Miners dig deep to battle carbon tax – The Fin; More power to Labor bid for uranium ban – The Fin; Premier won't scrap weekend penalty pay – The West; Fortescue debt deal can wait – The Fin; UWA ranks among world's best – The West
Miners dig deep to battle carbon tax
The mining industry is escalating its campaign against the carbon tax, with the Minerals Council of Australia calling on members to contribute to an industry war chest before a fresh round of film and TV advertising opposing the impost. The Fin
More power to Labor bid for uranium ban
Western Australia's emerging uranium industry has hit a potential pothole, with government legal advice suggesting the state Labor opposition may not need to pay compensation to miners if it wins the 2013 election and introduces a promised ban on the yellow metal. The Fin
Premier won't scrap weekend penalty pay
Colin Barnett has ruled out scrapping penalty wage rates on weekends despite concerns that smaller shops will be unable to afford to open on Sundays under his push to deregulate trading hours in Perth. The West
Fortescue debt deal can wait
Recent market volatility could delay Fortescue Metals Group's plans to raise an additional $US1 billion for a major expansion, but will not affect the scope or the pace of the project, chief executive Nev Power says. The Fin
UWA ranks among world's best
The University of WA is the fifth-best tertiary institution in Australia and among the world's top 150, according to rankings released yesterday. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Sex discrimination complaints made by men have outnumbered those from women for the first time, according to figures compiled by the state's Equal Opportunity Commission.
Page 5: A Perth company owned by a Malaysian politician is being investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman for allegedly failing to pay employees at its Bibra Lake workshop.
Page 6: The state opposition has accused the government of sitting on Mick Keelty's report into the Perth Hills bushfires for two months which could have been used to implement its recommendations for next fire season.
Page 7: A new report into the effects of climate change in WA has painted a bleak picture.
Page 8: Colin Barnett has ruled out scrapping penalty wage rates on weekends despite concerns that smaller shops will be unable to afford to open on Sundays under his push to deregulate trading hours in Perth.
Page 9: The University of WA is the fifth-best tertiary institution in Australia and among the world's top 150, according to the rankings released yesterday.
Page 12: Peter Reith has savaged Colin Barnett's refusal to reform the state's workplace relations system.
Page 17: WA's tourism strategies were given the thumbs-down in a new national industry survey that ranked Perth last among mainland capital cities.
Business: iiNet plans to increase investment in new gadgets and improve the performance of its acquisitions to drive profits after wringing the last drops of organic growth from a saturated broadband market.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia customers have struck back over chief executive Ralph Norris' controversial decision last November to push through a super-sized interest rate rise on mortgages,
Ten Network has slashed staff numbers by 12 per cent and squeezed $18 million in annual savings from the business as part of an overhaul of the broadcaster aimed at cutting costs and boosting profitability.
Newcrest Mining is looking abroad to sustain its ambitious growth plans, with a new listing in Canada set to complement its growing focus on Asian assets.
Dominant equipment renter Coates Hire is set to swallow a WA rival if it can win approval from the competition regulator.
Shares in Imdex surged more than 9 per cent yesterday after the global drilling supplier posted its best results and forecast even better times ahead.
OM Holdings says it will consider offloading investments to boost its financial positions and “streamline its strategic direction”, weeks out from a clash with aggrieved shareholder Consolidated Minerals.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Australian companies are buying back their own shares and increasing dividends in the best sign yet that boardrooms are confident about the future of their business.
The mining industry is escalating its campaign against the carbon tax, with the Minerals Council of Australia calling on members to contribute to an industry war chest before a fresh round of film and TV advertising opposing the impost.
Page 3: The corporate regulator is warning investors about the complex and growing $4.7 billion market for exchange traded funds, as issuers report a massive increase in investor interest as the market became more volatile.
Page 6: Liberal senator Bill Heffernan has suggested prime farm land be set aside as “no go” areas for the coal seam gas industry, creating a new political headache for Opposition leader Tony Abbott.
Australia's peak oil and gas body has warned that up to $46 billion of committed investment in Queensland coal seam gas projects could be threatened under a proposal by the Greens to give farmers new powers to limit drilling on their land.
