Alcoa deal angers big power users
Large electricity users have accused AGL Energy of hitting them with 50 to 100 per cent electricity price increases while doing sweetheart deals with politically sensitive businesses such as Alcoa’s Portland aluminium smelter, which is set for a $240 million government bailout. The Fin
Rio buyback, dividend hopes increase
Hopes are rising that Rio Tinto will boost dividends and even announce a share buyback next month, after surprisingly high commodity prices sparked a ramp up in exports from the company in the final months of 2016. The Fin
PM backs cleaner coal for hitting target
Australia should be a world leader in demonstrating that carbon emissions can be lowered by replacing ageing electricity generators with new and emerging technologies to produce cleaner coal, Malcolm Turnbull has declared. The Aus
Mining woes spark WA bankruptcy rise
West Australians have turned to personal debt agreements rather than full-fledged bankruptcy as they deal with bills they can’t pay following the end of the state’s mining boom. The Aus
Hanson: WA is in a hell of a mess
Pauline Hanson has delivered a blunt campaign message to WA voters on the eve of her three-day visit and the unveiling of more than 40 candidates she hopes will secure the balance power on March 11. The West
Shorten to take axe to skilled migrant intake
Bill Shorten will today back Mark McGowan’s plan to have Perth removed from a skilled migration program used to bring overseas workers to WA in acknowledgement of the state’s ailing job market. The West
Record ore shipments as prices stay high
Pilbara iron ore miners have started the year with a rush to take advantage of iron ore prices, pushing out shipments as fast as possible while the price remains high. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Large electricity users have accused AGL Energy of hitting them with 50 to 100 per cent electricity price increases while doing sweetheart deals with politically sensitive businesses such as Alcoa’s Portland aluminium smelter, which is set for a $240 million government bailout.
Australia’s version of the so-called Google tax goes well beyond the British model on which it was based and will snare a more than expected $200 billion worth of financial transactions between companies here and their overseas operations.
Page 3: Industry Minister Greg Hunt and Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos are frontrunners to replace Sussan Ley as the new health minister ahead of an expected announcement on Wednesday by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The Fair Work Commission has refused to approve Swedish fashion retailer H&M’s first new national agreement covering 1,200 employees after finding its trade-off of weekend penalty rates left casuals worse off than the industry minimum.
Page 4: Unions have rounded on Labor leader Bill Shorten and demanded he rule out support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership if it comes to a vote in federal Parliament.
Page 7: Treasurer Scott Morrison is under pressure from business leaders, including veteran banker Mark Johnson and Perpetual Group chief executive Geoff Lloyd, to provide a clear statement on foreign investment policy following the blocked sales of Ausgrid and S. Kidman & Co, and the current $7.4 billion DUET Group takeover.
Page 13: Hopes are rising that Rio Tinto will boost dividends and even announce a share buyback next month, after surprisingly high commodity prices sparked a ramp up in exports from the company in the final months of 2016.
Mortgage rates are set to rise for both fixed and variable rate borrowers this year as global interest rates shoot higher, competition eases and capital rules begin to bite.
The Australian
Page 1: A $2.5 billion surge in monthly property investment loans threatens to reignite the political row over negative gearing as owner-occupiers battle to compete amid a further project spike in house prices this year.
The federal Attorney-General George Brandis took his son on a taxpayer-funded trip to remote western Queensland last year where the pair explored their family connections to the region.
Page 2: Parents have come out swinging at state governments over skyrocketing private school fees, arguing a scarcity of inner-city public schools has forced them to enrol children in private schools that are no longer affordable.
Page 4: Australia should be a world leader in demonstrating that carbon emissions can be lowered by replacing ageing electricity generators with new and emerging technologies to produce cleaner coal, Malcolm Turnbull has declared.
Page 17: An independent review of bank pay practices has flagged failings by management and overly conflicted sales-driven cultures that drive branch staff through product-based bonuses, urging lenders to further clean up their act.
Page 18: Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group has convinced former Helloworld chief executive Elizabeth Gaines to give up a comfortable portfolio of directorships in exchange for a chief financial officer role, triggering a wave of boardroom shake-ups across the country.
Page 19: West Australians have turned to personal debt agreements rather than full-fledged bankruptcy as they deal with bills they can’t pay following the end of the state’s mining boom.
Businesses in higher-density urban areas are bracing for civil works disruption as the National Broadband Network aims to almost double the number of connections this financial year.
Shark Mitigation Systems surged yesterday after announcing a partnership with international surf retailer Rusty, which will incorporate the company’s shark-deterring patterns into its surfboards.
The West Australian
Page 1: Pauline Hanson has delivered a blunt campaign message to WA voters on the eve of her three-day visit and the unveiling of more than 40 candidates she hopes will secure the balance power on March 11.
Page 6: Bill Shorten will today back Mark McGowan’s plan to have Perth removed from a skilled migration program used to bring overseas workers to WA in acknowledgement of the state’s ailing job market.
Page 12: Police are investigating claims Roe 8 highway extension opponents have tried to target police horses after a wire trap was found hanging in bush in the construction zone.
A former senior government transport planner has warned that trucks and cars on Perth Freight Link would face a 10-minute jam at Fremantle without better links across the Swan River.
Page 25: Pilbara iron ore miners have started the year with a rush to take advantage of iron ore prices, pushing out shipments as fast as possible while the price remains high.
Page 71: Uncertainty hangs over the fate of WA’s leading uranium projects after would-be premier Mark McGowan stopped short of backing the proposed developments.
Page 72: Perth residents worried about a shift to apartment living need to consider the future and potential ‘blessings’, WA Apartment Advocacy director Samantha Reece says.
Page 73: A decision to eliminate height limits and relax the commercial residential mix of South Perth towers was a ‘big relief’ not just to developers in South Perth, but the broader WA property industry, Property Council WA executive director Lino Iacomella said.
Almost two years after it was unveiled, the $100 million Forrest Chase redevelopment - involving a significant upgrade of the Myer centre and above-ground city walkways - has leapt the final hurdle, putting its extensive development out to tender.
Page 74: Gold Road Resources is already touting the underground potential of its $517 million Gruyere joint venture with Gold Fields, 200km east of Laverton in the northern Goldfields.
