ALP accused of Gonski con
The Education Department has been accused of providing misleading budget estimates designed to serve the Gillard government’s ‘‘political agenda’’, amid a furore over Labor’s central claim that schools will lose $16.2 billion if the Coalition wins the election. The Aus
GPT eyes Perth office market but Australand fight not over
GPT Group is gearing up for a major buying spree in Perth’s office market just as its pursuit of smaller rival Australand nears the endgame. The Fin
Ministers rebel over cuts edict
Treasurer Troy Buswell is staring down a Cabinet revolt as ministers in charge of big spending portfolios refuse to heed his call for voluntary spending cuts to protect the Budget surplus. The West
Leighton spearheads into Asia
Hochtief chief executive Marcelino Fernández Verdes has tipped Leighton Holdings as the German contractor’s “gateway” to Asia, signalling it wants to keep the Leighton brand intact as it diversifies away from lacklustre markets in Europe. The Fin
Office complex for Milligan Square
Perth-based developer Georgiou Capital will build a 15-storey office tower and 132-room hotel in the Perth central business district. The Fin
Top Resources Headlines
Firms urged to use female talent
THE chief executives of Australia’s mining, utility and construction companies are being urged to change workplace culture and fix structural problems to tap into the underutilised talent pool of women in a bid to address the nation’s skills shortage, improve productivity and drive the economy. The Aus
Iluka shares look up as zircon rebounds
EVIDENCE of a long-awaited rebound in the zircon market — the chief earner for mineral sands miner Iluka Resources — has started to appear, with a 10 per cent gain in prices of the metal being reported last weekend. The Aus
Lithium miner chases funds
Lithium producer Galaxy Resources has thrown the dice to its shareholders, offering up its 15th capital raising in 5 1/2 years in the hope of raising $47 million to ensure the Perth company’s survival. The West
Top Politics Headlines
ALP accused of Gonski con
The Education Department has been accused of providing misleading budget estimates designed to serve the Gillard government’s ‘‘political agenda’’, amid a furore over Labor’s central claim that schools will lose $16.2 billion if the Coalition wins the election. The Aus
Ministers rebel over cuts edict
Treasurer Troy Buswell is staring down a Cabinet revolt as ministers in charge of big spending portfolios refuse to heed his call for voluntary spending cuts to protect the Budget surplus. The West
Swan swipes Barnett over GST claim
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has accused Colin Barnett of understating the true extent of Commonwealth payments to WA as he pledged not to lift the GST or broaden its base. The West
Hockey eyes negative gearing cut
Joe Hockey’s tax review could pave the way to end the $13 billion a year tax break 1.2 million Australians claim on investment properties. The West
Top Property Headlines
GPT eyes Perth office market but Australand fight not over
GPT Group is gearing up for a major buying spree in Perth’s office market just as its pursuit of smaller rival Australand nears the endgame. The Fin
Office complex for Milligan Square
Perth-based developer Georgiou Capital will build a 15-storey office tower and 132-room hotel in the Perth central business district. The Fin
Koreans take first step in $1bn splurge
SOUTH Korean groups are expected to secure up to $1 billion worth of Australian real estate in the coming weeks, with the country’s oldest property trust, GPT Group, confirming yesterday the sale of its half-stake in the $800 million Erina Fair shopping centre on the NSW central coast. The Aus
Stockland cuts headcount
Diversified property giant Stockland has cut 80 jobs as it looks to slash costs under new head Mark Steinert. The Fin
The West Australian
Page 1: The head of prestigious girls’ school Penrhos College has revealed to parents her decision to let a sex offender live in her home after his release from jail.
Page 3: Australians travelling to the Middle East could need a health check when they return if infections caused by a SARS-like virus continue to rise, a WA disease expert warns.
Page 4: The number of women selling illegal drugs in WA has soared 78 per cent in a year, according to a report into Australia’s drug trade.
The Federal Government is spending $22 million over two years on a “communications campaign” to sell its DisabilityCare scheme, enough to support 100 disabled people in their homes for a year.
Page 5: Alcoa has pleaded guilty to breaching its operating licence conditions by failing to keep residue dust from escaping its Wagerup refinery in May 2011.
Page 6: Treasurer Troy Buswell is staring down a Cabinet revolt as ministers in charge of big spending portfolios refuse to heed his call for voluntary spending cuts to protect the Budget surplus.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has accused Colin Barnett of understating the true extent of Commonwealth payments to WA as he pledged not to lift the GST or broaden its base.
Page 9: Departmental procedures and a lack of communication between pilots working together on a feral goat culling operation in the Gascoyne could have contributed to a midair collision that killed two men, a coronial inquest was told yesterday.
Page 10: The run of six suspected murders in six days last week will put pressure on officers analysing hundreds of exhibits from dozens of crime scenes to meet the demands of the criminal justice system, WA’s top forensic officer has warned.
