Perth confidence more vital than interstate
WA businesses say they are worried about losing the local Perth market if borders reopen too early, as the Prime Minister signals he hopes the State opens before Mark McGowan’s suggestion of next April. The West
Gold testing disrupter Chrysos raises $50m
Chrysos Corporation, a gold sample testing company with x-ray technology that substantially cuts the time taken to analyse samples on-site, has raised $50 million in fresh capital to fuel growth as it eyes a potential share-market listing next year. The Fin
China lobbies MPs over trade pact bid
The Chinese government has taken the rare step of writing to a parliamentary inquiry arguing why it should be allowed to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, while emphasising Australia remained an important economic partner. The Fin
Metronet on track for delays
Key aspects of the McGowan Government’s crowning infrastructure project, Metronet, will be delayed by 12 months. The West
Crown’s golden parachutes revealed
Former Crown Resorts boss Ken Barton has walked away from the troubled casino giant with a huge golden handshake, earning $6.8 million in his final year with the group and retaining a lucrative options package. The Fin
Budget boost for ailing health system
The McGowan government will spend a large chunk of its $5.6bn surplus – some $1.9bn – on updating the state’s strained health system to help avoid what Premier Mark McGowan acknowledges would be “a massive patient load if we do have an outbreak (of Covid-19) here”. The Aus
Soaring LNG prices pose demand risk: Fitch
Soaring Asian LNG prices may blunt demand for gas exporters including Australia as big buyers such as China and Japan seek cheaper fuel alternatives or reduce industrial production, ratings agency Fitch has warned. The Aus
AFL planning a week to savour
The AFL will ensure that both grand final teams are living in Perth for the entire week in the build-up to the historic clash at Optus Stadium on September 25 to give WA fans the opportunity to experience a football extravaganza. The West
Lobby groups celebrate iron-clad Budget result
Resources lobby groups say the $5.6 billion surplus delivered in the State Government’s 2020/21 Budget highlights the huge contributions made by the industries they represent. The West
Stamp duty rebate to build strata apartments and units
West Australians are being pushed to consider apartment living, with an extension of the stamp duty rebates for property in strata developments. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: NSW will shut the unvaccinated out of society as it prepares to embark on a nation-leading experiment of how to live with COVID-19 in just over a month.
Western Australia’s Mark McGowan has warned ‘‘wildly angry’’ premiers in other states that he will not give up a favourable GST deal, which, along with strong iron ore prices and a ‘‘COVID-crushing’’ hard border policy, has driven a record $5.6 billion surplus.
Page 2: Former Macquarie Group boss Nicholas Moore has been tapped by the federal government to lead an independent review of the ‘‘effectiveness and capability’’ of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Page 3: The Chinese government has taken the rare step of writing to a parliamentary inquiry arguing why it should be allowed to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, while emphasising Australia remained an important economic partner.
Page 5: Singapore Airlines – the busiest carrier into Australia in the past 18 months – has welcomed the federal government’s recent announcement on vaccine passports, while flagging most state governments have yet to outline their position on airport staff vaccination.
Page 7: Union members are refusing to work at a major cold storage supplier to Coles, IGA and Aldi because of concerns it is breaching COVID-19 protocols after almost a dozen workers tested positive in the past 10 days.
Page 8: Young Australians face serious mental health risk from extended delta lockdowns, with a major review of COVID-19’s fallout showing increases in severe psychological distress during the pandemic’s first year.
Page 12: The peak body for the legal profession has taken aim at the federal government over the appointment of WA academic Lorraine Finlay as the next Human Rights Commissioner, saying such roles should be decided ‘‘through an open and participatory process’’.
Page 17: NAB chief executive Ross McEwan says individual digital IDs – a potential lightning rod for civil liberties advocates – could help the bank resolve concerns about its money-laundering program sooner than its current timeline of at least another year.
The big banks say the competition regulator’s approval of the merger of the three main domestic payment schemes – eftpos, BPay and the real-time payment system known as the NPP – should help them lower the cost of millions of daily transactions for consumers and merchants.
Page 19: Former Crown Resorts boss Ken Barton has walked away from the troubled casino giant with a huge golden handshake, earning $6.8 million in his final year with the group and retaining a lucrative options package.
