Solar rebate a $500m bungle – The West; Not happy Julia, unions flag super fight – The Aus; Kailis Olives calls in receivers – The West; Bluewaters coal settlement close – The West; Iluka goes toe to toe with CFMEU – The Fin
Solar rebate a $500m bungle
An administrative bungle of the state government's solar panel scheme will cost WA taxpayers as much as $500 million. The West
Not happy Julia, unions flag super fight
Unions have vowed they will not moderate future pay claims to help employers meet the cost of Labor’s promise to lift the superannuation guarantee from 9 to 12 per cent. The Aus
Kailis Olives calls in receivers
Receivers have seized control of a WA olive oil company backed by two of the state's oldest and best-known business families – the Kailis' and the D'Orsognas. The West
Bluewaters coal settlement close
The administrators of Ric Stowe's failed Griffin business empire believe the revived $1.2 billion sale of the Bluewaters power stations could be completed by February. The West
Iluka goes toe to toe with CFMEU
A legal struggle is under way at a West Australian mineral sands miner as unions try to use Labor's Fair Work Act to overcome their small membership and rebuild their presence in the resources sector. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Up to a dozen homes near Margaret River have been destroyed – and a dozen more damaged – after a prescribed burn blew out of control yesterday.
Page 3: An administrative bungle of the state government's solar panel scheme will cost WA taxpayers as much as $500 million.
Page 4: The mining industry and federal government faces years of court battles over the minerals resource rent tax.
Consumers have been warned they will pay the price for the government's $140 million deal with the Greens to pass the minerals resource rent tax.
Page 9: Rottnest Island authorities have commissioned urgent research into the dramatic decline in winter visitors and summer applicants.
Page 10: WA would be one of the world's 50 biggest economies if it were a stand-alone nation.
Page 12: WA taxpayers have been spending almost $1 million a week to cater for the big increase in prisoner numbers since the Barnett government came to power, according to a report by the Auditor-General.
Page 13: WA's main local government body has called for a slice of the $400 million annual dividend paid by the Water Corporation into state coffers to be used to fix the ailing Swan and Canning Rivers.
Page 17: Airline passenger traffic in and out of Perth, fuelled by the resources boom, is setting records for growth.
Business: Receivers have seized control of a WA olive oil company backed by two of the state's oldest and best-known business families – the Kailis' and the D'Orsognas.
Murchison Metals shareholders will be looking for answers in Perth today, with the miner expected to unveil terms of a highly-anticipated deal to offload its stake in the troubled $6 billion Oakajee infrastructure project before fronting investors at its annual meeting.
The administrators of Ric Stowe's failed Griffin business empire believe the revived $1.2 billion sale of the Bluewaters power stations could be completed by February.
Markets across Asia fell yesterday amid fears that the Chinese economy was losing steam, with a new study indicating manufacturing in the Asian economic powerhouse had fallen to its lowest level in almost three years.
Blue-chip firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques has approved a merger with Chinese law firm King & Wood.
Ausdrill founder Ron Sayers is planning to hang up his boots and focus on breeding racehorses – but not for nearly three years.
Australian banks are preparing for a potential freeze in global funding markets heading into the new year, as Europe's worsening stresses threaten to send the world's financial markets into a tailspin.
NRW Holdings chairman Ian Burston has questioned the judgement of institutional investors after shareholders voted in big numbers against executives' pay packets for the third year in a row.
BlueScope Steel shares are expected to fall steeply when trading resumes today, as investors react negatively to its ill-timed $600 million rights issue launched this week.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The Queensland government plans to quarantine the benefits of the mining boom by placing royalties from the burgeoning $50 billion liquefied natural gas industry into a form of sovereign wealth fund for education.
The corporate regulator raised concerns about the Australian Securities Exchange's technology less than a month before a computer meltdown forced the sharemarket to be shut down.
Page 3: Some Qantas Airways flight crews were told mid-air the airline had decided to shut down operations and lock out staff despite concerns the news could distract them from flying their aircraft, documents filed with a parliamentary inquiry show.
Changes to electricity market rules might not bring down power prices, the Australian Energy Market Commission warned yesterday.
Page 4: There has been a record spike in construction activity as work accelerates on the nation's massive pipeline of mining-related projects, delivering a hefty boost to growth.
Page 7: Australian polluters facing a relatively high price for carbon emissions in the short term now face the risk of much higher imposts over the long term.
Page 8: The Gillard government is under pressure to reveal the full impact of its mining tax package on the budget after it announced new concessions yesterday to pass the legislation.
Page 11: A legal struggle is under way at a West Australian mineral sands miner as unions try to use Labor's Fair Work Act to overcome their small membership and rebuild their presence in the resources sector.
Page 16: Virgin Australia chief John Borghetti says the airline will forge ahead with plans to add long-haul routes, even as rival Qantas pares back its international division to preserve capital amid a shaky economic outlook.
Page 17: Three resources companies have joined the growing ranks of businesses to incur their first “strike” over executive pay this year, taking the total number of listed companies with strikes to at least 33.
Page 46: West Australian billionaire Len Buckeridge has scored a major victory in an eight-year defamation battle with his former homebuilding partner, Julian Walter, after the state's Supreme Court awarded him more than a million dollars in costs in the case.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Unions have vowed they will not moderate future pay claims to help employers meet the cost of Labor’s promise to lift the superannuation guarantee from 9 to 12 per cent.
