie's plan to trim its annual spending by $US4 billion next year has been welcomed by the market but it is unlikely to result in a greater amount of cash being returned to shareholders than had been expected.
Page 26: Paladin Energy could unveil the sale of a 15 to 20 per cent stake in one of its African uranium mines within the next few weeks, says managing director John Borshoff.
Page 51: The Colonial First State Global Asset Management-run Private Property Syndicate will put its half stake in Exchange Plaza in Perth on the block with expectations of a sale price of about $180 million as it winds down.
The Australian
Page 1: Tony Abbott will tonight leave open the prospect of supporting the Labor spending cuts and tax increases that pay for DisabilityCare in a budget reply speech aimed at sidestepping Wayne Swan’s fiscal booby trap.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick has criticised the decision to kill the Baby Bonus, arguing Labor should not be seeking savings from women who ‘‘are doing the important work of unpaid caring’’.
Environment Minister Tony Burke has rejected a plan to let starving cattle loose in conservation reserves and national parks in Queensland, infuriating the state government and drought-hit graziers.
Peter Reith will demand today that business aggressively pressure Tony Abbott to introduce more radical workplace policy changes if he wins the election, while stepping up his attack on the Coalition’s paid parental leave policy as unaffordable and ‘‘wrong in principle’’.
Page 3: A romance with union leader Paul Howes is believed to have been a factor in Qantas’s decision yesterday to strip high-profile executive Olivia Wirth of her responsibility for government relations.
Page 4: Big business has warned that increased imposts on companies in the budget, especially on multinational firms, could deter foreign investment at the same time as the government is relying on growth in corporate tax receipts to underpin a return to surplus.
Employers and the Coalition have attacked Labor’s $24 million cut to the budget of the building watchdog, warning it risks making the regulator ‘‘useless’’.
Page 5: Federal debt is set to break through the nation’s legal limit on borrowing as the Gillard government goes back to the bond market to finance its deficits, forcing parliament to debate an increase in the $300 billion cap.
Australians with private health insurance will see $6.5 billion in subsidies stripped from premiums over the next 10 years.
Business: The end of the investment boom in Australian resources has hit the bottom lines of mining services contractors, who are now being forced to slash earnings forecasts and flag potential writedowns as project delays and cancellations work their way down the mining food chain.
The Australian chief executive of one of the world’s biggest investment banks has sounded the warning bells for the economy, saying it is in for a ‘‘very challenging’’ period during the next five years and that whichever party is in government after September 14, it will need to slice into middle-class welfare entitlements and shrink the public sector.
Slower than expected trading and economic conditions will hit Virgin Australia’s earnings as it warned last night its underlying pre-tax profit would be below last year’s result of $82.5 million.
Australia's resources sector has warned that tax measures announced in Wayne Swan’s sixth budget, aimed directly at the industry, will lower returns and increase barriers to investment.
Commonwealth Bank is on track to post a record full-year profit of $7.5 billion after low bad debts and stronger margins on mortgages lifted third-quarter cash earnings to $1.9bn, boosting confidence that the bank will return more capital to shareholders.
Optus has pledged to return to profit growth within the next three years, saying the rising demand for 4G mobile services will drive the No 2 telco’s revenue growth.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: Federal MP Craig Thomson will contest the next election as a fully-fledged independent after confirming he will resign from the Labor Party for good - making the controversial politician the first to stand for election with pending criminal charges against him.
Page 2-3: Ads
Page 4: From his now familiar seat in ICAC's witness box, disgraced former Labor minister Ian Macdonald declared on Wednesday he'd had "total authority" to make a decision on lucrative mining resources.
Page 5: A futuristic design featuring a white veil of sculptured glass rising up to 250 metres above Sydney Harbour has won James Packer's global competition to create his dream casino resort at Barangaroo.
World: Russian intelligence services say they have trapped a CIA spy as he offered millions of pounds to a senior Russian agent.
Business: The Commonwealth Bank is on the brink of becoming the first Australian bank to crack the $8 billion profit milestone after chalking up yet another set of healthy figures.
Sport: Mick Potter says dumping Benji Marshall to the bench was "one of the toughest decisions I have had to do in coaching", but the Wests Tigers coach says he did it for the good of the team.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: Tony Abbott appears set to defy the Gillard government's expectations and allow the axing of the baby bonus and cuts to family payments in the federal budget to pass through parliament. Julia Gillard cried when introducing legislation to raise money for DisabilityCare Australia as she recalled meeting a 12-year-old girl with Down syndrome.
Page 2: Radioactive waste and parts of Australia's oldest nuclear reactor will be trucked out of Sydney under plans to clean up the Lucas Heights nuclear facility and develop a national hazardous-waste dump in the outback. The wife of a paramedic who died rescuing an injured canyoner on Christmas Eve in 2011 is campaigning to make it easier for people in her husband's job to get income protection and life insurance. The former resources minister Ian Macdonald has insisted to a corruption inquiry that he had "total authority" to issue exploration licences without a tender, including to a company backed by a former union boss and Labor party figure John Maitland.
Page 3: Scientists have used caffeine to achieve a stem cell breakthrough that many researchers thought impossible but which could lead to new therapies for many crippling diseases.
World: The Russian government has ordered the third secretary of the political department of the US embassy to leave the country, alleging he is a spy aiming to recruit a Russian security officer as an agent.
Business: Economists are expecting signs of continued improvement in the world's biggest economy, pushing the sagging Australian dollar even lower.
Sport: Cronulla players are likely to be still arguing with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority this time next year, when Essendon players will have already served their suspensions.