Jobless rise tests Labor’s strategy – The Aus; Business warns Gillard over green tape – The Fin; WA defies gloom with jobs, property growth – The West; Invest to survive, manufacturers told – The Fin; Growers to reap riches from huge CBH profit – The West
Jobless rise tests Labor’s strategy
The weakening employment outlook threatens to undermine the government’s economic message in the lead-up to the election amid forecasts the jobs market will worsen in coming months. The Aus
Business warns Gillard over green tape
Business groups have called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to honour her pledge to cut “green tape” on major resources projects and urged her to throw out Greens laws that would lock in environmental protections at the state and federal level. The Fin
WA defies gloom with jobs, property growth
WA is defying the economic doom-sayers, with the State creating two-thirds of the nation’s full-time jobs last year and Perth on the cusp of a fresh property boom. The West
Invest to survive, manufacturers told
A member of the Gillard Government’s manufacturing taskforce has urged the industry to stop waiting for federal assistance and view structural industry changes as an opportunity to invest in growth. The Fin
Growers to reap riches from huge CBH profit
CBH has hailed a record profit of $16.4 million as a huge boost for WA grain growers as it strives to keep storage and handling costs well below those in the rest of the country. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Perth-based Sam Walsh has taken the top job at Rio Tinto after the global mining giant shocked financial markets last night by axing chief executive Tom Albanese as a series of troubled takeover deals cost it billions.
WA is defying the economic doom-sayers, with the State creating two-thirds of the nation’s full-time jobs last year and Perth on the cusp of a fresh property boom.
Page 4: Labor yesterday accused the State Government of deliberately stalling on the controversial extension of Roe Highway to avoid scrutiny before the March poll.
Labor’s strategy of shoring up marginal seats continued yesterday as Opposition Leader Mark McGowan committed $18 million to fix black spots on the Coalfields Highway around Collie.
The WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry has invited Premier Colin Barnett, Nationals leader Brendon Grylls and Labor leader Mark McGowan to a business forum that could serve as another head-to-head debate.
Page 18: A multi-million dollar makeover of the Bunbury waterfront will cement the booming regional city as a destination for interstate and international visitors according to WA’s peak tourism body.
Perth hotels may be fully booked most weekdays but new figures paint a vastly different picture in WA’s south.
Page 68: Aviation regulators have grounded most of the world’s 787 Dreamliners until a fire risk linked to the Boeing’s lithium ion batteries can be fixed.
Page 73: CBH has hailed a record profit of $16.4 million as a huge boost for WA grain growers as it strives to keep storage and handling costs well below those in the rest of the country.
Woodside Petroleum has signed off on a record breaking year, smashing production and sales revenue milestones after a budget-busting start-up performance by its $15 billion Pluto LNG development.
Page 75: Illuka Resources’ under pressure shares spiked sharply yesterday after the company hinted it may have seen the worst of last year’s sharp drop in demand for its mineral sands products.
Contractors will come under further pressure to buy Australian with an upcoming Federal Government plan, as some major companies reveal they already have up to 96 per cent local content on some projects.
China Inc has joined WA’s uranium hunt with the State-backed China Metallurgical Geology Bureau revealed as the major shareholder in new uranium explorer Zeus Resources.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Rio Tinto has elevated iron ore head Sam Walsh to be chief executive after the mining giant announced one of the biggest write-downs in Australian corporate history, taking billion in impairment charges on its aluminium and coal businesses.
Businesses are fighting against weakness in the economy by cutting employees’ hours at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis.
Page 3: Business groups have called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to honour her pledge to cut “green tape” on major resources projects and urged her to throw out Greens laws that would lock in environmental protections at the state and federal level.
Page 4: A member of the Gillard Government’s manufacturing taskforce has urged the industry to stop waiting for federal assistance and view structural industry changes as an opportunity to invest in growth.
Page 7: West Australian business leaders have congratulated Sam Walsh on his appointment as chief executive of Rio Tinto, but are lamenting his immanent departure from the state.
Page 8: Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey has called on Treasurer Wayne Swan to change the law to allow the government to disclose the amount of revenue raised by the mining tax.
Page 9: The Coalition has obtained advice from the Senate Clerk that Parliament can compel the Commissioner of Taxation to reveal how much money the minerals resource rent tax is generating, contradicting the government’s own advice that it could be illegal to disclose the figures to ministers.
Page 12: ANZ Banking Group chief Mike Smith has urged the government to build “a much richer, broader relationship with China” and adopt a similar agreement to the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty Australia signed with Japan in the mid-1970s.
Page 13: Australian iron ore mining executives are agreed: if there is one certainty in the nation’s largest export market this year, it is that the price will be volatile.
Page 14: An end is in sight for the long-running buy-out of privately owned engineering consultancy Sinclair Knight Merz.
Page 17: Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s private bank hopes to add up to $1 billion of funds under advice annually for the foreseeable future.
Fear that tougher regulation of the global financial system will create a worldwide shortage of funds to use as collateral have led the Australian Securities Exchange to join a new international alliance.
Page 20: Santos has been forced to lift its guidance for production costs for 2012 as it reported record annual sales yesterday.
The commercial television networks are positioning themselves for the fiercest ratings season in at least seven years by rolling out marquee programs up to three weeks before the official rating begin.
Page 31: The world is edging closer to an all out currency conflict as Europe’s politicians join a chorus of policymakers across the globe pushing for devaluation to fight for market share.
The International Monetary Fund agreed to disburse €3.2 billion ($4 billion) to Greece after the country made new budget cuts, received more favourable aid terms from European nations and conducted a bond buy-back.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The weakening employment outlook threatens to undermine the government’s economic message in the lead-up to the election amid forecasts the jobs market will worsen in coming months.
