Clamp down on spending, Barnett told
One of the world’s big three ratings agencies has put Colin Barnett on notice to knock the State Budget back into shape and get spending under control. The West
Harding drives Rio Tinto restructure
New Rio Tinto iron ore boss Andrew Harding has placed his stamp on the miner’s biggest business with a new, streamlined management structure that will lead to the exit of high-profile Pilbara operations head Greg Lilleyman. The Fin
Treasury warns on surpluses
Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson has warned Australians they will have to accept spending cuts or higher taxes to deliver Labor’s budget projections of sustainable surpluses stretching into the 2020s. The Fin
Aussies first: union push for more visa controls
AUSTRALIAN workers should have a legislated right of appeal if they miss out on jobs filled by foreign workers on 457 visas, under a pre-election push by unions to have the Gillard government change the federal migration and workplace laws. The Aus
KKR dumps stake in Seven
PRIVATE equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is severing its ties with Kerry Stokes’s Seven West Media, seeking to sell its 12 per cent stake, which is worth about $260 million. The Aus
Top Resources Headlines
Mining cuts reach a crescendo, says Transfield
Cuts to maintenance work on resources projects hit a “crescendo” over the past six weeks as companies exposed to the high dollar slashed costs, Transfield Services chief executive Graeme Hunt warned. The Fin
Harding drives Rio Tinto restructure
New Rio Tinto iron ore boss Andrew Harding has placed his stamp on the miner’s biggest business with a new, streamlined management structure that will lead to the exit of high-profile Pilbara operations head Greg Lilleyman. The Fin
Executives seeing red over too much tape
RESOURCE industry executives have warned about government interference in the sector as concern deepens about the economic outlook and a decline in local and foreign investment in both established and greenfields projects. The Aus
Huge majority give mining the thumbs up
NINETY-SIX per cent of Australians say the mining industry is important to the economy and 69 per cent view it favourably, according to a survey that casts doubt on rhetoric that the benefits of the boom are not being widely spread. The Aus
Coal, gas profits suffer as business goes solar
SOLAR power systems are being installed by businesses at triple the rate they were a year ago as a glut of Chinese cells and rising Australian power prices combine to improve solar’s economics and threaten the profits of coal and gas-fired power providers. The Aus
Top Politics Headlines
Clamp down on spending, Barnett told
One of the world’s big three ratings agencies has put Colin Barnett on notice to knock the State Budget back into shape and get spending under control. The West
NSW defies Abbott on Gonski deal
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has escalated his bitter stoush with federal Liberal colleagues over education funding, declaring that the existing system, which Tony Abbott is backing, is unfair and unsustainable. The Aus
Aussies first: union push for more visa controls
AUSTRALIAN workers should have a legislated right of appeal if they miss out on jobs filled by foreign workers on 457 visas, under a pre-election push by unions to have the Gillard government change the federal migration and workplace laws. The Aus
Cut state taxes or no GST rise: Costello
Chief architect of the goods and services tax, Peter Costello, says the states have no right to ask for an increase in the tax until they honour their original commitment to abolish a raft of state taxes in return for GST revenue. The Fin
Top Property Headlines
Nike just did it — Hay Street Mall calls
Perth’s CBD has clinched another high-profile retailer with global sports apparel giant Nike set to open the doors on its first WA flagship store on the Hay Street Mall next month. The West
Stockland adds $400m to its war chest
Australia’s largest diversified real estate investment trust, Stockland, has raised $400 million in new equity to help fund the group’s shopping centre expansion and repay debt. The Fin
Developers give Subi A-grade
Subiaco’s town centre will get a major injection of A-grade office space with QUBE Property to develop one of the last parcels of land in the Subi Centro project into an office park and Georgiou Group due to start construction in the next few weeks on a $50 million office building on Roydhouse Street. The West
Subi office sale reveals potential
Lease Equity has sold the office complex at 112 Churchill Avenue in Subiaco for $1.38 million. The sale reflects a passing yield of 6.15 per cent, indicating the underlying redevelopment potential of the site, according to Lease Equity managing director Jim Tsagalis. The West
The West Australian
Page 5: The AFL has urged the State Government to allow it access to police and other agencies’ records.
A new vaccination drive aims to get more WA preschoolers immunised against serious diseases, including measles and meningitis, before they start school.
Page 11: A WA study has revealed the extent that children associate betting, fast food and alcohol brands with sporting teams and warns the rapid growth in betting promotions is grooming a generation of future gamblers.
Page 12: The former Perth newspaper journalist named as the new head of Seven West Media has vowed to protect the company’s standards.