Page 12: Joe Hockey’s tax review could pave the way to end the $13 billion a year tax break 1.2 million Australians claim on investment properties.
Page 15: Former WA businessman Matthew Joyce has been jailed for 10 years in Dubai and fined $25 million for his part in a fraudulent land deal.
Business: Lithium producer Galaxy Resources has thrown the dice to its shareholders, offering up its 15th capital raising in 5 1/2 years in the hope of raising $47 million to ensure the Perth company’s survival.
Former Liberal leader John Hewson has called for an independent Federal commission to restructure the political make-up of the country, with the well-respected economist saying there is too much duplication at both levels of government.
Entrepreneur Dick Smith has called on the Federal Government to stand in the way of Chinese investment in WA’s gold and agriculture sectors, with the self-made millionaire saying it created a short-term gain which directly led to a poorer nation.
Apex Minerals boss Ed Eshuys has denied the collapse of a $50 million deal to sell its Wiluna mine sparks a fresh crisis for the struggling gold producer, saying the company could never accept a revised lowball $15 million offer from Chinese suitor Everprosperity Investment.
Santos and its partners in the Fletcher Finucane venture in the Carnarvon Basin have managed a rare feat for WA industry — the $490 million project has begun producing oil ahead of schedule and without a budget blowout.
The boss of Leighton Holdings’ majority shareholder Hochtief has shrugged off a shareholder rebuke over his role in recent turmoil on the board of the construction giant.
The former partner of businessman Craig Bond has moved to block his attempts to strike a Bankruptcy Act deal amid a row over a luxury London property worth more than $6 million.
Electric scooter maker Vmoto is likely to conduct another capital raising in order to reach profitable levels of production at its Chinese plant.
The Australian
Page 1: The Education Department has been accused of providing misleading budget estimates designed to serve the Gillard government’s ‘‘political agenda’’, amid a furore over Labor’s central claim that schools will lose $16.2 billion if the Coalition wins the election.
KEVIN Rudd has thrown his support behind gay marriage as an important social reform for the nation, in a dramatic reversal of his long-held public position.
Page 2: THE RSPCA is stepping up pressure on the federal government to support a plan to turn drought stricken cattle on to national parks and conservation areas in Queensland, despite being hit by seemingly orchestrated hate mail.
SOCIAL responsibility programs run by big mining companies in remote towns are disconnected from community needs, reactive and ad hoc, according to a Melbourne University study.
Page 3: THERE was elation and despair for two detained Australian businessmen in Dubai yesterday after one, Marcus Lee, was acquitted of bribery charges while his former work colleague, Matthew Joyce, was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Page 4: AUSTRALIANS will be warned of a hit to their retirement savings from Coalition budget cuts as anxiety grows over Tony Abbott’s plan to delay the government’s superannuation increases.
YOUNGER voters have spurned the federal government’s budget strategy in a dangerous swing that is strongest among Labor’s own supporters, adding another obstacle in Julia Gillard’s march to the election.
WAYNE Swan launched a three pronged attack on the Barnett government during a flying visit to Western Australia, accusing it of misrepresenting the state’s share of federal funding and blasting it for not signing up to the disability support and education reforms.
THE government’s multi-billion dollar crackdown on business taxes has emerged as a threat to wage rises, with employer groups saying that new imposts on companies will leave them with less capacity to pay their employees.
Page 5: THE Coalition is divided over a decision by the leadership team not to support Labor’s pared-down Baby Bonus, after Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey revealed it would be completely axed by an Abbott government.
THE director of a civil construction firm contracted for the rollout of the $37.4 billion National Broadband Network has threatened to rip equipment out of the ground because of a dispute over pay and conditions.
BUSINESS will lobby the Coalition, if elected in September, to move ‘‘as quickly as possible’’ to replace the carbon tax with its direct action scheme.
VICTORIA has warned an incoming Abbott government against using the GST as a cash cow to repair federal finances, saying it would support changes that were only part of broader reform to make the tax system fairer and more efficient.
Page 6: NSW Labor MPs have lined up to contradict Eddie Obeid’s evidence to an anti-corruption commission, forcing the former powerbroker to admit he gave false evidence when he stated he had never met with former mining minister Ian Macdonald in his parliamentary office.
Page 17: THE new chairman of Leighton Holdings, Bob Humphris, says he is confident that German parent Hochtief will stand by its commitment to maintain the Australian company’s independence, following the official election of Hochtief chief Marcelino Fernandez Verdes to its board.
THE chief executives of Australia’s mining, utility and construction companies are being urged to change workplace culture and fix structural problems to tap into the underutilised talent pool of women in a bid to address the nation’s skills shortage, improve productivity and drive the economy.
