AAP

A controversial crackdown on employer abuse of a skilled foreign worker visa program has passed parliament on the final sitting day before the election.

Australian shares fell flat on the last day of trade in the financial year as cautious investors sold mining and insurance stocks.

Labor's treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt has ruled out seeking pre-selection for the seat of Perth following the resignation of Stephen Smith.

Community opposition to coal seam gas projects in NSW has forced mining giant Santos to trim its operations, environmentalists and local activists say.

The state's upper house has passed a bill to keep a tax on the transfer of businesses after a marathon near 24-hour sitting session.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is preparing to announce a key election policy ahead of the naming of his new ministry, after half a dozen key ministers, including Treasurer Wayne Swan, resigned on Wedne

Australia's share market has opened marginally higher as upbeat American employment and home sales data adds a small bounce.

As Australia approaches an unprecedented 22 years of economic expansion, a former Treasury boss has credited the nation's "extraordinary dynamism" for the milestone.

MPs, judges, magistrates and senior public servants have been granted a 2.6 per cent pay rise, roughly in line with inflation, as more than 1,000 government staff face redundancies.

Gold futures have dipped below $1,200 a troy ounce amid continued worries about a coming end to Federal Reserve stimulus measures.

US stocks on Thursday closed solidly higher for a third straight day following positive economic data and comments from a top Federal Reserve official that the Fed would not hastily end its stimulu

The Australian dollar is firmer after the European Central Bank suggested it would continue its support for economic stimulus.

The Australian share market has posted a second straight day of strong gains on optimism about China's financial system and economic growth.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's comments about an end to the mining boom are destructive and could be self-fulfilling, the chairman of iron ore exporter Atlas Iron says.

Elders has appointed a former Wesfarmers executive as its new chairman tasked with restoring the 174-year company into purely a rural services player.

The Australian market has opened higher following a surge on Wall Street where weak economic news continues to mean good news for share markets.

Nearly four in five Australian employers have no plans to put on new workers in the next three months.

The Australian dollar has lost some ground after weaker-than-expected US economic growth figures drove an earlier rally in the local currency overnight.

US stocks have surged after investors took a positive view of reduced growth estimates.The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 149.83 (1.02 per cent) to 14,910.14.

The Australian dollar is firmer after the People's Bank of China indicated it would move to prevent a credit crunch in the world's second largest economy.

The Australian share market made strong gains on Wednesday as investors piled back into resources and banking stocks.

The world's largest gold mining company Barrick has slashed 65 jobs in Western Australia due to increasing costs and a weaker gold price.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has laid out a coalition government's plan for the resources sector while mocking the government's controversial mining tax as an act of "economic self-harm".

Shares in Moly Mines have surged more than 20 per cent after the company agreed to sell output from its producing iron ore mine in the Pilbara to fellow miner Mineral Resources for about $38 millio

Federal resources minister Gary Gray is confident Australia will remain a major supplier of metal and minerals commodities, especially to South-East Asia.

The two federal independent MPs who have helped keep the Gillard minority government in power for nearly three years are walking away from politics.

Paladin Energy shares fell by more than 10 per cent after it delayed until August a deal to sell a stake in an African uranium mine.

The state government will pay more for gas from Chevron's Gorgon project than from the North West Shelf, but says the increase won't all be passed on to consumers.

The Australian share market has opened more than one per cent higher.

The Australian dollar has held its own against a stronger greenback driven by positive data, after China's central bank moved to calm fears that its country faces a credit crisis.

Gold futures have extended recent losses to set a 33-month low, as a string of stronger US economic data bolstered equities and dampened interest in safe-haven assets like precious metals.