RCR knew of solar project budget chaos
Former RCR Tomlinson managers were warned a year before the engineering group collapsed that two Queensland solar contracts were ‘‘blowing the budget’’ and were aware by early 2018 the company was on the hook for $40 million in financial penalties due to construction delays, documents have revealed. The Fin
Ironclad guarantee
Staunch voluntary assisted dying opponent Nick Goiran has fallen into line behind Opposition Leader Liza Harvey and Liberal powerbroker Peter Collier by guaranteeing the Bill will reach a vote by the end of next week. The West
Hanson lets CFMEU off the hook
The Morrison government has vowed to keep pursuing militant unions after it suffered a humiliating loss when the Senate defeated its Ensuring Integrity Bill by the barest of margins last night. The Fin
Labor clips Taylor’s wings amid probe
Labor has blocked Energy Minister Angus Taylor from attending an energy conference in Paris next week, claiming it is inappropriate he is absent from Parliament and out of the country while his office is under police investigation over allegedly doctored documents. The Fin
Spending forecasts raise GDP fears
Business expectations for investment spending this financial year have come in well below forecast following a worse than expected September quarter for capital expenditure, suggesting that GDP figures could be weaker than predicted. The Fin
Offshore suitors eye carve-up of Buckeridge materials empire
Now that NRW has agreed to buy BGC Contracting for $310m including debt, attention turns to the larger and more interesting part of the building materials empire of the late billionaire Len Buckeridge. The Aus
Epic Black Friday will dim Christmas sales
Black Friday sales threaten to decimate retail margins as online and bricks and mortar retailers offer discounts as high as 60 per cent less than four weeks before Christmas. The Fin
Westpac told of payments 'weeks ago'
Austrac probed Westpac for specific information about customers and transactions that were later revealed to be linked to child exploitation payments at least six weeks before the regulator filed its lawsuit in the Federal Court. The Aus
Schools for scoundrels
Australian high-school teachers have to deal with some of the toughest classrooms in the world, with a higher proportion of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds forcing them to spend more time keeping order than teaching. The West
Minister pushes importance of STEM subjects for jobs
WA Science, Innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly has urged the State’s high school students to consider embracing science, technology, engineering and maths subjects into their studies regardless of what they want to do. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: The Morrison government has vowed to keep pursuing militant unions after it suffered a humiliating loss when the Senate defeated its Ensuring Integrity Bill by the barest of margins last night.
Page 3: PwC allowed an audit partner to oversee consulting work for a client worth twice the amount of the auditing fees it charged the same client, according to the corporate regulator’s latest inspection report of the big four firm.
Facebook’s global head of marketing, Carolyn Everson, has defended an attack from billionaire Andrew Forrest over fake ads, saying the social media giant has launched a ‘‘massive crackdown’’ to clean-up its act.
Page 4: Labor has blocked Energy Minister Angus Taylor from attending an energy conference in Paris next week, claiming it is inappropriate he is absent from Parliament and out of the country while his office is under police investigation over allegedly doctored documents.
Software billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes shut down the company behind his campaign to make Australia a renewable energy superpower.
Page 5: Key senator Jacqui Lambie’s reported demand that the Morrison government looks to rehouse refugees in New Zealand looms as a deal-breaker for efforts to repeal the so-called medevac laws.
Page 6: Former prime minister Tony Abbott has called for targeted sanctions on China akin to those imposed on Russia after the annexation of Crimea if Beijing ‘‘cracks down’’ and compromises the independence of Hong Kong.
Page 7: Business expectations for investment spending this financial year have come in well below forecast following a worse than expected September quarter for capital expenditure, suggesting that GDP figures could be weaker than predicted.
Page 8: The powerful body advising industry super funds has back flipped on its push for more heads to roll on the Westpac board, confirming it will back the reelection of director Peter Marriott at the shareholder meeting next month.
Page 13: Queensland construction group Wagners hopes to deepen its relationship with Adani after securing an initial $35 million contract to operate a quarry that will supply materials to build the Indian energy giant’s controversial $2 billion Carmichael coal mine.
