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$2b Snowy hydro fix for crisis
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will make a dramatic intervention into the energy debate on Thursday by announcing plans for a series of tunnels and power stations that will boost the output of the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme by 50 per cent. The Fin
Investors in property ‘face steep rate hike’
Property investors who are ‘‘materially dependent’’ on income generated from renting their property face steep increases to interest rates in the coming years, as banks respond to global regulatory changes that will require them to hold higher levels of capital against such loans. The Fin
BHP, Rio shareholders tip dividend surge
Shareholders in BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto believe the management of those companies have learnt the lessons from their failed investments over the past decade and are likely to return strong dividends to shareholders in the years ahead. The Fin
Australia ‘must ease nerves on Trump’
Australia must step up its leadership in Asia to help counter the risk of reckless militarism by the Trump administration towards China, a new report claims. The Aus
Gas giants give ground on domestic sales
Malcolm Turnbull has put the gas industry on notice that he may yet impose stricter regulations on the sector, including a reservation policy, if measures unveiled yesterday fail to put downward pressure on prices. The Aus
Unionists rule as McGowan unveils cabinet
West Australian premier-elect Mark McGowan has unveiled a cabinet that has the highest number of former union leaders and officials of any Labor government in the state since World War II. The Aus
GST it’s time
Malcolm Turnbull is under pressure from one of his own to send the GST mess to an independent review amid concerns the Liberal Party could be wiped out in WA at the next Federal election. The West
Tourism undecided over ministerial role
The tourism industry is divided over who they want in the portfolio — premier-elect Mark McGowan or long-standing shadow minister Paul Papalia. The West
New lag in Alinta sale
The protracted sale of Alinta Energy has been drawn out further, if only by a few days, after the group yesterday delayed the launch of its $4 billion float. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will make a dramatic intervention into the energy debate on Thursday by announcing plans for a series of tunnels and power stations that will boost the output of the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme by 50 per cent.
Page 3: Treasurer Scott Morrison has vowed Australia will take no part in any weakening of the G20’s resistance to protectionism and currency wars, predicting the new Trump administration’s approach at this week’s finance ministers’ meeting in Germany will be constructive.
Australian companies that export are more likely than their domestic-bound counterparts to generate jobs, higher wages and productivity growth, and survive in the long run, according to first-of-its-kind research.
Page 4: Treasurer Scott Morrison’s tip for home buyers to avoid Sydney and Melbourne’s high prices by settling in NSW’s Tamworth is an expensive turkey, according to analysis by Herron Todd White, the nation’s largest property valuation company.
Page 8: The architect of the emissions intensity scheme once championed by Malcolm Turnbull slammed the Prime Minister and his Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, saying he has no confidence in their ability to reform the energy market.
Page 9: The two bidders for the Arrium Australia operations are both understood to be working on plans to upgrade a small co-generation power plant inside the Whyalla steelworks, which would be able to deliver extra electricity into the broader South Australian power grid.
Page 13: Property investors who are ‘‘materially dependent’’ on income generated from renting their property face steep increases to interest rates in the coming years, as banks respond to global regulatory changes that will require them to hold higher levels of capital against such loans.
Page 15: Construction giant Laing O’Rourke has pulled 800 contractors off a tank project on the Ichthys LNG project in Darwin over a dispute with its joint venture partner, Japanese group Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Training manuals show Medibank staff were not told to inform customers of changes to their policies that would have them face out-of-pocket expenses from in-hospital diagnostic services.
Page 18: Shareholders in BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto believe the management of those companies have learnt the lessons from their failed investments over the past decade and are likely to return strong dividends to shareholders in the years ahead.
The Australian
Page 1: A split is emerging within corporate Australia as 20 chief executives from some of the nation’s biggest companies try to force Malcolm Turnbull to legislate for same-sex marriage “in the near term”.
The nation’s iconic Snowy Mountains power scheme will be “turbocharged” with a 50 per cent increase in capacity to guarantee more electricity for households and employers, as Malcolm Turnbull moves today to invest $2 billion to ensure energy security.
Page 2: Australia must step up its leadership in Asia to help counter the risk of reckless militarism by the Trump administration towards China, a new report claims.
Page 4: Malcolm Turnbull has put the gas industry on notice that he may yet impose stricter regulations on the sector, including a reservation policy, if measures unveiled yesterday fail to put downward pressure on prices.
Page 5: Labor has sent another signal that it could break up the big four banks as part of its plan for a royal commission into the sector, amid an embarrassing academic blunder by a key member of its economic team.
Page 6: West Australian premier-elect Mark McGowan has unveiled a cabinet that has the highest number of former union leaders and officials of any Labor government in the state since World War II.
Family-run company Coopers Brewery was subjected to a stream of obscene abuse from gay activists, along with a boycott of its products, in the lead-up to its owners capitulating and joining Marriage Equality Australia.
Page 19: The nation’s peak business group has joined the chorus backing an emissions intensity scheme for the electricity sector and wants ageing coal-fired power stations required to give three years notice before shutting down.
Page 20: The Foreign Investment Review Board is believed to have pushed back its ruling on Cheung Kong Infrastructure’s $7.5 billion takeover bid for Duet Group, with some suggestions the regulator could block the deal unless the Hong Kong group finds a local backer.
Investment bankers are giving new West Australian Premier Mark McGowan time to settle into his new Hale House office but are already second-guessing the Labor government’s first move on the privatisation hit list.
Page 21: A new state-owned national oil company could be part of the solution to the east-coast energy crisis, under an extraordinary idea floated by a leading analyst.
Page 22: Regulating domestic mobile roaming could leave a $550 million hole in Telstra’s pocket as the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission gets ready to hand down its decision in April.
The West Australian
Page 1: Malcolm Turnbull is under pressure from one of his own to send the GST mess to an independent review amid concerns the Liberal Party could be wiped out in WA at the next Federal election.
Page 4: Premier-elect Mark McGowan has revived a practice of appointing an MP as Cabinet secretary, choosing the United Voice-backed Morley MP Amber-Jade Sanderson for the role.
The tourism industry is divided over who they want in the portfolio — premier-elect Mark McGowan or long-standing shadow minister Paul Papalia.
Former Federal Labor MP Stephen Smith, who challenged Mark McGowan for leadership of the party last year, has congratulated the premier-elect for running a “disciplined campaign”.
Page 6: Liberal deputy leader Liza Harvey says she has not decided whether to run for the leadership of her decimated party and criticised people for speaking out about what went wrong at the election.
Page 7: WA needs an extra 868 acute hospital beds to match health care in other States — the biggest shortfall in the country, according to an independent review.
Page 14: Greens leader Richard Di Natale has called for a ban on corporate donations to political parties, labelling it “state-sanctioned bribery” in return for favourable decisions.
Cottesloe’s Sculpture by the Sea organisers continue to fight Mother Nature as a high tide forces more artworks to be moved.
Page 17: Chinese tourists are starting to turn to WA for their first Australian holiday, rather than the traditional trips to see the Sydney Opera House or the Great Barrier Reef.
Page 48: A second key contractor has walked away from the Inpex-led $US37 billion Ichthys LNG project, taking 800 workers over a payment dispute and adding to the woes of a venture targeting first gas by September.
The protracted sale of Alinta Energy has been drawn out further, if only by a few days, after the group yesterday delayed the launch of its $4 billion float.
Trevor Flugge has been cast as a gun-toting crook when he should have been the flak jacket-wearing corporate hero who risked his life in war-torn Iraq, the former AWB chairman’s supporters say.
Page 49: Coles is funding its price war with a resurgent Woolworths by jacking up petrol prices, a new analysis indicates.