Page 13: One of the world’s big three ratings agencies has put Colin Barnett on notice to knock the State Budget back into shape and get spending under control.
Page 15: A growing number of people, including families, cannot afford basics such as food, heating and medicine as they struggle to cope with WA’s rising living costs even while working.
Page 16: A WA Labor parliamentary secretary dumped after refusing to join a faction has renewed calls for internal party reform to broaden its base.
One in four new government buildings was completed more than three months late last financial year, with some buildings behind schedule by more than a year.
Page 19: Colin Barnett has revealed Opposition Leader Mark McGowan sought an $8000 pay rise for his chief of staff as the Premier yesterday deflected attacks on big pay rises granted to his political staffers.
Page 21: A fresh vote to legalise gay marriage next month will be defeated despite Kevin Rudd’s conversion to the cause.
Liberal Party elder Norman Moore last night gave his final speech in the Legislative Council after 36 years service — but his presence will live on in the form of a specially commissioned portrait to hang in Parliament.
Business: Greg Lilleyman is quitting his role in charge of Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore unit, the mining giant’s single most important division, as part of a major executive shake-up overseen by new divisional head Andrew Harding.
The weaker Australian dollar has been cited as a key factor in last night’s sale of US private equity giant KKR’s $264 million holding in Seven West Media.
The head of China’s biggest bullion producer has dubbed the gold price volatility a “small correction” for the precious metal’s 12-year bull market as Zijin Mining Group continues to be linked as a suitor for Barrick Gold’s WA operations.
Clive Palmer has softened his stance on threats to kick CITIC Pacific off the $7 billion Sino Iron project, saying he hopes a minor Supreme Court victory yesterday will bring the Chinese company to the table to resolve bigger disputes between it and Mr Palmer’s own company, Mineralogy.
Bankrupt property dealer Michael King was convicted of fraud yesterday over the disappearance of a luxury car put up as security for a $150,000-plus loan from the matriarch of the Caratti land investment empire.
Business groups have urged the industrial watchdog to take higher superannuation contributions into account in this year’s national minimum wage case, which started in Melbourne yesterday.
Investors have stripped hundreds of millions of dollars from the value of mining services companies that joined the growing list of their peers downgrading earnings forecasts.
Property: Lease Equity has sold the office complex at 112 Churchill Avenue in Subiaco for $1.38 million. The sale reflects a passing yield of 6.15 per cent, indicating the underlying redevelopment potential of the site, according to Lease Equity managing director Jim Tsagalis.
A South Perth site in new development precinct has sold for $9.9 million to a local developer, setting a new benchmark in the tightly-held area.
Former Mirvac WA chief executive Evan Campbell has joined the management team at building company Thomas Building which specialises in building permanent housing for mining staff in the North West.
Construction company Mapel Building marked the completion of its latest project, the new headquarters for the Contract Power Group in Kewdale, with a building opening to showcase its building work as well as the materials and services provided by its network of suppliers.
Subiaco’s town centre will get a major injection of A-grade office space with QUBE Property to develop one of the last parcels of land in the Subi Centro project into an office park and Georgiou Group due to start construction in the next few weeks on a $50 million office building on Roydhouse Street.
Perth’s CBD has clinched another high-profile retailer with global sports apparel giant Nike set to open the doors on its first WA flagship store on the Hay Street Mall next month.
The Bulky Goods Retail Association will lobby for changes to WA’s planning laws that will give Local Governments uniform definitions of bulky goods to allow retailers to open stores in approved zones without altering their product range.
The Australian
Page 1: NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell has escalated his bitter stoush with federal Liberal colleagues over education funding, declaring that the existing system, which Tony Abbott is backing, is unfair and unsustainable.
TREASURY secretary Martin Parkinson has flagged serious structural challenges for the federal budget, with costs rising faster than the existing tax base can cover and a painful transition from the mining boom looming.
AUSTRALIAN workers should have a legislated right of appeal if they miss out on jobs filled by foreign workers on 457 visas, under a pre-election push by unions to have the Gillard government change the federal migration and workplace laws.
Page 2: SOUTH Australia’s Labor Premier Jay Weatherill has been left embarrassed by an attempt to set the agenda on banning live-odds betting during sporting events, after the federal government said the state was breaking a COAG deal to pursue national reform.
THE Seven Network has embarked on a search for a chief executive, following the elevation of Tim Worner to head parent company Seven West Media after the resignation of Don Voelte.
TONY Abbott will face growing pressure from within his party to privatise the ABC and SBS to deal with perceptions of anti-Liberal bias and to retire debt.
