Parties make millions from pay-for-access
The federal Labor Party received more than $1.3 million in donations last financial year but made at least five times that from its secretive pay-for-access subscription program for executives and lobbyists. The Fin
BP puts $600m clean fuel hub plans on ice
BP has plans for a $600 million renewable fuel hub at its mothballed Perth oil refinery on hold, the latest clean energy project to be put on ice as developers reconsider the level of demand and their returns. The Fin
Marles to visit US to shore up AUKUS, trade
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will visit the United States this week to shore up Australia’s defence and security relationship with the Trump administration. The Fin
IR review banks more productive FWO over building watchdog
A review into the Albanese government’s first tranche of industrial relations laws has found Labor’s abolition of the building industry watchdog has no unintended consequences, despite reports of intimidation and coercion on construction sites and bikies occupying union delegate roles. The Fin
Renewables target rebellion: largest business group’s message to PM, Bowen
The nation’s largest business body is predicting Labor will have to revisit its renewables target of 82 per cent by 2030 amid crippling energy prices and looming supply shortfalls, calling on Anthony Albanese to hold urgent talks with gas executives to “unleash the shackled” of the resource so it can play a bigger role in Australia’s electricity sector. The Aus
Australia may be trade war collateral damage
The nation’s businesses and the Labor government have been warned that Donald Trump sees trade tariffs as an “end in themselves” rather than a negotiating tool, as the US President’s economic warfare against China, Mexico and Canada wiped $50bn off the Australian stock exchange and crashed the dollar to a five-year low against the greenback. The Aus
Scams strategy to see banks dodge payouts
Banks, telcos and social media platforms won’t be forced to compensate victims of scams as part of the federal government’s Scams Prevention Framework aimed at protecting Australians from financial crime. The Aus
Kindy plan ‘stealing childhood’
Renowned parenting expert and author Maggie Dent slammed WA plans to bring in full-time kindergarten for four-year-olds as an attempt at “stealing childhood”. The West
NAB cuts its fixed rates
NAB has become the first big bank to cut fixed-interest mortgage rate, as expectations of an impending Reserve Bank of Australia rate cut grow. The West
Social media duty of care front and centre of safety overhaul
Social media companies with the biggest reach or those posing the highest risk to Australians will have to proactively mitigate harms from their products under an overhaul of online safety laws. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 5: Jim Chalmers has used the Treasury to dispute costings by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office and claim the opposition’s promise of a small-business tax deduction for lunches would cost between $1.6 billion and $10 billion a year.
Page 5: Big business in Australia has seized on Donald Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk to slash red tape and wasteful spending, by pressing on local political parties to appoint a minister for deregulation and get the government out of the way of private enterprise.
Page 12: Deloitte will pay shareholders in ASX-listed food producer Noumi more than $31 million in one of the biggest settlements reached between aggrieved investors and the auditor of the company they are using.
Page 12: The corporate regulator has launched an investigation into the failure of a critical ASX platform in the week before Christmas that restricted the settlements of trades made on the bourse for days.
Page 13: Australian technology start-ups received an increased $4 billion of venture capital funding in 2024, with a quarter of the money going to firms building products based on artificial intelligence, new data has shown.
Page 13: Green hydrogen ventures in Western Australia and Tasmania are defiantly pushing ahead with their multibillion-dollar project plans, ever after Queensland’s most advanced project collapsed due to a state government decision to reject a $1 billion-plus funding request.
Page 15: Anna Bligh will retire from the Australian Banking Association after eight years of lobbying that restored the reputation of a sector battered by the Hayne royal commission.
Page 17: Westpac is pushing for its three major bank rivals to take on more responsibility for the money sitting in Armaguard depots ahead of negotiations aimed at keeping the Lindsay Fox-owned company afloat and banknotes and coins circulating in the economy.
Page 17: The largest shareholder in ailing building products group Fletcher Building, Allan Gray, says the elevation of Peter Crowley to chairman is a sensible move.
Page 20: Australia’s largest superannuation fund poured nearly half a billion dollars in retirement savings into tech giant Nvidia last quarter, dialling up its position ahead of the stock’s record-breaking crash on January 27.
Page 23: Home builders are consolidating as the post-pandemic disruption subsides.
Page 24: Quadrant Private Equity is taking a majority stake in property valuations firm Herron Todd White.
The Australian
Page 3: Efforts to fix the nation’s beleaguered digital health database have split the medical community, as doctors debate whether they should be penalised for failing to speedily provide patient test results.
Page 4: Business chiefs will campaign for economic measures already endorsed by Peter Dutton and heap pressure on Anthony Albanese over government spending, deregulation and the need for sweeping tax reforms.
Page 5: KPMG has warned Australia’s tight labour market is placing too much upwards pressure on inflation and the Reserve Bank cannot risk lowering the interest rate this month, which would dash Anthony Albanese’s hopes of a pre-election rate cut.
Page 6: Peter Dutton’s pledge to bring back $5m “golden ticket” visas for wealthy foreign investors has been condemned by Magnitsky Act founder and corruption fighter Sir Bill Browder for “reopening the door to organised crime”.
Page 6: Labor’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation was “on the whole” operating effectively with minimal unintended consequences, a review has found, but it is too early to judge whether the laws had reversed a decline in collective bargaining or if contentious multi-employer bargaining provisions were operating as intended.
Page 6: The peak small business body says Labor’s payday super policy is a disaster waiting to happen and the cost to employers to change and adapt “will be immense”.
Page 15: Barrenjoey’s head of equities, Chris Williams, said the homegrown investment bank was “pleased but not satisfied” with its overall growth trajectory, as he expressed plans to accelerate the expansion of the business over the next five years.
Page 17: Telstra has hit back at claims that it is “taxing” people by charging up to 24 per cent more for mobile phone plans than its rivals, as a new price war erupts between the nation’s three biggest telcos.
page 20: CBA is looking to show its might in the artificial intelligence race as it rolls out an AI agent for tens of thousands of business customers that will handle queries and provide ChatGPT-style responses.
The West Australian
Page 8: A surge in new apartments has helped home approvals rebound but the Government’s ambitious housing supply target remains well out of reach.
Page 10: New statistics have revealed that more than 60 people are being turned away from accommodation support services every day, despite the Cook Government’s record spend on housing.
Page 18: The WA Department of Mines will have one business day to assess work applications for low-impact mining activities under new measures to appease frustrated explorers.
Page 31: WA’s struggling lithium hydroxide producers are on the verge of being dealt another major blow, with China clamping down on specialised technicians and equipment leaving its borders.
Page 32: A WA gender equity advocate says companies struggling with diversity and inclusion backlash likely fell short in explaining their initiatives but is still backing in the cause to get more women into the workforce
Page 32: Karora Resources is proving difficult to digest for Westgold Resources months after being swallowed up for $1.2 billion.
Page 33: Resolute Mining boss Terry Holohan has called time on his tenure at the Africa-focused gold operator after a two-week detention ordeal last year.
Page 33: WA’s environment umpire has cleared Northern Star Resources to push on with a major expansion to the Super Pit, provided dust pollution and explosions that can be heard from Kalgoorlie are kept in check.
