Budget hole hits $12bn
Federal Treasury has told the Gillard government that weaker revenues will slice $12 billion from the budget bottom line this financial year, but the Prime Minister says the government must continue with plans for big increases in education and disability spending. The Fin
'No proof' of 457 visa rort claims
More than 10,000 foreigners working in Australia under the 457 visa scheme – 10 per cent of the visa holders- are rorting the system, Immigration Minister Brendan O'Conner claimed yesterday. The West
Don't use 457s as a political football, miners warn
Mining giants are reluctant to use a landmark migration scheme that was supposed to support the resources boom because of requirements for ‘‘heavy’’ union consultation and a hysterical campaign from ‘‘fringe elements’’. The Aus
Kagara rescue hits headwinds
Kagara administrators have asked for another five months to resuscitate the stricken base metals group in the face of creditor claims of more than $90 million and a potential insolvent trading inquiry. The West
'Gouging' blamed for NBN delays
Major contractors handling the rollout of the National Broadband Network are charging the federal government up to 2½ times the amount they are passing on to subcontractors who perform the work. The Aus
Top Resources Headlines
Don't use 457s as a political football, miners warn
Mining giants are reluctant to use a landmark migration scheme that was supposed to support the resources boom because of requirements for ‘‘heavy’’ union consultation and a hysterical campaign from ‘‘fringe elements’’. The Aus
Kagara rescue hits headwinds
Kagara administrators have asked for another five months to resuscitate the stricken base metals group in the face of creditor claims of more than $90 million and a potential insolvent trading inquiry. The West
Mine delays 'killing off' engineering work
Miners delaying and cancelling major projects is leading to a longterm decline in engineering projects in Australia. The Aus
Arrow may be off target
Increasing costs in Australia's liquefied natural gas industry are raising doubts over whether Shell's $20 billion Arrow LNG project in Queensland will survive as a stand-alone venture. The Fin
Top Politics Headlines
Budget hole hits $12bn
Federal Treasury has told the Gillard government that weaker revenues will slice $12 billion from the budget bottom line this financial year, but the Prime Minister says the government must continue with plans for big increases in education and disability spending. The Fin
'No proof' of 457 visa rort claims
More than 10,000 foreigners working in Australia under the 457 visa scheme – 10 per cent of the visa holders- are rorting the system, Immigration Minister Brendan O'Conner claimed yesterday. The West
Farmers turn up heat on MPs
WA's main rural lobby group will turn up the heat on Colin Barnett over his $7.8 million farm aid package by targeting Liberal and WA Nationals backbenchers. The West
SMEs in line for rude tax shock, experts say
The Coalition's planned 1.5 per cent tax on company taxable incomes over $5 million to fund its parental leave policy could hit small and medium-sized businesses, experts have warned. The Fin
Barnett flags tough budget cuts
Colin Barnett has foreshadowed cuts to services and programs in a later than usual August state budget in “tougher” financial circumstances. The West
Top Property Headlines
Rental bidding wars price out low earners
Low-income earners are finding it almost impossible to rent a house in Perth, with figures showing the median rent may be as high as $520 a week, according to a leading charity. The West
Analysts change tune on RBA interest cuts
The Reserve Bank of Australia will cut official interest rates at least twice in the next 12 months, markets predict, in a big reversal of expectations of just one month ago. The Fin
Macquarie pushes for greater funding role
Macquarie Group is aiming to replace some of the key mortgage funders of Homeloans Ltd, after muscling its way onto the non-bank lender's share register. The Fin
UGL set to offload DTZ in revamp
UGL appears to be on track to announce a spinoff of its global property business DTZ to the market in August as a review into the structure of the overall business continues. The Aus
The West Australian
Page 1: Collapsing company tax receipts have helped punch a $12 billion hole in the federal budget and created a risk of four more years of deficits, Julia Gillard will reveal today.
Page 3: Laws aimed at clearing thousands of cases from the courts each year by allowing on-the-spot fines for petty offences will have been in effect for more than three years by the time they can be used because police still do not have the technology to manage the system.
Page 4: More than 10,000 foreigners working in Australia under the 457 visa scheme – 10 per cent of the visa holders- are rorting the system, Immigration Minister Brendan O'Conner claimed yesterday.
Premier Colin Barnett has softened his opposition to recognising local government in the Constitution, despite the party's historic resistance to the measure.
Page 5: Low-income earners are finding it almost impossible to rent a house in Perth, with figures showing the median rent may be as high as $520 a week, according to a leading charity.
Page 7: WA's main rural lobby group will turn up the heat on Colin Barnett over his $7.8 million farm aid package by targeting Liberal and WA Nationals backbenchers.
Page 9: The state MP representing Northampton has said he was kept in the dark about the government's plan to test every property in the town for lead contamination.