Page 3: THE federal government lacks the definitive power to stop a ‘‘cowboy’’ move by Queensland to graze starving cattle on national parks and conservation reserves, Environment Minister Tony Burke has admitted.
Page 4: NINETY-SIX per cent of Australians say the mining industry is important to the economy and 69 per cent view it favourably, according to a survey that casts doubt on rhetoric that the benefits of the boom are not being widely spread.
SOLAR power systems are being installed by businesses at triple the rate they were a year ago as a glut of Chinese cells and rising Australian power prices combine to improve solar’s economics and threaten the profits of coal and gas-fired power providers.
JUST 10 asylum-seekers are being housed through the government’s highly publicised homestay scheme, despite thousands of families offering rooms to people on bridging visas.
Page 5: THE direct intervention of Julia Gillard was the only hope left for convicted Australian Matthew Joyce, his wife Angela and their three children after the businessman received a 10-year jail sentence in Dubai, his lawyer said yesterday.
Page 6: JOE Hockey will use Labor’s budget claims about asylum-seekers to attack the government’s economic credibility in a major speech today that will commit the Coalition to revealing the underlying state of the federal budget.
THE government-owned company rolling out the National Broadband Network has warned that the structural separation of Telstra — Stephen Conroy’s ‘‘holy grail’’ of telecommunications reform — could be delayed.
Page 7: VETERAN diplomat Richard Woolcott has accused the government of talking up the success of its Asian engagement strategy in a way reminiscent of Soviet propaganda.
THE opposition is likely to move amendments to remove from the Gillard government’s $1.2 billion aged-care package the condition that employers must strike an enterprise agreement to qualify for the boost to workers’ wages.
Page 19: PRIVATE equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is severing its ties with Kerry Stokes’s Seven West Media, seeking to sell its 12 per cent stake, which is worth about $260 million.
US coal giant Peabody Energy has been slapped with up to $22 million in fines and ordered to pay back $50m after an extensive investigation by the Australian Taxation Office found it had not paid enough tax between 2004 and 2010 on unspecified financial transactions.
TRANSFIELD Services has become another casualty of the contraction in mining after deteriorating conditions forced it to slash earnings guidance and axe more than 100 jobs.
Page 20: THE mining investment slowdown has hit another service provider as Boart Longyear downgraded its earnings forecast yesterday and announced a range of cost-cutting measures, including a new round of layoffs.
DISCOVERY Metals has revealed the details of a conditional bid lodged by its major Chinese shareholder, as it called for competing offers and announced the departure of its chairman, sending its shares tumbling.
Page 21: ELDERS insisted yesterday that a run on its shares by investors was not a sign of an imminent sale of its prized rural services division.
THE Commonwealth Bank has played down concerns the banks are in for a pick-up in bad debts from cyclical lows, potentially derailing dividends, saying its lending books are in ‘‘very good shape’’ as customers pay down debt.
Surfwear group Billabong is itching to restart its transformation program after US-listed rival Quiksilver this week laid out a three-year plan to boost profit by dumping poorly performing brands and stores.
Page 24: AN automated future of the mining industry was well within reach, federal Resources and Energy Minister Gary Gray said, despite challenging market conditions that are prompting miners to axe spending.
TECHNOLOGY is driving productivity and reducing costs in the resources sector, and over the next decade there will be more advancement in that field than has been witnessed in the last 30 years, says GE Mining chief executive Geoff Knox.
BIG miners are using ‘‘big data’’ to drive productivity gains in challenging market conditions where every dollar counts and efficiency is key.
Page 25: RESOURCE industry executives have warned about government interference in the sector as concern deepens about the economic outlook and a decline in local and foreign investment in both established and greenfields projects.
Page 27: THE sharemarket pulled back yesterday as profit warnings in the mining services and consumer discretionary sectors continued to drag on sentiment.
INDUSTRY leaders have called for a bipartisan approach to superannuation after the September election, arguing that constant tinkering causes people to disengage and not understand their post-retirement needs.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson has warned Australians they will have to accept spending cuts or higher taxes to deliver Labor’s budget projections of sustainable surpluses stretching into the 2020s.
Cuts to maintenance work on resources projects hit a “crescendo” over the past six weeks as companies exposed to the high dollar slashed costs, Transfield Services chief executive Graeme Hunt warned.
Australia’s largest diversified real estate investment trust, Stockland, has raised $400 million in new equity to help fund the group’s shopping centre expansion and repay debt.
Page 3: Australia’s richest barrister, Allan Myers, pledged $10 million to the University of Melbourne and will spearhead a campaign that aims to raise half a billion dollars for the institution by 2017.
