Royalty 'double tax' for miners – The West; CBA likely to lead charge in raising rates – The Aus; Fortescue aims for more access at Port Hedland – The Fin; Waste levy 'is sitting in state coffers' – The West; New clash on gaming machines – The West
Royalty 'double tax' for miners
The Federal Government's mining tax panel has ruled out shielding miners from unscheduled increases in state royalties, sparking claims the industry will face double taxation. The West
CBA likely to lead charge in raising rates
Commonwealth Bank chief Ralph Norris yesterday signalled that the nation's largest bank could be one of the first to lift interest rates independent of any rise in official rates. The Aus
Fortescue aims for more access at Port Hedland
Fortescue Metals is in talks with the Port Hedland Port Authority about securing an extra 35 million tonnes of port allocations to allow it to expand to 155 million tonnes of annual production a year. The Fin
Waste levy 'is sitting in state coffers'
The Barnett government is using its multi-million dollar waste levy as a cash cow, spending only a fraction on recycling and using the rest to bolster its coffers, Labor says. The West
New clash on gaming machines
The state's peak clubs group vowed yesterday to push the state government's to accept a push to allow Keno gaming machines in licensed sporting, social and community venues, despite a parliamentary committee recommending against the proposal. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: The state's peak clubs group vowed yesterday to push the state government's to accept a push to allow Keno gaming machines in licensed sporting, social and community venues, despite a parliamentary committee recommending against the proposal.
Page 4: Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan yesterday demanded the Corruption and Crime Commission either condemn or clear the officers who internally investigated the Kevin Spratt taser scandal.
Page 5: A threat of mutiny by a group of 39 stranded Pacific Blue passengers in Bali has forced the airline to abandon its plans for a 20-hour marathon flight back to Perth.
Page 6: The last of the Chilean miners, the foreman who held them together when they were feared lost, was raised from the depths of the earth on Wednesday night - a joyous ending to a 69-day ordeal that has riveted the world.
Page 9: A single speed camera clocked more than 8000 motorists speeding in about 7½ hours on the Kwinana Freeway this week, with close to 3,000 fines expected to be issued because of the operation.
Perth's major public hospitals reaped more than $5 million in parking fees and fines last year, statistics reveal.
Page 11: The new national curriculum has been widely panned as overcrowded, incoherent, inadequate and lacking depth.
Page 14: The Barnett government is using its multi-million dollar waste levy as a cash cow, spending only a fraction on recycling and using the rest to bolster its coffers, Labor says.
Page 17: Notre Dame University's medical school has been given an $18 million Federal Government boost to set up an outer-metropolitan community clinical school so more students can get hands-on expertise.
Page 18: WA wheat farmers started harvesting what little crop they could yesterday, after a drought-hit season that could see many walk off the land.
Page 23: The Water Corporation is facing the lowest run-off into its dams for close to a century, with new figures revealing a 90 per cent drop in the amount of water reaching the metropolitan supply.
Business: The chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank, Ralph Norris, has delivered the most emphatic signal yet that the big banks are preparing to raise rates above and beyond any official cash rate increases by the Reserve Bank.
The Federal Government's mining tax panel has ruled out shielding miners from unscheduled increases in state royalties, sparking claims the industry will face double taxation.
Fortescue Metals Group's board will decide next month on a $3 billion-plus expansion that would more than double production from its Pilbara iron ore operations.
Tap Oil is seeking up to $82 million from investors to buy and advance a brace of Thai oil discoveries, flagging that the expansion could triple its reserves base within a year.
Bank of Queensland is planning to enter the motor insurance market and will ramp up its exposure to small business financing as part of efforts to increase earnings as traditional banking earnings come under pressure.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The Australian dollar soared to its highest level against the US dollar since floating in 1983 and flirted with parity against the greenback as investors awaited another round of stimulus from the Federal Reserve to bolster the US economy.
A central plank of the federal government's $5.4 billion health and hospital reform deal is in doubt and other elements could be delayed due to the legislative deadlock faced by Labor's minority government.