Page 7: Trade Minister Craig Emerson has warned against the “economic Hansonism” of those who oppose foreign investment in Australian farms, declaring that local agriculture needed foreign capital to help address food shortages.
Page 13: Western Australia's emerging uranium industry has hit a potential pothole, with government legal advice suggesting the state Labor opposition may not need to pay compensation to miners if it wins the 2013 election and introduces a promised ban on the yellow metal.
West Australian shipbuilder Austal has reached an out-of-court settlement with Tasmanian rival Incat after an extraordinary legal battle over alleged underhand tactics in the high-stakes industry.
Page 20: The soft television advertising market and a blow-out in costs will lop almost $40 million off Ten Network's earnings for the 2011 financial year.
Newcrest Mining, Australia's premier gold miner, has signalled an increasing focus on returning capital to shareholders as profit margins are boosted by the precious metal's record-breaking price run.
Page 21: Leighton Holdings chief executive David Stewart is optimistic he can turn around the beleaguered construction group by capitalising on opportunities in Australia and Asia after presiding over the worst annual loss in the group's 62-year history.
Engineering and property services group UGL has held out on providing specific earnings guidance for this financial year as it gauges how problems in the US economy might affect its business.
Page 24: Rio Tinto has stepped up the pace of its $US7 billion share buyback program after a record half-year result and market volatility as shareholders push for rival miner BHP Billiton to unveil capital management initiatives alongside the release of its full-year result next week.
Recent market volatility could delay Fortescue Metals Group's plans to raise an additional $US1 billion for a major expansion, but will not affect the scope or the pace of the project, chief executive Nev Power says.
Page 46: Australian uranium producer Paladin Energy expects to secure contracts to supply fuel to China's second-largest builder of nuclear power plants as the country looks to increase generation four-fold by 2015.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Mining exploration over densely populated areas will be banned in Queensland as the government attempts to quell community anxiety about encroaching resources development.
Page 2: The public needs to be reassured about the strength of the economy in the wake of global economic turbulence, Wayne Swan has told his fellow ministers.
More than 2.4 million health fund members will pay up to 4.3 per cent more for their cover from January if the government’s means test on the private health insurance rebate gets through parliament in coming weeks.
Page 6: The Gillard government has warned that a crackdown on the coal-seam gas industry risks undermining its carbon pricing scheme because gas is a key transition fuel as the nation tries to move away from coal to cut greenhouse emissions.
The shifting ground rules over miners’ use of agricultural land will affect developers of mining projects worth $100 billion in Queensland and NSW.
Trade Minister Craig Emerson has attacked critics of foreign investment in the agricultural sector as ‘‘Hansonite’’ and called for agricultural production to be increased to meet overseas food shortages.
Page 7: Labor backbenchers who raised concerns about live animal exports have not backed away from their calls in light of claims Indonesian abattoir workers were paid to mistreat stock for the cameras.
Business: Newcrest Mining will curb production at its big Telfer goldmine and has slashed medium-term company production guidance, as rampant inflation and equipment shortages in Western Australia’s Pilbara force the company to shift its growth focus to other mines.
Leighton Holdings chief executive David Stewart has assured the market there are ‘‘no more surprise issues’’ to come from the contractor, and set an ambitious target to lift net profit to $1 billion over the next four years
The Australian sharemarket started the week strongly yesterday with a 2.6 per cent surge, but analysts warn fragile markets in the US and Europe hold the key to further volatility
Surprisingly good gross domestic product figures from Japan indicate that the tsunami-battered nation will soon cease to be a drag on fragile global economic growth.
Newmont is in talks with several companies over the possible sale of Australian assets containing more than 1.2 billion tonnes of thermal coal, signalling that an uncertain global economic outlook was not dampening interest in resources deals.
Ten Network Holdings has completed its strategic review with a minor earnings downgrade and a forecast of flat cost growth this financial year.
UGL chief Richard Leupen is cautiously watching economic conditions in the US and has cited global market volatility as a factor in his decision not to issue specific earnings guidance.