Page 13: The state government wants a please explain from Perth Airport operators over delays to plans for a third runway to handle demand from the resources industry.
Page 15: Colin Barnett has foreshadowed cuts to services and programs in a later than usual August state budget in “tougher” financial circumstances.
Business: Kagara administrators have asked for another five months to resuscitate the stricken base metals group in the face of creditor claims of more than $90 million and a potential insolvent trading inquiry.
The state government will meet the international marketers of crop mitigation insurance this week as it considers long-term measure to reduce the risks in farming.
Rupert Murdoch is set for a 15 per cent personal pay rise with the split-up of News Corp into two publicly-listed companies.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Federal Treasury has told the Gillard government that weaker revenues will slice $12 billion from the budget bottom line this financial year, but the Prime Minister says the government must continue with plans for big increases in education and disability spending.
At least 80 significant farming operations across Australia worth more than $1 million each are in receivership or some form of distress, with more likely to fold due to high costs, depleted invome and sliding land values.
Page 6: Leading economists have urged the federal government to review the increasingly complex and costly family payments system in the budget.
Page 7: The Coalition's planned 1.5 per cent tax on company taxable incomes over $5 million to fund its parental leave policy could hit small and medium-sized businesses, experts have warned.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has been forced to reassure voters that the GST will not be increased if he becomes prime minister.
Page 8: The Gillard government will seek to legislate changes to the 457 temporary skilled migration visa scheme before Parliament rises in June, as it releases a new report which suggests there are question marks over thousands of 457 applications a year.
Switching Australia to 100 per cent renewable energy would cost more than $200 billion, use up to 5,000 square kilometres of land and double the wholesale price of power, a government report has found.
Page 10: The Reserve Bank of Australia will cut official interest rates at least twice in the next 12 months, markets predict, in a big reversal of expectations of just one month ago.
Page 11: The National Farmers Federation is sticking to its demand that the government impose a mandatory code of conduct for supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths.
Page 13: The nation's biggest wheat farmer, Ron Greentree, plans to lobby politicians to ensure US grains giant Archer Daniels Midland is forced to keep GrainCorp's extensive storage and port assets open to rival traders if it succeeds in its $3 billion takeover of eastern Australia's largest grains handler.
Page 15: Rio Tinto could soon rake in more than $US1 billion in proceeds from the sale of its Diavik diamond mine in Canada, the most likely buyer suggesting a deal may be struck by the end of June.
Retailers are praying for a cold snap to clear autumn and winter apparel and avoid a blowout in inventories after above-average temperatures across most of Australia in the past few months.
Page 16: Contractors will need to focus increasingly on maintenance work and smaller sub-sectors to grow their businesses because engineering construction in Australia is expected to peak this year, says industry forecaster BIS Shrapnel.
Page 17: Macquarie Group is aiming to replace some of the key mortgage funders of Homeloans Ltd, after muscling its way onto the non-bank lender's share register.
Page 22: Increasing costs in Australia's liquefied natural gas industry are raising doubts over whether Shell's $20 billion Arrow LNG project in Queensland will survive as a stand-alone venture.
The Australian
Page 1: Julia Gillard will today reveal a further deterioration in the government’s tax revenue forecasts, with Treasury warning that the federal tax take this financial year will be $12 billion less than predicted last October.
A new ‘‘safe pay’’ tribunal for truck drivers is in limbo, doing little more than researching and consulting, as the states and territories refuse to cede power to the national regulator.
Internal Labor polling shows the party is facing a wipeout in key federal seats with swings of up to 15 per cent in Melbourne’s south-east, sparking a debate about which electorates to protect at the September poll.
Page 2: Kevin Rudd’s supporters are incensed by a magazine article that depicts the former prime minister and his followers as saboteurs who have constantly undermined Julia Gillard and may still hold hopes for a fresh tilt at the leadership.
The credibility of Labor’s new defence white paper risks being undermined by the deep cuts to defence spending with new suggestions a fourth air warfare destroyer should be funded by ditching plans to double the submarine fleet.
Mining giants are reluctant to use a landmark migration scheme that was supposed to support the resources boom because of requirements for ‘‘heavy’’ union consultation and a hysterical campaign from ‘‘fringe elements’’.
Page 3: Major contractors handling the rollout of the National Broadband Network are charging the federal government up to 2½ times the amount they are passing on to subcontractors who perform the work.
Page 6: Foreign Minister Bob Carr has come under fire for championing animal rights charity Voiceless while also being responsible for helping to restore Australia’s flagging live cattle sales to Indonesia.
The federal opposition has called for an auditor-general’s inquiry into the Department of Health and Ageing’s distribution of a letter to aged-care providers on the government’s $1.2 billion pay offer to increase wages in the sector.