Page 3: Superannuation rules should be overhauled as soon as possible to shift investors from old accounts that cost too much to manage, the federal government has been told in an independent finding strongly welcomed by the financial services sector yesterday.
Page 5: Consumers' expectations for inflation have climbed well above the Reserve Bank of Australia's target range, supporting the case for an interest rate increase by the central bank early next month.
Page 9: The mining union has stepped up a series of industrial disputes with resources giant Xstrata by lodging a complaint accusing the company of breaching international workplace regulations.
Page 13: Australian universities are pushing the federal government to revise visa rules, as foreign student numbers dip dramatically.
Page 16: The $1.1 trillion superannuation sector has backed the use of infrastructure bonds to pay for major projects as the Gillard government faces calls to fund more initiatives despite a shortage of federal cash.
The Commonwealth Auditor-General's report on the government's botched home insulation scheme will be released today and is expected to echo recent investigations into it and other government programs.
Page 17: Investors in housing face reduced returns after a year of rising house prices and flat rents.
Page 41: Pressure is mounting on BHP Billiton to improve its $US40 billion offer for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan to secure the target, as rising potash prices lift the share prices of its major competitors and wipe out any bid premium.
James Packer has splashed out $200 million to snare a further 3 per cent stake in Crown Casino for the second time in a year, renewing speculation he is planning to privatise the gaming empire.
Page 43: Fortescue Metals is in talks with the Port Hedland Port Authority about securing an extra 35 million tonnes of port allocations to allow it to expand to 155 million tonnes of annual production a year.
Page 45: Rio Tinto's strong iron ore production and renewed focus on organic growth has received backing from the market.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Julia Gillard will fight an attempt by NSW Premier Kristina Keneally to welsh on a deal to create uniform national workplace safety laws, insisting that the reforms are central to her productivity agenda.
The soaring value of the Australian dollar is putting pressure on the Reserve Bank to reverse course on its planned interest rate rises.
Australia's biggest energy retailer is demanding governments siphon part of an estimated $550 million yearly GST windfall from skyrocketing electricity prices into rebates for low-income households.
Page 2: Elite private schools that receive millions of dollars in government funding recorded surpluses last year as high as $14 million, with three of the nation's richest schools holding net assets worth more than $100m.
Page 3: An Australian accused of soliciting a $US190,000 bribe in exchange for awarding a US-funded contract to an Afghan building contractor has been detained in India.
Page 4: An Aboriginal community in the Kimberley region of Western Australia has been threatened with closure in the wake of an exodus prompted by alcohol bans and a child sex scandal.
Page 6: Australian unions are signing up to an international campaign to boycott Israeli goods, but a fight is brewing over a proposal for the Australian Council of Trade Unions to endorse the movement.
Page 8: ABC TV's flagship current affairs program Four Corners will return to its original format next year, with Kerry O'Brien to take over as host.
Page 9: Budget cuts at Australia's biggest university, Monash, are an ''early warning'' of the pain that may be in store for elite institutions across the country, according to University of NSW chief Fred Hilmer.
Business: The final push in the Australian dollar's rise to parity with the US dollar has been driven by a renewed investor appetite for risk.
One of the country's leading investment bankers says Australian companies have stepped up their hunt for acquisition opportunities overseas in recent months as a result of the surging dollar.
Commonwealth Bank chief Ralph Norris yesterday signalled that the nation's largest bank could be one of the first to lift interest rates independent of any rise in official rates.
Big Bill Doyle has called on the Canadian government to resist any temptation to block alternative offers to BHP Billiton's $US40 billion ($41bn) bid for his Potash Corp of Saskatchewan.
Rio Tinto shares shot to a two-year high yesterday, aided by a strong third-quarter report that showed its most important earner -- the West Australian iron ore business -- ran at record rates.
Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group is feeling the pressure of the rising Australian dollar, with the group's production costs increasing during the September quarter.
Australian gold stocks are continuing to rise on the increasing gold price, which keeps hitting new records on the back of nervousness over the US economy.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The Gillard government has rushed to calm rural communities enraged by proposed water cuts.