Page 4: Independent MP Tony Windsor has accused the Nationals of failing to protect sensitive farming land from coal and coalseam gas projects.
Wayne Swan has conceded the $11.1 billion revenue stream the Gillard government has banked on raising from its mining tax will be at the whim of ‘‘swings and roundabouts’’ in commodity prices.
Page 6: Wayne Swan has conceded the $11.1 billion revenue stream the Gillard government has banked on raising from its mining tax will be at the whim of ‘‘swings and roundabouts’’ in commodity prices.
Business: Global financial markets slumped yesterday on news that China could be about to witness a sharp contraction.
Visy Industries is planning to make its biggest foray into Asia by setting up a new trading company in the region to source equipment and supplies for its factories and mills, generating annual savings of more than $100 million.
Fortescue Metals Group’s ambitious plans to expand its Pilbara mining operations face dual threats of state and federal intervention following claims that the company is riding roughshod over indigenous heritage protection.
Copper miner Tiger Resources is in talks to acquire an additional 40 per cent stake in its flagship Kipoi mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The world’s biggest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, will open branches in Melbourne and Brisbane next year, and will boost its fast-growing funding of Australian infrastructure.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission had doubts about the Australian Securities Exchange’s ability to manage its technology long before the outage that meant market participants could not trade for four hours on October 27.
The Reserve Bank has defended the fee it will charge banks that access the specialised liquidity fund formed as part of Australia’s response to the global regulatory reforms imposed on the banking sector.
Telstra has embarked on a nationwide upgrade of its cable network that will treble broadband speeds from 30 megabits per second to 100Mbps in capital cities.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Australia's asylum seeker tally for November has exceeded 700 - more than the Immigration Department's controversial "600-a-month" threshold predicted if the Malaysia deal collapsed.
Page 2: Ten new pubs and nightclubs have been added to the NSW government's violent venues list.
Page 3: The NSW government has seized on an auditor-general's report confirming blowouts in police compensation.
World: New emails have surfaced from a hacker who posted stolen emails two years ago in a bid to discredit climate science.
Business: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission told the Australian Securities Exchange it had concerns about its technology that halted trade for four hours.
Sport: Rugby league identity staked more than $400,000 in bets with one bookmaker last year, a court hears.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Labor's left wants to boost the power of union officials at the party's conference.
Page 2: Banks have warned of falling competition and increased borrowing costs following a government decision to defer the abolition of withholding tax for foreign banks.
Page 3: Hundreds mourned the loss of nine lives at the Quakers Hill nursing home.
World: The White House blasts Republican presidential primaries contender Mitt Romney over his attack on Barack Obama's jobs record.
Business: Virgin says any short-term profit from the Qantas grounding was wiped out by the cost of reallocating its fleet.
Sport: Rugby league identities Ryan Tandy and John Elias were inside the same Sydney courtroom.
THE AGE:
Page 1: The fatal police shooting of teenager Tyler Cassidy signalled the need for Victoria Police to better train its officers, the State Coroner has found. Incompetence in the Victorian public sector has been partly blamed for huge cost blow-outs.
Page 2: The Reserve Bank has been rocked by fresh corruption charges against one of its subsidiaries.
Page 3: Pregnant women will be weighed more regularly as Victorian hospitals upgrade their facilities to deal with obese mums to be.
Business: Australian banks are preparing for a freeze in global funding markets.
Sport: Aussie Shane Watson is in serious doubt for the two-match cricket series against New Zealand.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: A healthy fetus wrongly terminated in a botched procedure at Royal Women's Hospital. Princess Mary gives seven-year-old Catherine the thrill of a lifetime.
Page 2: Sick and injured farm animals mistreated across Victoria.
Page 3: Ex-girlfriend of AFL Geelong star Josh Hunt vents her fury on Facebook. Man arrested over Jazzy-O murder.
Business: Business leaders give Baillieu government thumbs up for first year but say more must be done to shore up the economy.
Sport: Wayne Carey says fallen star Brendan Fevola is worth the risk to an AFL club willing to take the chance to recruit him.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: The battle for the next year's state election has started after both parties released key policy positions.
Page 3: A leading doctor and an academic say the University of Queensland enrolment scandal is hurting the institution.
Page 5: Mining royalties to pay for a education fund under a Labor proposal which will generate $1.8 billion in the first 10 years.
World: Egypt plunged deeper into crisis as democracy protesters reject sweeping changes.
Business: The Australian stock market has stumbled again, losing two per cent amid mounting fears that economic growth s slowing in China.
Sport: New Zealand will take on Australia A in Brisbane in a game that serves as an audition for several young pacemen hoping to break into next week's opening Test cricket match against the Kiwis.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: Adelaide United players will wear pandas on their shorts to help raise money for the endangered species.
Page 3: Premier Jay Weatherill may wipe all outstanding legislation when parliament wraps up for the year.
World: Protesters in Egypt have rejected the military leader's promise to speed the transition to civilian rule.
Business: Penrice Soda Holdings has extended its debt facilities.
Sport: Port Adelaide wants at least one giant at tonight's national draft.