Business: US grains giant Archer Daniels Midland’s $3.4 billion takeover play for GrainCorp could face opposition on a number of fronts after analysts raised questions about its ability to fund the deal and highlighted its patchy record on acquisitions.
Private equity is set for a comeback in Australia after several quiet years in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to one of the fathers of the private equity business in Australia, Champ Private Equity executive chairman Bill Ferris.
James Packer has reportedly been given approval by the Sri Lankan government to build a $350 million casino and resort complex in the island state’s capital of Colombo.
The Reserve Bank started cutting rates in November 2011, but the core inflation rate has been trending lower ever since, notwithstanding the impact of the carbon tax.
Macquarie Research has cut its price forecast for several commodities, including copper and gold, due to renewed concerns about future commodities demand as optimism about the global economy erodes.
The surge in the banks’ share prices reaches a key moment this week as the major lenders post bumper profits, with investors keen to scrutinise credit quality and costs to ensure dividends are safe and to see whether more capital returns are on the horizon.
UGL appears to be on track to announce a spinoff of its global property business DTZ to the market in August as a review into the structure of the overall business continues.
Miners delaying and cancelling major projects is leading to a long-term decline in engineering projects in Australia.
Australian companies are slowly becoming more optimistic about undertaking mergers and acquisitions as confidence in the economy picks up and the valuation gap between buyers and sellers improves.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: Tom Waterhouse considers defamation action against John Singleton, denying that he discussed the horse's fitness with anyone before her losing race.
Page 3: Almost 1000 pages of documents concerning the allegedly corrupt coal deal involving former Labor ministers Ian Macdonald and Eddie Obeid were withheld from parliament in 2009, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
Page 4: The British nurse who died last year after being the victim of a prank by two Australian DJs left a note to her employers saying their action had led to her death.
World: North Korea says it will put a US citizen on trial for trying to overthrow the communist regime, in the face of soaring tensions between Pyongyang and the West.
Business: The split of News Corporation will come with its benefits for Rupert Murdoch, who will receive a 15 per cent pay rise.
Sport: Cronulla players have been told they will forfeit the opportunity to seek a reduced six-month suspension for using banned substances if they don't cooperate fully with Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority interviews beginning on Monday.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: Lenient sentences have been given to men convicted of having sex with a child under the age of 10 - only three of the 238 men convicted in the past decade being jailed, one for as little as nine months.
Page 2 and 3: Tom Waterhouse is considering defamation action against John Singleton, denying allegations that he told people his mother's mare More Joyous wasn't healthy enough to win her race.
World: Russian authorities secretly recorded one of the Boston bombers discussing jihad with his mother in 2011 but failed to alert US security agencies, a report claims.
Business: Manufacturers, small business operators and builders have stopped hiring as growth flatlines amid growing concerns about the budget deficit and political uncertainty in the lead-up to the election.
Sport: Cronulla declares its players are ready to tackle the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority when the first of 10 players is interviewed on Monday.
The Herald Sun
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard to reveal $12 billion tax revenue shortfall in federal budget. Rampaging inmates who trashed a Victorian jail and threatened prison guards will not be punished.
Page 2: Bill Shorten says the Victorian government has knocked back $90 million to fix deadly level crossing because it is in the wrong end of town.
Page 3: Boxing authorities say underworld identity Mick Gatto does not have a licence to promote fights. North Korea appears to be readying for a major military exercise. Man dies after being trapped in a commercial freezer.
World: Russian authorities recorded a phone conversation in 2011 with one of the Boston bombing suspects vaguely discussing jihad with his mother.
Business: Public listings and takeovers expected in next 12 months as global and Australian economies look to improve.
Sport: Three former AFL stars say that the rule banning forceful contact below the knees undermines the fabric of the game.
The Age
Page 1: Independent MP Tony Windsor pushing for a referendum on gay marriage on election day in September. Private sector asked to come up for ideas for land over the over rail line at Flinders Station.
Page 2: Lower company profits put a $12 billion hole in the federal budget this financial year. Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor says more than 10,000 foreign workers are rorting the 457 visa system.
Page 3: On-line retailers competing with traditional retailers to sell this week's release of Australia's most prestigious wine, Penfolds Grange. Myki machine crashes at opening of new train station at Williams Landing. Federal and state probes into Victoria's leading Italian charity CoAsIt over its handling of community funds.
World: American to go on trial in North Korea charged with trying to overthrow the communist regime.
Business: Rupert Murdoch in for a 15 per cent pay rise with the imminent split of News Corporation.
Sport: Hawks sweat on injured star Cyril Rioli who came off in the final quarter against North Melbourne with a hamstring worry.