Sam Walsh, the Australian-born head of Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations, will become the second most powerful mining boss in the world after the shock departure of the company’s chief executive, Tom Albanese.
Unions are pressing the Gillard government to impose tighter obligations on companies that receive taxpayer handouts, forcing them to ‘‘give back to the community’’ by purchasing more Australian products and services.
Page 17: Qantas is hedging against slower growth in Jetstar’s long-haul operations by cancelling a firm order for one of the low-cost carrier’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Page 18: Woodside Petroleum’s $15 billion Pluto liquefied natural gas plant in Western Australia is poised to overtake the giant North West Shelf as the company’s biggest single earner after the ‘‘game-changing’’ project drove a 30 per cent surge in the group’s total output and sales revenue last year.
The recent steady run enjoyed by the iron ore price has hit the brakes, with the steelmaking commodity posting its biggest daily fall in 14 months on concerns over Chinese demand.
Australian companies working in Mali are continuing to monitor the worsening situation in the strife-torn West African nation, after Islamist rebels began targeting foreign workers in the region.
Page 19: News Limited has agreed to sell its online directory business TrueLocal to Telstra’s directories arm Sensis, continuing the divestment of its non-core assets in Australia.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has warned Australian banks that loans to self-managed super funds should be treated differently to conventional mortgages because they are more complex.
Page 20: The US economy expanded in recent weeks as consumers stepped up spending, but weak hiring is restraining growth, says the Federal Reserve.
Page 21: A centrepeice of Europe’s plan to ease its financial crisis, widely credited with calming markets when unveiled last year, is under pressure as eurozone officials spar over how to implement it.
China is losing its competitive edge as a low-cost manufacturing base, new data suggests, with makers of everything from handbags to shirts to basic electronic components relocating to cheaper locales such as Southeast Asia.
Page 25: Global economic uncertainty, an election year and greater partner movement between firms will frame the year ahead, according to law firm leaders.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: NSW Health has called for a comprehensive assessment of potential risk to human health in relation to coal seam gas drilling in western Sydney.
Page 2: Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare says western Sydney families are living in fear and want more police on the street. Eden Hull's hotel balcony death plunge shows "how fragile our lives are".
Page 3: Nearly a third of health claims on foods will have to be removed under laws to be introduced from Friday.
World: Al-Qaeda-linked fighters have called for an end to France's "crusade" in Mali.
Business: Australian Sam Walsh is the new chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto after the shock resignation of Tom Albanese on Thursday night.
Sport: Bernard Tomic has come through a stern examination with flying colours.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese has been shown the door after a deal involving an African coal mine cost the company $14 billion.
Page 2: A powder-keg combination of scorching temperatures and gusty winds threatens to ignite fresh bushfires across the state.
Page 3: Eden Hull did not want to leave the party to drive home to the NSW south coast.
World: Two workmen have thanked "divine intervention" for their astonishing escape from death after a helicopter crashed into their crane.
Business: More than 5000 jobs were lost ahead of Christmas as bosses axed positions against a slowing global economic backdrop.
Sport: Bernard Tomic must defy one of the greatest tormentors of Australian tennis to maintain his perfect start to 2013.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Entry rankings to study teaching at Victorian universities have fallen again, calling into question the federal government's aim of attracting top performing students to the profession. Victorian magistrate and former Crown prosecutor Simon Cooper has been charged with sexual assault offences including attempted rape, after a four-month police investigation.
Page 2: The mother of a Melbourne man who died at last year's Rainbow Serpent Festival in regional Victoria from drug-related causes has joined a campaign to have the event reinstated.
Page 3: Paramedics fear patients will face ambulance delays in coming months as hospitals continue to close dozens of beds, including emergency department services, because of budget cuts.
World: The fact that only two people died when a two-tonne helicopter crashed on to a busy central London road during the morning rush hour was nothing short of miraculous, police say.
Business: Australian Sam Walsh is the new chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto after the shock resignation of Tom Albanese on Thursday night.
Sport: Roger Federer presumed the teenaged Bernard Tomic might be intimidated by him when they first met. Then Tomic took a set off him and he figured the kid was confident enough not to be cowed as others might by the weight of Federer's grand slam titles.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: A Victorian magistrate will face court after being charged with attempted rape and indecent assault in a development which could have ramifications for other cases.
Page 2: Victoria has outperformed most of the other major states in job creation despite national unemployment climbing higher.
Page 3: Mining giant Rio Tinto says its chief executive Tom Albanese will step down immediately.
Page 5: Robert Farquharson is going to the High Court in a last-ditch bid to clear himself of the Father's Day murders of his three sons.
World: Islamist gunmen have killed two people and taken 41 Western hostages in Algeria in what they say is a revenge attack on the country for opening its airspace to French warplanes hitting Islamists in Mali.
Business: Rio Tinto shares are poised to tumble after the shock resignation of chief executive Tom Albanese.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: Students must reach for the stars to ensure they secure a SA university course, new figures show.
Page 3: Senior Liberals are moving to force former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer to reveal his plans for the next state election, as strategists lose patience with rolling leadership speculation.
World: French troops are pushing north agent Islamist rebels in Mali, while in neighbouring Algeria al-Qaeda-linked fighters have killed two people, taken more than 40 foreign hostages and called for an end to France's "crusade".
Business: Treasurer Jack Snelling has welcomed a turnaround in construction industry confidence that dropped on news of the Olympic Dam expansion delay, crediting it in part to generous development grants.
Sport: Port Adelaide has refused to cut ties with troubled forward Liam Jurrah in the wake of his drink driving charge, but concedes the former Demon's future is in limbo.