OPTUS has unveiled plans to extend its 4G mobile footprint to 70 per cent of the metropolitan population by the middle of next year as it prepares to take on Telstra in the race to sign up data hungry mobile customers.
BENDIGO and Adelaide Bank has undertaken a fresh round of measures to boost its share of profits from its community bank franchise, raising concerns about the viability of some regional branches at a time of healthy profit growth for the major banks.
Page 18: SOUTH Korean groups are expected to secure up to $1 billion worth of Australian real estate in the coming weeks, with the country’s oldest property trust, GPT Group, confirming yesterday the sale of its half-stake in the $800 million Erina Fair shopping centre on the NSW central coast.
EVIDENCE of a long-awaited rebound in the zircon market — the chief earner for mineral sands miner Iluka Resources — has started to appear, with a 10 per cent gain in prices of the metal being reported last weekend.
THE Hong Kong-based hedge fund trying to overthrow the board of Intrepid Mines was in contact with the holders of the title for the big Tujuh Bukit copper and gold deposit in Indonesia before the Australian company’s staff were ordered offsite.
THE future of food manufacturer Goodman Fielder has again come under the spotlight after more than 6 per cent of the company’s stock changed hands yesterday.
Page 19: RETAIL investors will now be able to buy $10,000 parcels of Australian government bonds on the Australian Securities Exchange, five years after the process began to make it possible.
Page 25: AWE chief executive Bruce Clement says a one third boost in recoverable oil at its offshore Ande Ande Lumut field in Indonesia boosts the value of the project as it looks for partners.
COMMONWEALTH Bank shares yesterday surged to a record high, giving it a market value of almost $120 billion and defying warnings that the surge has made it the most expensive major bank in the world.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Superannuation funds are on track to record their best performance in 16 years because of soaring global share markets and a fall in the dollar, a Chant West survey shows.
Hochtief chief executive Marcelino Fernández Verdes has tipped Leighton Holdings as the German contractor’s “gateway” to Asia, signalling it wants to keep the Leighton brand intact as it diversifies away from lacklustre markets in Europe.
Labor would lose senators in every state, meaning the Coalition or right-of-centre crossbench would control the Senate after the September 14 election, using the Nielsen Lower House results this year.
Big law firms are suffering a dire end to the financial year, with weak business confidence and a dearth of corporate deals triggering pay freezes and job cuts for the first time in several years.
Page 3: Australian businessman Matthew Joyce and school friend Angus Reed face 10 years’ jail in Dubai after they were convicted and fined $25 million each in a controversial bribery case.
The public backlash against gambling advertising hasn’t stopped bookmakers wanting to become the official betting sponsor of the National Rugby League.
Page 4: The federal Coalition attacked the credibility of NSW Liberal Premier Barry O’Farrell by claiming he was conned, as it sought to justify its decision to reject the Gillard government’s Gonski school funding reforms.
State governments have put Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on notice he will need to drive a public debate about increasing the goods and services tax (GST), which some experts say should be used to help struggling states pay for healthcare and other essential services.
Page 6: Business is urging the Coalition to oppose Labor’s planned revenue-raising rollback of tax breaks , at least until after further consultation, blasting the changes as a “tax grab” that could damage confidence and investment.
The pharmacy lobby could seek an increase on the $15.4 billion paid by government in its current five-year funding agreement, when it is renegotiated in 2015, laying the ground for a fight with a likely cost-conscious Coalition government.
Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon has not ruled out signing up to the Gillard government’s Gonski school funding plan and said there was a 50:50 chance his state would do so.
Page 7: A key Labor ally in the union movement, Tony Sheldon, says the federal government has made mistakes and has conceded an election victory may no longer be possible.
Australia’s most senior Catholic, George Pell, has declared himself a supporter of the free market but says it must retain “moral parameters” and warned the middle class is in danger of being “confined” in an American way.
Page 8: Motorists and transport companies should brace for a rise in the price of fuel in the coming weeks as the falling dollar drives up the cost of imported oil.
Page 10: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims a British spy agency agrees with him he has been framed by Swedish authorities over a call for his extradition to face rape allegations, but the agency says that view may held by some employees but not by the organisation.
Page 11: Public systems and private insurers will refuse to cover advanced cancer treatments as Australia copes with a “longevity tsunami”, actuaries warn.
Philanthropy is increasingly choosing which medical research centres are built, and governments come on board only after funding is secured from other sources.
Page 15: The government of Guinea’s efforts to finance its majority share of the infrastructure for Rio Tinto’s $US10 billion-plus Simandou iron ore project have been complicated by a review of old mining contracts, says a key adviser to the West African nation.
Page 16: GPT Group is gearing up for a major buying spree in Perth’s office market just as its pursuit of smaller rival Australand nears the endgame.
Page 17: Hong Kong-listed CLP has offered a bleak assessment of energy market conditions in Australia, which appears to leave little scope for a near-term float of its EnergyAustralia subsidiary.