The new national curriculum has been panned as overcrowded, incoherent, inadequate and lacking depth.
Page 2: A plot to murder businessman Michael McGurk had been months in the making, a court has been told.
Page 3: Julia Gillard has threatened to use federal powers to force NSW to comply with uniform national workplace safety laws.
World: Barack Obama appears to be contemplating a future working with a Republican-controlled Congress.
The Hungarian aluminium plant behind a poisonous mud spill is to restart operation, despite the death of a ninth person from the sludge.
Business: Commonwealth Bank CEO Ralph Norris has delivered the most emphatic signal yet that the big banks are preparing to raise rates beyond official cash rate increases.
Sport: Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has texted Shane Warne to convey his disappointment at criticism over his field placings in the Bangalore Test.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: The death of businessman Michael McGurk appeared like a perfect crime but but a text message sent by one of the four men arrested reveals how they failed to cover their tracks.
World: Social networking giant Facebook has described a lawsuit by New York man who claims he's the creator of the website and is entitled to 84 per cent of the business as a "scam".
Business: Rio Tinto impressed the market by unveiling a strong set of production results yesterday.
Commonwealth Bank boss Ralph Norris has joined the growing chorus of industry powerbrokers foreshadowing higher interest rates.
Sport: Former Test paceman Geoff Lawson has urged Australian selectors to dump Ricky Ponting as captain before the Ashes.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Tough new anti-bikie laws will give police the power to tear down fortifications that barricade outlaw motorcycle gang clubhouses.
Page 3: Children rarely show basic manners such as saying "please" and "thank you", a survey of parents has found.
Page 5: Wild celebrations broke out in Chile as the against-all-odds rescue of 33 miners was successfully completed.
World: Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton says he is his bullying ways in light of the suicide of university student Tyler Clementi, a victim of cyber bullying.
Business: Commonwealth Bank boss Ralph Norris has joined the growing chorus of industry powerbrokers foreshadowing higher interest rates as the banks say they need to act on mounting funding costs.
Sport: The release of the MCG for soccer's 2022 World Cup is not set in stone.
THE AGE:
Page 1: The proposed national school curriculum will be overhauled after complaints that it made maths and science too difficult and under-emphasised recent Australian history.
Slashing farmers' water entitlements to revive the Murray-Darling river system would leave numerous Victorian towns under threat of depopulation and business failures, according to an auditor's report.
Page 2: Borrowers are set for more hurt after Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris suggested yesterday banks were likely to raise rates above any official cash rate increase by the Reserve Bank to cope with high wholesale funding costs.
Page 3: Two senior Victorian judges have delivered a sharp rebuke to the embattled Director of Public Prosecutions, Jeremy Rapke, QC, accusing him of inappropriately using the media to criticise the judiciary over sentencing of violent criminals.
World: The final stages of Chile's rescue of 33 miners trapped 700 metres below the Atacama desert were broadcast to more than a billion people around the world.
Business: The dollar has smashed more records and leapt to within a whisker of long-awaited parity with the US greenback, as financial markets bet the world's biggest economy will soon resume printing money.
Sport: Ken Hinkley's bid to become Geelong's senior coach has gained a significant boost with Paul Roos agreeing to step in and mentor the favoured candidate for the Cats job.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: The federal government has announced an inquiry into the social cost of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's draft plan.
Page 2: A United States court case demanding CSIRO donate $150 million to a federal research fund for wi-fi technology has contributed to a deficit of $169 million in its 2009-10 budget.
Page 3: An accused murderer told his alleged victims in the week before their deaths he would protect them if anyone tried to hurt them.
World: After nine years of war in Afghanistan the Taliban is ready to negotiate peace, a former Afghan presidents who now heads a peace council says.
Business: Junior coal explorer Northern Energy Corporation has rejected a takeover off from New Hope describing the unsolicited bid as "low-ball and opportunistic."
Sport: Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has fired text message missives to former spin great Shane Warne over his criticisms of his decisions on the field.
