WA faces royalty rise pain under tax deal – The West; Mystery party offers to buy out Murchison – The West; Unions to blockade giants – The Fin; Higher tax threshold fails to sway juniors – The Aus; Carey takes aim at ASIC – The Fin
WA faces royalty rise pain under tax deal
WA could be financially penalised for lifting mining royalties under a deal struck by Julia Gillard with independent MPs to gain their support for the proposed mining tax. The West
Mystery party offers to buy out Murchison
The hopes of the Mid West iron ore region have received a much-needed boost as a mystery party offered to buy the embattled Murchison Metals out of the controversial Oakajee port project. The West
Unions to blockade giants
Unions will stage a mass blockade of the Perth offices of resources giants Chevron and Woodside next week, in protest against the use of overseas workers on projects such as Chevron's massive $43 billion Gorgon development in Western Australia. The Fin
Higher tax threshold fails to sway juniors
The Gillard government’s move to raise the profit threshold for its mining tax to $75 million has failed to quell criticism from junior miners, which claim the design of the tax still favours mining giants BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata. The Aus
Carey takes aim at ASIC
Controversial property spruiker Norm Carey will seek a massive damages payout as he pursues the corporate regulator over its alleged hand in the collapse of his former Westpoint Group empire in a trial that starts today. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: WA could be financially penalised for lifting mining royalties under a deal struck by Julia Gillard with independent MPs to gain their support for the proposed mining tax.
Page 6: A key finding of the Henry tax review will be revisited as part of the deal to win Parliamentary support for the minerals resources rent tax.
Page 12: The long-running Qantas industrial dispute will be resolved by Fair Work Australia after negotiations broke down between the airline and all three unions.
Yallingup may be better known for its surf than its wine but little-known producer Cape Naturaliste Vineyard's red wine has been named one of the world's best.
Page 13: Families face an increase of about $180 a year for health insurance after funds lodged their bids for inflation busting premium rises with the federal government.
WA's most powerful union boss has withdrawn a request for a restraining order against a former union member after the man promised not to contact him for two years.
Page 16: Climate change, an exploding population and massive growth in our cities should not cause Australians to fear the future but should stimulate exciting improvements in how we live, leading architects say.
Page 18: WA's prized black truffles have fallen in price about 20 per cent, believed to be the first significant drop since cultivation began near Manjimup more than 10 years ago.
Page 19: Western Power's managing director has told a parliamentary inquiry that the electricity network company held safety as “sacrosanct” among its many statutory obligations.
Business: The hopes of the Mid West iron ore region have received a much-needed boost as a mystery party offered to buy the embattled Murchison Metals out of the controversial Oakajee port project.
Tasmanian Caterpillar dealer Dale Elphinstone is keeping Seven Group guessing over a sweetened bid for National Hire Group.
Analysts have offered a mixed reception to iiNet's confirmation yesterday that it would acquire Canberra-based telco TransACT Communications for $60 million, with one brokerage saying the deal was tempered by the broader headwinds facing the sector.
The bold venture to build Australia's biggest magnetite iron ore mine and a linked port facility from scratch is finally taking shape in the Pilbara as its Chinese owners attempt to put the project's difficulties behind them.
Skywest Airlines has joined rival Cobham in benefiting from Chevron Corp's $72 billion LNG project splurge in WA, picking up a contract to provide charter flights for the Wheatstone development near Onslow.
OneSteel will increase its planned job cuts and trim production in coming months in a bid to slice $65 million off its cost base as it battles sustained weak domestic steel demand.
Gryphon Minerals is set to tap shareholders for more than $70 million to cement its position as one of the fastest growing West African gold juniors by ramping up work in Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
Mount Gibson Iron chairman Geoffrey Hill says the miner is focused on getting “back in good standing” with Australia's foreign investment watchdog “as soon as we can”, as shares in the miner dropped another 5 per cent.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The federal government is heading for a stoush with the states as it moves to exert more control over coal seam gas development as part of a deal with independent MPs to win support for the mining tax.
European banks have put large parts of their Australian loan books up for sale as they face escalating funding pressures in their home markets, a move that could reduce the supply of credit to Australian companies and increase borrowing costs.
Qantas is pinning its hopes on the arbitration of deadlocked bargaining with three aviation unions to deliver certainty to win back customers and rebuild bookings after the dramatic grounding of its fleet last month.
Page 3: Labor has established a new workplace tribunal that will set pay rates for independent contractors, as well as employee drivers in the trucking industry.
Company directors could soon face the prospect of being sacked every year, undermining the basis of the government's “two strikes” rule on executive pay, a leading director, David Crawford, said yesterday.
