Fix the tax rot, says Rio
One of Australia’s top mining executives says reform of federal taxes and spending is urgently needed to fix the “slowly rotting platform” of the federal government’s finances.
Royalty relief will spur handout culture, Fortescue boss warns
Australia’s smaller iron ore miners risk developing a handout mentality following the Western Australian government’s royalty relief plan, Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power has warned. The Aus
YouTube talent hit by new income tax rule
Australian tax payers who make money from YouTube are performing artists and have to pay income tax, the Tax Office has decided. The Fin
All change as Forrest reshuffles FMG ranks
Andrew Forrest has invited a close associate from his global anti-slavery campaign to join the board of Fortescue Metals Group as the company undergoes its second round of executive restructuring in less than two months. The West
PNG gas plan edges closer
Expansion of the giant PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea moved a step closer when ExxonMobil and Oil Search agreed on a construction timeline with the local government. The Fin
Blow for Rio Tinto in Forge fight
Receivers of collapsed mining services firm Forge Group are claiming an early victory in a fight with Rio Tinto, after the Supreme Court of Western Australia dismissed the mining giant’s bid to have the court review $3 million awarded to the former contractor for unpaid work. The Fin
Boart ups sticks in BHP drilling contract stoush
BHP Billiton has underlined its willingness to play hardball over its iron ore cost-cutting program, parting ways with driller Boart Longyear after a stand-off over Pilbara contract costs. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: One of Australia’s top mining executives says reform of federal taxes and spending is urgently needed to fix the “slowly rotting platform” of the federal government’s finances.
Page 3: The Australian Taxation Office has agreed that a separate division should be created to handle all or most appeals by taxpayers, a major concession that seems designed to ward off Treasurer Joe Hockey’s plan to implement a more severe split.
Australian tax payers who make money from YouTube are performing artists and have to pay income tax, the Tax Office has decided.
Page 4: Rio Tinto Australia managing director Phil Edmands is more worried about anti-coal activists using backdoor tactics to gum up project approvals than about meeting their case head-on.
Page 5: Ministers have moved quickly to try and limit fallout from the government’s back down on cuts to the Medicare rebate, as leaks from the senior ranks of cabinet cast a pall over the last few weeks of the parliamentary break.
Page 6: The Reserve Bank of Australia needs to cut interest rates below their historic lows to help lift the deep pessimism enveloping local business, according to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Page 13: Expansion of the giant PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea moved a step closer when ExxonMobil and Oil Search agreed on a construction timeline with the local government.
Page 14: Australian companies in several industries stand to benefit from a boom in Asian tourists that will help the nation offset the economic drag from declining resources investment, says CLSA.
Receivers of collapsed mining services firm Forge Group are claiming an early victory in a fight with Rio Tinto, after the Supreme Court of Western Australia dismissed the mining giant’s bid to have the court review $3 million awarded to the former contractor for unpaid work.
Page 15: Paladin Energy managing director John Borshoff says trading has increased in the uranium term contracting market, a positive indicator for stronger uranium prices.
Page 20: Fortescue Metals Group has snared former ExxonMobil senior executive Jean Baderschneider as a non-executive director.
Page 21: GWRGroup, which is developing the Wiluna West iron ore project in Western Australia, said it won’t take the project forward until the benchmark price for iron ore climbs back to around $US100 a tonne.
The Australian
Page 1: Joe Hockey has ruled out any back down on government plans to deregulate university fees and foreshadowed further “fair” welfare reforms to help stop ordinary Australian taxpayers “working for the first six months of the year for the government”.
Page 5: Up to 4000sqkm across Western Australia had been disturbed by mining and needed rehabilitating, said Dr Merritt, a senior scientist at Perth’s Kings Park and Botanical Garden.
Page 17: Australia’s smaller iron ore miners risk developing a handout mentality following the Western Australian government’s royalty relief plan, Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power has warned.
Ten Network’s hopes of securing a deal with a new set of owners have been boosted after the broadcaster achieved its strongest summer ratings in a decade.
Macquarie Group is poised to post its second-largest annual profit of more than $1.5 billion, buoyed by the lower Australian dollar and stronger trading income after heightened volatility in commodities markets.
Page 19: Any move to abolish dividend imputation, as was speculated in the recent Murray Review, would be a “retrograde step”, according to Ross Barker, managing director of Australia’s biggest licensed investment company, the $6 billion Australian Foundation Investment Company.
Page 20: Qantas and Virgin Australia are showing no signs of reducing the fuel surcharge they levy on international flights.
Page 24: Strong demand for developers is fuelling the post-Christmas jobs market as employers look to secure top talent in what hiring experts predict will be a competitive year.
Page 26: Australia’s largest residential developer Stockland has beefed up its Victorian housing estate pipeline with the launch of a new $4.6 billion “city” on Melbourne’s northern fringe and the acquisition of a smaller plot in the far southeast of the city’s metropolitan area.
A tenth successive quarter of falling office take-up has put the vacancy rate in Perth at a nine-year high of 15.8 per cent, with rents declining 23.4 per cent in the past year.
The West Australian
Page 3: Perth commuters could save more than $10,000 a year by selling their car and catching public transport to work, according to a new report.
Page 6: The prospect of Australians living 150 years highlights the need to rein in health spending, according to Joe Hockey.
Page 15: The State Government should set a target to have at least 4 per cent of all procurement contracts awarded to Aboriginal-owned businesses to stimulate indigenous economic development, shadow Aboriginal affairs minister Ben Wyatt says.
Business: Andrew Forrest has invited a close associate from his global anti-slavery campaign to join the board of Fortescue Metals Group as the company undergoes its second round of executive restructuring in less than two months.
Australians are greatly underestimating how much money they need in retirement, according to a new report by HSBC, which shows retirees face a 13-year shortfall in funds.
BHP Billiton has underlined its willingness to play hardball over its iron ore cost-cutting program, parting ways with driller Boart Longyear after a stand-off over Pilbara contract costs.
Schlumberger is expected to cut about 100 jobs in Australia as the oil giant sheds 9000 workers worldwide.
Resource Equipment co-founder Tony Ryder has sold his $7.4 million stake to a Texan billionaire attempting to mop up the mining services company.