Page 19: The chief architect of the government’s plan to turn Australia into a regional financial centre says the country is at risk of dropping the ball because it has been too slow to implement much-needed reforms.
Australia’s competition regulator will examine Perpetual’s proposed $220 million buy of The Trust Company following a voluntary submission by the wealth management giant.
Page 22: Santos has begun production at its $490 million Fletcher Finucane oil project in Western Australia ahead of schedule, helping lift output ahead of the start-up of its major LNG projects in 2014 and 2015.
Page 37: Diversified property giant Stockland has cut 80 jobs as it looks to slash costs under new head Mark Steinert.
South Korea’s National Pension Service has snapped up GPT Group’s half stake in the Erina Fair shopping centre on the NSW central coast for $397.1 million.
Page 40: Perth-based developer Georgiou Capital will build a 15-storey office tower and 132-room hotel in the Perth central business district.
Page 41: The chairman of takeover target CIC Australia has decided to reject WA-based developer Peet’s offer for his shares as a group of minority shareholders assemble against the bid.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: Eddie Obeid has admitted giving false evidence to ICAC, conceding now that Ian Macdonald was in his office during his 20-year political career after present and former NSW MPs came forward.
Page 2: The NSW premier's 35-year-old chief of staff, Pete McConnell, has won a $700,000-a-year job at Woolworths as government relations manager - involving giving advice on how to handle the state government.
Page 3: Unvaccinated children could be banned from childcare centres under changes to the law planned by NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner.
World: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned of a "dangerous escalation" after North Korea test fired a short-range missile off its east coast, its fourth in two days, despite pleas to ease tensions.
Business: Optus users may ignore the National Broadband Network after the telco unveiled a new 4G wireless trial up to five-times faster than the existing 3G network.
Sport: Gambling giant Tabcorp is manoeuvring to secure a multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with the NRL after a breakdown in negotiations with bookmaker Tom Waterhouse.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: The NRL is considering abandoning its official partnership with a bookmaker after a proposed $50 million deal with Tom Waterhouse unravelled.
Page 2: Renowned Sydney dance teacher Grant Davies allegedly groomed a pre-teenage girl for sex with the "acquiescence" of her mother, with whom he also appeared to be having an affair, court documents have revealed.
Page 3: The NSW Government risks breaking election promises for 135 new and faster express train services for Sydney and surrounding regions if it implements a new train timetable without major changes.
World: Thailand's deputy prime minister, Chalerm Yubamrung, plans to introduce a contentious amnesty bill into parliament on Thursday that will stoke new political tensions three years after bloody street protests and a military crackdown exposed Thailand's deep divisions.
Business: New Leighton Holdings chairman Bob Humphris has moved to dispel fears that its directors remain at war with its German parent Hochtief, insisting the relationship was "collegiate" despite the abrupt resignation of three fellow directors two months ago.
Sport: Wallaby-in-waiting Israel Folau understands why rugby fans worry he might be "using the game" if he goes back to rugby league at the end of the year.
The Age
Page 1: Top Victorian traffic cop says probationary licences should continue until drivers are 25. What the millennium babies are thinking at age 13.
Page 2: An alleged people smuggler is arrested by Indonesian police after another alleged smuggler gave him up to authorities. Victorian teachers say yes to pay agreement for increases up to 20.5 per cent.
Page 3: A picture of Nicky Winmar lifting his jumper and pointing to his black skin in front of a hostile Collingwood crowd 20 years ago marked a place in sporting history. An Australian executive sentenced to 10 years jail in Dubai while a junior executive is acquitted of property fraud charges.
World: Contentious amnesty bill would absolve all political offenders involved in protests in Thailand since a 2006 coup and allow former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return from self-imposed exile.
Finance: As ASX nears five year highs, superannuation funds on track to deliver their highest returns in 15 years.
Sport: Western Bulldogs football director Chris Grant says the club's rebuild can only be judged over three to five years as the team struggles to win a game.
The Herald Sun
Page 1: Leading doctors want children banned from riding quad bikes after a terrible string of fatal accidents over the last decade. Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart concedes that the church covered up sexual attacks on hundreds of children by pedophile priests.
Page 2: Tony Abbott defends his chief of staff who was booked for low-range drink-driving on the night of his Budget reply speech. Tim Mathieson in the US on a private visit and at his own expense, says Julia Gillard.
Page 3: Old pug using wheels for his back legs which have failed him. Former AFL player/manager branded a public threat as police impound his car for driving while his licence was suspended and for failing a breath test.
World: British man kills his two children after being granted time alone with them from his estranged French wife.
Finance: Qantas chief Alan Joyce supports calls to build a rail link to Melbourne Airport.
Sport: Faltering Bulldogs have been exposed as a team crippled by chronic lack of ball movement with just one win from the last 19 games.