Page 5: Controversial property spruiker Norm Carey will seek a massive damages payout as he pursues the corporate regulator over its alleged hand in the collapse of his former Westpoint Group empire in a trial that starts today.
Page 7: Unions will stage a mass blockade of the Perth offices of resources giants Chevron and Woodside next week, in protest against the use of overseas workers on projects such as Chevron's massive $43 billion Gorgon development in Western Australia.
Page 8: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has locked the Coalition into billions of dollars of budget measures, including personal income tax cuts and benefits for pensioners, as part of an economic program that also makes welfare reform a priority.
Page 9: The government will add at least $880 million to its spending this year to make room for a surplus in fiscal 2013 as it struggles to compensate for lost tax revenue in its looming budget update.
Business leaders have welcomed Indonesia's decision to join a regional free-trade agreement and said they are confident the deal will open opportunities for Australian companies.
Page 10: Gas producer Santos has broken ranks with its peers in the energy industry to hit out at a new federal government measure requiring tighter scientific and environmental scrutiny of coal seam gas projects.
Small miners say the increase in the profit threshold of the minerals resource rent tax does not do enough to limit the cost to the emerging end of the industry.
Page 12: The federal government's aim to engineer a budget surplus next financial year is coming under mounting pressure as falling global commodity prices squeeze national income and tax revenue.
Page 18: Murchison Metals, the iron ore hopeful behind the struggling $5.94 billion Oakajee Port and Rail project in Western Australia, is locked in late-stage talks about selling its mining and infrastructure development assets.
Analysts and the markets have mostly welcomed internet service provider iiNet's $60 million purchase of Canberra-based rival TransACT and its 40,000 users.
Page 20: Kerry Stokes's Seven Group has raised its takeover offer for National Hire by 12 per cent to $3.35 per share to secure support from the equipment rental group's independent directors as it tries to close the deal by early December.
Page 49: Shares in Centro Retail Trust surged surged yesterday as confidence grew that its manager and parent will pull together a $7 billion restructure today.
Page 53: Rents across Australia's industrial sector are rising, driven by a lack of premium-grade warehouse space, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Miners have accused Julia Gillard of risking the future of the coal and coal-seam gas industries after she secured parliamentary support for her new mining tax by promising to impose new environmental conditions on projects.
Twenty per cent of all indigenous people on the dole have had their payments cut off because they failed to turn up to interviews in the first three months of the Gillard government’s new tough-love approach to welfare.
Page 2: The dispute between Qantas and three unions moved into months of binding arbitration yesterday, as the airline promised to accept the umpire’s decision and urged the unions to do the same.
Australia's No 2 telecommunications provider will be banned from claiming the National Broadband Network is new and untested or that it lacks innovation because it is government-owned, under a provision in the $800 million deal with NBN Co.
Page 4: Tony Abbott has used a major speech to savage Labor’s performance on economic management but failed to identify any new spending cuts or fresh policies to counter Labor claims that he is too negative.
Page 8: One of Julia Gillard’s three wise men reviewing the distribution of the GST wants nothing to do with being used to punish states that raise their royalties at the cost of Canberra’s resource rent tax revenue.
The commonwealth has locked itself in to taking control of mining approvals under federal environment laws if state governments baulk at new regulations for determining whether mining and coal-seam gas projects get the green light.
Business: Murchison Metals is in talks with a potential white knight on selling its interest in the planned $5.9 billion Oakajee port and rail project and its flagship iron ore asset in Western Australia.
The Gillard government’s move to raise the profit threshold for its mining tax to $75 million has failed to quell criticism from junior miners, which claim the design of the tax still favours mining giants BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.
The Australian steel sector is showing no signs of improvement, according to Onesteel, which is pushing ahead with a further 310 job cuts.
One of the nation’s most senior chairmen has acknowledged that executive remuneration has rightly become a matter of community concern and has urged boards to put more effort into engaging with investors on the issue.
India will consider acquiring Australian uranium mining assets or leases should Labor overturn its ban on sales at its party conference next month.
iiNet has bought Canberra-based telco TransACT and its assets for $60 million and has promised more acquisitions as the company scales up alongside Telstra and Optus.
Seek's fast-growing international operations could overtake the profit contribution from its domestic business in five to 10 years, the online job advertising company has said.
Australia's most common super funds managed a 3.1 per cent increase in value last month.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The Gillard government has shaved $300 million from its mining tax to win the support of independents. The dispute between Qantas and unions is set to drag into next year, with the threat of legal action. The University of Sydney will shed 150 academics and up to 190 casual staff as part of an attempt to save $63 million next year, the uni's vice-chancellor has confirmed.