Commonwealth Bank’s outgoing chief executive, Ralph Norris, has taken a big pay cut for the 2011 financial year but still took home $12.5 million, according to the bank’s annual report.
A ‘‘dangerous’’ competitive environment has affected customer growth at iiNet, the nation’s third-largest internet service provider, but the company says it is in a strong position to push for new subscribers.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: More than half the population believes asylum seekers arriving by boat should be landed and processed in Australia, contradicting the policies of the two main parties, which advocate processing in a third country, a poll finds.
Page 2: Tony Abbott has said prime arable land should be protected from mining but has rejected supporting a Greens bill that would prevent miners having untrammelled access to farmland.
Page 3: A fifth of children miss out on crucial preschool education in NSW - the lowest rate in the country, according to an academic in charge of reviewing the system.
World: The supply lines of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, are under threat as opposition forces in the western mountains battle closer to his capital, which has become isolated by rebel advances backed by NATO war planes and a naval blockade.
Business: The embattled contracting giant Leighton Holdings has brought its horror year to a close by promising a swift return to profitability and a commitment not to repeat the same mistakes.
Sport: Benn Robinson ruled himself out, Berrick Barnes ruled himself in and Wycliff Palu remained hopeful as places for the Wallabies' World Cup squad are to be decided in the next 48 hours.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Three senior police officers have been suspended for allegedly returning positive drug tests - including for cocaine - after attending a police function.
Page 3: The life of a little boy could have been saved if hospital staff had investigated his GP's diagnosis of treatable appendicitis.
World: As hare-brained wartime schemes go, it's probably more Hogan's Heroes than Dam Busters. With no end to WWII in sight, British spies came up with a plan to lace Adolf Hitlers food with female sex hormones to curb his aggressive impulses.
Business: Newcrest Mining expects gold prices to stay strong this financial year after surging demand for the precious metal pushed its annual profit up 63 per cent.
Sport: How did it all go so Soward? Not long ago, the Dragons were considered runaway favourites to go back-to-back in 2011.
THE AGE:
Page 1: The majority of Australians say refugees should be processed in Australia, according to an Age poll. A shattered Denise and Bruce Morcombe visit a Sunshine Coast bushland site where their son, Daniel, could be buried in a secret grave. Angry customers hit back and cost CommBank chief almost half his salary.
Page 2: Melbourne Uni leapfrogs ANU to be top Australian learning institute in world rankings. Weight loss group sues academic for defamation.
Page 3: QC and Greens call for scrutiny into Reserve Bank's currency deals. Parents want Kew principal sacked over toilet trial. Mission Australia says it will have to cut 160 jobs and axe programs if the union's equal pay claim is successful.
World: Cameron says fightback needed to address moral decay in UK.
Business: Leighton says it will bounce back next year after a horror 12 months.
Sport: Port Adelaide woes deepen as three times best and fairest player, Kane Cornes, told he's not wanted next season.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Suburban councils lobby for 30km/h speed limits in residential streets. Golf prodigy Karl Vilips dreams of a Masters jacket.
Page 3: Unhappy customers cost CommBank chief Ralph Norris $7 million. Three bullied schoolgirls sue Education Department for loss of future earnings.
World: British PM David Cameron vows to confront the moral collapse behind last week's riots.
Business: Leighton refusing to bid for major projects because it fears labour shortage.
Sport: Collingwood will use players in advertising blitz to weed out feral fans.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: The parents of Daniel Morcombe have uttered a prayer at the spot where their son was allegedly murdered.
Page 2: Battle of Long Tan veterans from Delta Company 6RAR will be honoured on the 45th anniversary of the conflict on Thursday, rectifying one of the nation's greatest military injustices.
Page 3: New figures show an alarming spike in cases of gastroschisis in Queensland, a condition where a baby's organs grow outside the body in a hole in the abdominal wall.
World: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has rallied against opposition forces and NATO amid rumours he is preparing to flee the country.
Business: Leighton chief David Stewart has reignited the migration debate, warning that the company is refusing to bid for big projects because it fears Australia's labour shortage.
Sport: The Brisbane Broncos are in negotiations with Peter Wallace as the club prepares for the post-Darren Lockyer era.
