Morning Headlines
Security risk from Defence project delays
Delays for major defence projects have cumulatively blown out to more than 37 years – and Defence chiefs are increasingly hiding how late some multibillion-dollar acquisitions are running because it could ‘‘damage’’ national security. The Fin
The ‘Qantas effect’ hanging over profit season
AGL Energy, News Corp, Nick Scali and Transurban all reported stronger-than-expected margins, extracting what’s left from beaten-up Australian consumers and running their own businesses harder to be leaner and meaner than expected. The Fin
Australia in reading crisis: Grattan
Only 12 per cent of Australian 15-yearolds are able to read at an advanced level, with children from poor families 10 times more likely to have deficient reading ability compared to their richer peers. The Fin
AusSuper calls for ‘funds for life’ for retirees
Industry superannuation behemoth AustralianSuper is pushing Treasury to allow funds to set up ‘‘accounts for life’’ for customers, in a bid for greater involvement in how members manage and spend their savings. The Fin
Coles taps supplier shoulders for price cuts of up to 14pc
Coles has asked some of its suppliers to cut their prices to reflect cooling inflation, with those savings likely to fund a discounting blitz just as the supermarkets face political and community heat over food and grocery prices. The Aus
‘Disconnect and forget flexi hours’
Bosses are warning they will be forced to end flexible working arrangements that allow employees to leave early to pick up children or attend appointments during work hours, when the controversial new right to disconnect laws come into effect. The Aus
Stamp duty home truth
Perth homebuyers are forking out the equivalent of three months wages on stamp duty, while in the early to mid-1980s people were only having to save three weeks’ pay. The West
Ship livestock back on land soon
Roger Cook has confirmed about 15,000 sheep and cattle stuck on board an export ship for more than five weeks will finally be brought back to land. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 4: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces fresh pressure to rein in property investors’ tax breaks, as the Greens party demands changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount in exchange for its support for a shared equity scheme to help low-income earners buy a home.
Page 4: Whistleblowers could receive multimillion-dollar rewards for disclosing corporate and government wrongdoing under a plan being advocated by crossbench politicians, lawyers, academics and transparency bodies.
Page 7: China is feasting on Australian rock lobster as it celebrates lunar new year despite bans imposed by Beijing in 2020 at a flashpoint in relations with Canberra.
Page 9: Matt Benham says one of the keys to managing staff who work partly from home is to construct a set of principles so employees can make decisions without having to consult the person sitting next to them.
Page 10: The gender pay gap has shrunk at the fastest rate in 20 years, the latest HILDA survey shows, as men spend more time looking after children and doing housework, and care economy jobs boom.
Page 11: Former Perth glazier Mitch Wishnowsky, the kicker for the San Francisco 49ers, is hoping to make history today by becoming the first Australian to play in and win a Super Bowl.
Page 13: Technology and operational staff at the ASX will be the worst affected by a snap redundancy round before the company’s half-yearly earnings due on Friday, as the market operator looks to reorganise after its CHESS disaster.
Page 13: BHP has told suppliers and workers at its West Australian nickel operations that it needs to cut costs for the business to have any chance of surviving the nickel rout that has claimed mines run by IGO and Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo.
Page 16: EY says it did not investigate the claims its auditors were tipped off about fake coal testing, partly arguing it relied on denials of problems from miner Peabody and testing company ALS.
Page 17: The London Metal Exchange is facing a new legal headache after a group of activists sued it for allegedly breaking UK law by allowing metals produced in environmentally damaging ways to trade on its marketplace.
Page 17: Coal baron and Queensland businessman Brian Flannery has sold his 5 per cent stake in fast-charger developerTritium, casting further doubt on the financial future of the Brisbane-based company.
Page 28: Big and small businesses poured record revenue into Meta’s Facebook and Instagram in Australia last quarter, which claimed prized advertising dollars at the expense of television and despite a wider ad industry slowdown.
Page 34: Chinese investors and their creditors are putting up ‘‘For Sale’’ signs on real estate holdings across the globe as the need to raise cash amid a deepening property crisis at home trumps the risks of offloading into a falling market. The prices they get will help finally put hard numbers on just how much trouble the wider industry is in.
The Australian
Page 5: David Honey, who just over a year ago was the leader of the heavily denuded WA Liberal Party, on Saturday lost preselection for the blue ribbon seat of Cottesloe to Property Council of WA chief Sandra Brewer.
Page 8: Donald Trump says he would “encourage” Russia to attack members of NATO who had not met their financial obligations, his most extreme broadside against a military alliance he has long expressed scepticism about.
Page 13: Australian managed funds haemorrhaged a record net $31bn in 2023 and the wound is likely to deepen as the $177bn exchange-traded fund industry is poised to triple in size this decade, continuing to lure investor cash.
Page 13: The boom in property construction during the pandemic has led to a booming market for disputes, as developers, builders and funders battle over big-ticket projects gone wrong.
Page 15: Many “Swifties” have outlaid thousands of dollars to attend the Taylor Swift Eras tour, with retailers cashing in by selling on-theme merchandise such as sequined items, cowboy hats and heart- shaped sunglasses. Some clothing and accessory stores have even dedicated special collections for the tour.
Page 15: The country’s only manufacturer of solar panels is urging the federal government to move quickly on the development of a domestic solar manufacturing industry, warning Australia risks falling further behind the rest of the world where incentives are enabling industry to compete with cheap foreign imports.
The West Australian
Page 4: Andrew Forrest has been unwittingly drawn into an ugly dispute over a renovation at WA’s first brutalist building — Hale School’s Memorial Hall.
Page 4: WA’s corruption watchdog has sacked an officer after she was busted having sex with someone involved in a sensitive investigation.
Page 8: Six candidates could vie for preselection in the once-safe Liberal seat of Nedlands, with two more people set to join the already crowded field.
Page 9: Visitors to Whiteman Park will soon be able to hop off the train and on to its historic tram as part of an extension of Metronet in a move hoped to push annual visitor numbers above one million.
Page 19: Media tycoon, respected business leader and philanthropist Harold Mitchell has died at the age of 81.
Page 20: One of the State’s few private equity funds has tapped low-key investment gun Anna Shave to run its new $US250 million ($380m) innovation investment pool.
Page 20: A former PricewaterhouseCoopers procurement partner is fighting to get hold of evidence for potential litigation over her departure.