Page 2: The commander of the Christmas Island rescue team, which found a boat on Sunday night, believes the captain died after abandoning ship. A new study has found conscripts who went to Vietnam are half as likely to be still working as their peers who didn't go.
Page 3: Eight people contacted the NSW government hotline to complain of rashes and breathing difficulties after the leak from Orica's plant in early August.
World: A growing crowd of Egyptian protesters have pushed security forces out of Tahrir Square for the third day, as new clashes broke out.
Business: Heinz has criticised Coles and Woolworths for flooding the market with private label goods, forcing it to shut one of its factories.
Gangland figure Mick Gatto has reportedly helped settle a dispute between Peter Foster and a colleague over fees related to the weight-loss product SensaSlim.
Sport: Brad Murray told a court he lied in his original evidence about NRL betting because he felt under pressure from his club.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: The federal government will reportedly order a formal review of GST payments to penalise NSW for lifting its mining royalties. Princess Mary farewells Sydney at a harbourside black-tie party.
Page 2: Attorney-General Greg Smith is under fire, after allegedly calling 2GB listeners `rednecks' and Daily Telegraph readers `bigoted fools' at a speech at a Liberal Party function.
Page 3: Celebrity Apprentice winner says that a "lynch mob" is after Deni Hines. BMX rider Dane Searls is in a coma after a prank went wrong and he fell from the first floor of a high-rise building.
World: Clashes between protesters and Egypt's military police has flared up again, leaving at least 22 dead.
Business: OneSteel is preparing to slash more than 300 jobs and could be forced to sell off some of its business, in order to survive. Internet service provider iiNet shares soar after it announces its plans to buy ACT-based Trans ACT for $60 million.
Sport: Ricky Ponting looked shattered after he fell for 62.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Workplace umpire set to adjudicate in the claims between unions and Qantas as negotiation talks collapse. Defiant nurses ready to have their pay docked as they vote to continue closing hospital beds. Rich countries forgo climate change treaty. Gangland identity Mick Gatto helped settle a fee dispute between a colleague and conman Peter Foster over weight loss scam.
Page 3: Higher water bills provide state government with billions in revenue. Tests show only two locations are safe for swimming in the Yarra River.
Dog owner wants answers after her two Rottweilers die from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in the car during Bass Strait crossing.
Probe into handling of sex assault complaints by Eastern Health. Skipper who abandoned asylum seeker boat feared dead.
World: London court case reveals the lifestyle of the Russian rich and famous.
Finance: Heinz says moves by Coles and Woolworths to stuff their shelves with generic-label goods has caused the baked bean company to close down a factory in Victoria and downsize two others.
Sport: Collingwood to change its forwards tactics to keep up with the times, says Buckley.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Matthew Newton reveals his torment. Victorian government pushes for all schoolchildren to sing national anthem in an attempt to "Australianise" them.
Page 2: Victorian government in a race to find and train 940 Protective Service Officers to guard trains and platforms.
Page 3: New play compares John Howard and Peter Costello with Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik.
World: Al-Qaeda sympathiser who planned to blow up buildings arrested in New York.
Business: OneSteel warns jobs will go as it cuts costs.
Sport: Andrew Krakouer's criminal record bars him from getting US visa and joining Collingwood teammates in Arizona training camp.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Julia Gillard closer to mining tax victory.
Page 2: Nurses body to probe fire accused's registration.
Page 3: Witness saw alleged rape victim dancing.
World: Cairo awash with blood once more.
Business: Jobs give Australia an edge, PM says.
Sport: Cummins comes of age.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: The industrial dispute plaguing Qantas is headed to arbitration.
Page 3: A man has died after being bitten by a snake, but not before he killed the reptile and took it with him to hospital to receive the correct anti-venom.
Page 5: CMC is checking to ensure traffic control contracts are being awarded fairly.
World: An al-Qaeda sympathiser who planned to bomb parts of New York had government workers, troops and elected officials on his hit list.
Business: Manufacturers are being hammered by poor economic times.
Sport: Queensland paceman Ben Cutting says he is ready for his test cricket debut, if called up against New Zealand in the upcoming series in Australia.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: Lauren Edgar thought liposuction would make her happy but it claimed her life.
Page 3: Qantas dispute heads to tribunal.
World: Gaddafi's son could face a firing squad.
Business: Manufacturers are being hammered by poor economic conditions.
Sport: Adelaide United coach Rini Coolen will not say whether Dutch international Andy Slory is a required player.