Page 17: Former RCR Tomlinson managers were warned a year before the engineering group collapsed that two Queensland solar contracts were ‘‘blowing the budget’’ and were aware by early 2018 the company was on the hook for $40 million in financial penalties due to construction delays, documents have revealed.
Black Friday sales threaten to decimate retail margins as online and bricks and mortar retailers offer discounts as high as 60 per cent less than four weeks before Christmas.
It’s the year for risky acquisitions in Australia’s gold sector, and not just because everyone is buying at historically high gold prices.
Page 21: Stan has signed a deal for a selection of Disney non-branded content, including shows produced by 21st Century Fox and ABC Network.
Page 22: OZ Minerals may inherit more of Brazilian miner Vale’s non-core assets, after the two companies struck a four-pronged partnership.
Page 23: Rio Tinto’s head of port and rail operations has outlined further significant gains in efficiency and productivity that the iron ore miner expects to squeeze out of its Pilbara network through the introduction of a deep learning artificial intelligence system.
The Australian
Page 2: Scott Morrison is facing calls to scrap the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme after the government declined to release more than 1300 documents showing how bureaucrats came to target a conservative political conference and Tony Abbott under the new laws.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has called for an investigation into the offshore petroleum regulator for shutting down an Australian oil carrier, which she says could give China an opening for a stronger presence in the Timor Sea.
Page 6: A national report on the performance of hundreds of healthcare services has shown significant improvement in the quality of care in Australia’s hospitals but emergency department waiting times, obstetric interventions and use of restraint in mental health services have all increased markedly.
Page 9: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on course for a comfortable majority, according to a polling model that accurately predicted the election outcome two years ago.
Page 17: Austrac probed Westpac for specific information about customers and transactions that were later revealed to be linked to child exploitation payments at least six weeks before the regulator filed its lawsuit in the Federal Court.
Page 18: Now that NRW has agreed to buy BGC Contracting for $310m including debt, attention turns to the larger and more interesting part of the building materials empire of the late billionaire Len Buckeridge.
Page 19: The toughest retail trading conditions in decades have triggered the collapse of another fashion chain, with Bardot falling into voluntary administration on Thursday, threatening the future of 800 staff in the Melbourne head office and 72 stores nationwide.
Former Caltex chairman Dick Warburton has urged the fuel retailer to back its own growth strategy and resist buckling to a foreign suitor as the board weighs whether to reject an $8.6bn bid by Canadian giant Couche-Tard.
The West Australian
Page 5: Staunch voluntary assisted dying opponent Nick Goiran has fallen into line behind Opposition Leader Liza Harvey and Liberal powerbroker Peter Collier by guaranteeing the Bill will reach a vote by the end of next week.
Page 14: Australian high-school teachers have to deal with some of the toughest classrooms in the world, with a higher proportion of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds forcing them to spend more time keeping order than teaching.
Page 17: One of Perth’s most glamorous hotels will no longer display the work of award-winning WA artist Andrew Carter after he was charged with child sex offences.
Page 24: WA’s peak doctors’ group is calling on the State Government to seriously consider a radical proposal to decriminalise the possession of illicit drugs for personal use.
Page 68: The crisis in Hong Kong is spilling over into Australia and having an unexpected ripple effect on Margaret River.
RTS2019: Embracing technology on a mine site is easy but the change management required to make the transition successful is harder, says US-based Caterpillar executive Jean Savage.
BHP chief transformation officer Jonathan Price warned industry leaders at the Resources Technology Showcase yesterday that those who made sense of data would thrive and those who did not would falter.
WA Science, Innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly has urged the State’s high school students to consider embracing science, technology, engineering and maths subjects into their studies regardless of what they want to do.
Livestock export ships which carry sheep in two tiers were to be outlawed from Australian waters from January 1, but the Federal Government has bowed to extensive lobbying by exporters by confirming it would grant exemptions.