Page 20: Chrysos Corporation, a gold sample testing company with x-ray technology that substantially cuts the time taken to analyse samples on-site, has raised $50 million in fresh capital to fuel growth as it eyes a potential share-market listing next year.
The Australian
Page 1: Mark McGowan has unveiled the biggest surplus in Western Australia’s history, claiming his state’s zero-Covid policy allowed the economy to boom as Scott Morrison urged him to “push through’’ and embark on the difficult task of living with the virus to reunite the country.
The Australian economy would be $100bn smaller today had it not been for the unprecedented fiscal intervention last year, new Treasury analysis of the federal government’s stimulus programs shows.
Page 2: Scott Morrison has defended his government negotiating to drop climate targets from the free-trade agreement with Britain, saying trade and climate should be treated as separate issues.
Page 3: Afghanistan’s historic first Test is set to be cancelled, with Cricket Australia saying it cannot countenance playing against a nation where women’s cricket is banned and the state government saying it does not want to host the game.
Page 5: A new report card on Australia’s health during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic has found that if we had experienced the same crude case and death rates as Canada, Sweden or the UK, by early this year the nation would have suffered between 15,570 and 48,145 deaths.
Page 8: The McGowan government will spend a large chunk of its $5.6bn surplus – some $1.9bn – on updating the state’s strained health system to help avoid what Premier Mark McGowan acknowledges would be “a massive patient load if we do have an outbreak (of Covid-19) here”.
Page 15: Two of the nation’s major-bank chiefs have predicted growth will kick back strongly from a September quarter contraction, with National Australia Bank boss Ross McEwan saying some businesses were doing incredibly well in a multi-speed economy while others were “really hurting”.
Page 17: Lion will tighten its grip on the nation’s multibillion-dollar craft beer market after a deal to buy Fermentum Group, the creators of one of Australia’s most popular craft beer brands, Stone & Wood, which accounts for about 1 per cent of the national beer market.
Page 18: Soaring Asian LNG prices may blunt demand for gas exporters including Australia as big buyers such as China and Japan seek cheaper fuel alternatives or reduce industrial production, ratings agency Fitch has warned.
Page 19: Santos’s $21bn merger with Oil Search faces a major threat after the Papua New Guinea government demanded better terms and warned that aspects of the deal could fail a national interest test.
The West Australian
Page S3: The AFL will ensure that both grand final teams are living in Perth for the entire week in the build-up to the historic clash at Optus Stadium on September 25 to give WA fans the opportunity to experience a football extravaganza.
Page 3: Pilbara singles have lamented the region’s long-running lady drought as fresh data reveals there are nearly three men for every woman in some inland towns.
Page 4: The COVID-19 pandemic has powered WA to its strongest-ever economic position but the predicted reopening of international borders next year and the eventual end of iron ore’s remarkable price run threaten a sharp fall back to earth.
Page 7: The WA Government is planning to cut the health budget in 2022-23 when the State will likely have COVID-19 circulating in the community.
Page 9: Key aspects of the McGowan Government’s crowning infrastructure project, Metronet, will be delayed by 12 months.
Page 14: The trusted accountant who became the focus of a police probe into an alleged Ponzi scheme centred on the South West will face court today — accused of stealing nearly $19 million from dozens of his friends and clients.
Page 18: The long-time head of WA’s gambling regulator has admitted he placed an “enormous amount of trust” in Crown Perth to do the right thing — which remained even after allegations arose about money laundering, criminal junkets and when a legion of staff were arrested in China.
Business: WA businesses say they are worried about losing the local Perth market if borders reopen too early, as the Prime Minister signals he hopes the State opens before Mark McGowan’s suggestion of next April.
A WA timber processor says the State Government encouraged it to spend tens of millions of dollars building up operations in the South West ahead of this week’s shock announcement that logging of native forests would be banned from 2024.
Resources lobby groups say the $5.6 billion surplus delivered in the State Government’s 2020/21 Budget highlights the huge contributions made by the industries they represent.
West Australians are being pushed to consider apartment living, with an extension of the stamp duty rebates for property in strata developments.
Uranium, the commodity used to fuel nuclear power plants, has surged to the highest level since 2014 due in part to a fund trying to corner the physical market.
