Mark McGowan says that vaccination targets not enough to bring end to State closures
Border closures and the threat of lockdown will be a part of life in WA even when the State reaches 80 per cent vaccination coverage because Mark McGowan says his “preferred position is that we don’t have COVID”. The West
WA’s battling businesses could get Federal help
The State and Federal governments are in talks about a potential financial rescue package for WA businesses crippled by east coast lockdowns and indefinite border closures. The West
Woodside in talks for $20b BHP oil and gas assets
Woodside Petroleum is in advanced talks to acquire BHP Group’s entire petroleum division in a $20 billion-odd deal that will define the futures of both companies. The Fin
China’s steel curbs expected to hit Australian construction
China’s curbs on steel production and port bottlenecks caused by the country’s latest COVID-19 outbreak are driving up costs and threatening the supply of key materials imported into Australia for housing construction and other infrastructure projects. The Fin
Brazilians cast a wider net in bid to catch Huon
Brazilian food giant JBS has launched a parallel takeover bid for Huon Aquaculture as it looks to outmanoeuvre mining billionaire Andrew Forrest in the tussle for the Tasmanian salmon company. The Aus
Sexual assault and harassment ‘rife’ in mines
More than one in five women working in Western Australia’s mining industry have been sexually assaulted or offered better conditions in exchange for sexual favours, a new report detailing the sexual harassment and abuse of female fly-in fly-out workers has found. The Aus
Market expects new highs amid upbeat results
Investors are confident the remainder of the earnings season will be as upbeat as the start, driving the local share-market to fresh record highs, despite lockdowns still plaguing Australia’s most populous states. The Fin
LNG producers to bounce back into the black
Australia’s major oil and gas producers are set to rocket back into profit in the June half as sharply higher prices underpin a major recovery from the horror first half of 2020. The Fin
Skills at heart of Venturex bromance
Rich Lister Chris Ellison believes his mining services empire could work alongside mining entrepreneur Bill Beament as the latter seeks to turn a small exploration company into the sort of mixed business that made Ellison a billionaire. The Fin
Palmer picks Covid fight with Liberals, Labor
Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer has launched a preelection attack on Scott Morrison, the Liberal Party, Labor and health bureaucrats, declaring his right to freedom of speech is under threat. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Woodside Petroleum is in advanced talks to acquire BHP Group’s entire petroleum division in a $20 billion-odd deal that will define the futures of both companies.
More than half a million coronavirus vaccine doses will be rushed into the arms of young people in Sydney’s coronavirus hotspots, after diplomats brokered a deal to secure an additional 1 million Pfizer doses from Poland.
Page 2: China’s curbs on steel production and port bottlenecks caused by the country’s latest COVID-19 outbreak are driving up costs and threatening the supply of key materials imported into Australia for housing construction and other infrastructure projects.
Page 3: Changing patterns of economic activity since the outbreak of COVID-19 have resulted in regional areas, for the first time, having far higher and more persistent levels of skills shortages than cities, with trades and technical skills in particularly short supply.
Unions say the resources industry should fund an independent expert body to oversee management of sexual harassment and abuse claims so workers can make complaints without fear of retaliation from mine management.
Page 14: Investors are confident the remainder of the earnings season will be as upbeat as the start, driving the local share-market to fresh record highs, despite lockdowns still plaguing Australia’s most populous states.
Page 16: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has warned the insurance sector it will be examining compliance with unfair contract terms legislation after the Bank of Queensland was forced to rewrite its small business contracts following a court loss.
Page 17: Business leaders have raised their ‘‘duty of care’’ for all staff to endorse the prospect of mandatory vaccinations, which could lead to sackings for recalcitrant employees, as executives prepare to ‘‘live with the virus’’ amid rising infections in NSW.
Page 18: Former BHP chief executive Brian Gilbertson is expected to seek re-election as chairman of Jupiter Mines despite another extraordinary repudiation of his leadership by shareholders in the manganese miner.
Page 19: Australia’s major oil and gas producers are set to rocket back into profit in the June half as sharply higher prices underpin a major recovery from the horror first half of 2020.
Page 20: Rich Lister Chris Ellison believes his mining services empire could work alongside mining entrepreneur Bill Beament as the latter seeks to turn a small exploration company into the sort of mixed business that made Ellison a billionaire.
The Australian
Page 1: The Afghan government appeared to have collapsed on Sunday night as the Taliban declared victory, the US embassy was evacuated and the Australian military prepared to rescue expatriates, with the Islamist insurgents at the gates of Kabul.
Gladys Berejiklian has conceded NSW will not return to zero Covid-19 cases and that severe restrictions and lockdowns will remain in place until November, as Western Australia warned it may keep its borders closed despite a national agreement to open up after jab rates hit 70 to 80 per cent.
The ballooning costs of the $24bn-a-year National Disability Insurance Scheme have prompted the federal and state governments to fast-track a new financial sustainability plan for it amid rising concerns about its impact on their budgets.
Page 6: Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer has launched a pre-election attack on Scott Morrison, the Liberal Party, Labor and health bureaucrats, declaring his right to freedom of speech is under threat.
Page 7: More than one in five women working in Western Australia’s mining industry have been sexually assaulted or offered better conditions in exchange for sexual favours, a new report detailing the sexual harassment and abuse of female fly-in fly-out workers has found.
Page 15: Rolling lockdowns will dent Australia’s economic recovery in the short term, but equities will push higher and M&A activity will surge as cheap money sloshes around looking for a home, according to leading fund managers.
Page 18: Brazilian food giant JBS has launched a parallel takeover bid for Huon Aquaculture as it looks to outmanoeuvre mining billionaire Andrew Forrest in the tussle for the Tasmanian salmon company.
Page 21: The ABC claims it has no record of how much money it has spent settling legal claims brought against it over the past six years.
The West Australian
Page 3: Perth Children’s Hospital has had to turn away sick children for the first time with authorities blaming “incredibly high” demand for a decision to divert ambulances.
Page 4: West Australians aged 16 to 29 can today book to get a Pfizer COVID-19 jab at State-run vaccination clinics for the first time.
Border closures and the threat of lockdown will be a part of life in WA even when the State reaches 80 per cent vaccination coverage because Mark McGowan says his “preferred position is that we don’t have COVID”.
Page 7: Seven out of 10 West Australians support “no jab, no job” policies that would allow private businesses to make the COVID-19 vaccine compulsory for employees.
Page 9: WA Community Services Minister Simone McGurk has called for “mild forms of inappropriate conduct” to be included in the threshold set out in the Sex Discrimination Act.
Page 15: Scott Morrison said evacuation missions in Afghanistan were a “task of utmost urgency” as he yesterday confirmed Australia would send troops in to save Afghans at risk.
Page 16: The Department of Education is housing teachers in caravan parks because of a scarcity of accommodation in regional WA.
Page 17: The Australian Christian Lobby, which was barred from hiring publicly owned venues before a WA Government backflip, told supporters in Perth that young people go to gender clinics because adults are telling them, “you’re stuck in the wrong body”.
Page 18: With most international students still not allowed into the country, Curtin University is hoping to lure more locals to fill its newly built student residences.
Business: The State and Federal governments are in talks about a potential financial rescue package for WA businesses crippled by east coast lockdowns and indefinite border closures.
The rapid decline in the unemployment rate to a decade low looks set to come to an end, a casualty of multiple virus restrictions across the country in recent weeks.
The US Federal Reserve will likely lift its zero-interest rate policy next year as the impact of the COVID-19 Delta variant has not been that significant on the economy, according to a former Fed vice chair.