Page 4: Chief architect of the goods and services tax, Peter Costello, says the states have no right to ask for an increase in the tax until they honour their original commitment to abolish a raft of state taxes in return for GST revenue.
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has rejected government demands he bring forward the costing details of Coalition policies after Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson backed the integrity of last week’s budget numbers.
Page 5: Mining entrepreneur Nathan Tinkler has begun selling the bulk of his Australian property assets, including prime land on Newcastle’s waterfront and a Queensland mansion.
Tax experts say there is nothing to stop Apple and other multinationals from siphoning revenue out of Australia to avoid tax, pointing to a US congressional inquiry that found Apple moved $US74 billion beyond the reach of the US tax authority between 2009 and 2012.
Page 6: Many small businesses face a “triple-whammy” of pay rises from July 1: an increase in minimum wages, another 0.25 per cent rise in superannuation contributions and an increase in penalty rates for many retailers, according to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Page 9: Having wiped the floor with the two greatest champions on US television game show Jeopardy, Watson will now help sell financial services products to Australians.
The Costello commission of audit for Queensland’s public finances used more pessimistic economic modelling than the state Treasury’s to justify the Newman government’s tough budget cuts and asset sales, the state opposition said on Tuesday.
Origin Energy will consider halting door-knocking as a way of winning retail customers after a storm of poor publicity over the practice, including a $1.55 million fine for rival AGL Energy revealed on Tuesday.
Page 11: New Rio Tinto iron ore boss Andrew Harding has placed his stamp on the miner’s biggest business with a new, streamlined management structure that will lead to the exit of high-profile Pilbara operations head Greg Lilleyman.
Page 13: Rio Tinto will find out next month whether it has won a tender to build a $US3 billion-plus open access port and railway line in Mozambique, the African nation’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Esperanca Bias, says.
Macquarie bankers receive their bonuses on Friday, and while the average worker will take home a smaller bonus than in 2012, the competition for talent at the top means there will be some generous deposits in the accounts of the best and brightest staff.
Page 14: Discovery Metals’ chairman Gordon Galt has been dumped from the copper junior’s board as Chinese private equity firm Cathay Fortune returns with a conditional bid valuing Discovery at $170 million to $195 million.
The Australian Securities Exchange has urged the corporate regulator ASIC to shelve plans to introduce rules designed to put the brakes on high frequency share traders.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: The search for survivors continues after a giant twister roared through a suburb of Oklahoma City.
Page 2 & 3: Oklahoma twister story continues.
World: An online campaign has begun to buy and release a video allegedly showing the Mayor of Toronto smoking crack.
Business: Australia's Treasury Secretary has forecast the proportion of the economy made up by the mining sector will dwindle in the years to come.
Sport: Wests Tigers star Benji Marshall says he was never going to spit the dummy at being dumped to the bench.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: Communications Minister Stephen Conroy brokered a deal with the television industry to allow betting companies to continue spruiking live odds during sports broadcasts, despite the growing public backlash against the spread of gambling culture.
Page 2: Life inside a fat cell may be as complex as the universe itself.
Page 3: Young people who regularly miss out on just a few hours sleep are at a hugely increased risk of crashing their cars, a study of more than 20,000 NSW P-Platers has found.
World: Rescuers are trying to find children after a giant twister ripped through Oklahoma.
Business: US private equity heavyweight Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has offloaded its remaining $260 million stake in television to newspaper interest Seven West Media, bringing to an end its six-year involvement in Australia's media sector.
Sport: Krisnan Inu's reputation has taken a battering, according to teammate Greg Eastwood, after the Bulldogs centre was suspended for two matches for his leg-pull tackle on Newcastle's James McManus.
The Age
Page 1: Killer tornado rips through Oklahoma destroying homes, hospitals and schools and claiming at least 91 lives.
Page 2: The ombudsman refers Planning Minister Matthew Guy to Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog, concluding that secret meetings with developers could be considered corrupt conduct. Stunt double Leigh-Anne Vizer writhes, rolls and screams while caught in the clutches of King Kong at the top of the Eureka Tower.
Page 3: Salvation Army survey says more single parents who are being forced on to Newstart under a Gillard government initiative is compounding levels of deprivation.
World: Forty minutes of terror as tornado rips through Oklahoma as a desperate search for survivors begins.
Finance: US private equity heavyweight KKK offloads its 12 per cent stake in Seven West Media, ending a six-and-a-half year involvement in Australia's media sector.
Sport: Essendon is close to re-signing skipper Jobe Watson on a long-term contract.