Miners lose out on royalty refunds – The Fin; China, WA ties beset by rules, cost hikes – The West; Palmer, CITIC in right-royalty fight – The Fin; Labor asylum solution swamped – The Aus; Doubt over Ord River sugar – The Fin
Miners lose out on royalty refunds
The major mining companies will be limited on refunds they can claim for state royalties under a plan for the federal government to impose new restrictions to shore up revenue from the controversial mining tax. The Fin
China, WA ties beset by rules, cost hikes
China's most senior government official in WA has delivered a blunt assessment of the relationship between the state's miners and the Middle Kingdom, warning that new difficulties and challenges are increasingly facing us. The West
Palmer, CITIC in right-royalty fight
Mining magnate Clive Palmer has turned on his Chinese allies, claiming CITIC Pacific is “running scared” because the state-owned company has no chance of beating him in court. The Fin
Labor asylum solution swamped
Thousands of asylum-seekers slated for transfer to Nauru and Papua New Guinea will be released into the community with no work rights and minimal support after the Gillard government effectively conceded its revived Pacific Solution had been overwhelmed by a massive increase in boat arrivals. The Aus
Doubt over Ord River sugar
Senior agricultural executives have raised concerns about the commercial viability of a $700 million plan from an obscure Chinese group to develop the second stage of the Ord River project in northern Western Australia. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Thousands of asylum seekers will be dumped in the suburbs and banned from getting a job as the federal government desperately tries to slow the flow of boats to Australia.
Page 3: The alarming extent of WA's doctor shortage has been revealed, with figures showing the state needs 1,000 full time GPs, or 68 per cent more, to meet the unrelenting demand.
Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal has withdrawn from this weekend's Margaret River Gourmet Escape after the death of two of his top chefs in a traffic crash in Hong Kong on Monday.
Page 4: WA has joined the ultrawealthy, jet set enclaves Monaco and Luxembourg as one of the richest paces on Earth.
Page 5: Parents who supply their children with alcohol for leavers' celebrations have been accused of being “unethical and dangerous” by a senior police officer.
An arts group that receives state government funding has ordered a promoter to remove a poster advertising an event at one of its venues because it features references to illicit drug use.
Page 9: More train passengers feel unsafe travelling at night, with new research identifying the Midland and Armadale lines as the worst.
Page 13: Some of Fremantle's best known areas will be under water this century under modelling that shows a levee may have to be built around the city.
Page 14: Gripes to WA's energy complaints handler of last resort flowed at almost 10 a day last year in the latest sign of the pressure households are under from rising utility prices.
Page 18: A pledge to curb privatisation at WA hospitals failed to stop about 1500 low-paid workers marching to Colin Barnett's new office yesterday in their fight for better pay.
Business: Premier Colin Barnett has offered West Australia's emerging magnetite miners hope of royalty relief, in a move aimed at attracting more Asian investment into the fledgling industry.
China's most senior government official in WA has delivered a blunt assessment of the relationship between the state's miners and the Middle Kingdom, warning that new difficulties and challenges are increasingly facing us.
Alexander Downer, who served as Australia's foreign minister during John Howard's prime ministership, has joined the board of Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill Holdings.
Recent entrants to the mining services sector may struggle to survive the post boom era, according to industry veteran Mick Caratti.
WA's mining industry has been awash with speculation that Rio Tinto and Paladin Energy tried to scupper BHP Billiton's $430 million sale of the Yeelirrie uranium deposit to Canadian giant Cameco by asking the federal government to block the deal.
Apache Energy and Santos, joint venture partners in several of WA's most important energy projects, have been honoured for their contribution to developing the state's gas industry.
The company that operates Wyndham Port hopes to sell infrastructure from the old Kununurra sugar mill or the mill site to the Chinese conglomerate that has won exclusive rights to develop prime land on the Ord River.
Poseidon Nickel chairman Andrew Forrest says the company faces a “serious challenge” to find capital funding for its Mt Windarra project nickel mine, as it reaches a “tipping point” from explorer to producer.
Royal Dutch Shell has stolen a march on rival Chevron by confirming it will anchor a new office tower on the site of the former Perth Entertainment Centre.
Programmed has shaved $6 million in annual costs and cut 50 jobs as its businesses outside the resources sector struggle with the two-speed economy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The major mining companies will be limited on refunds they can claim for state royalties under a plan for the federal government to impose new restrictions to shore up revenue from the controversial mining tax.
Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten has declared the union slush fund that Prime Minister Julia Gillard helped establish when she was a young lawyer as unauthorised, inappropriate and out of bounds.
Page 3: The retail industry has backed the idea behind online mega sale Click Frenzy, but says a different approach will be needed after technical difficulties marred the inaugural attempt.
Page 5: Senior agricultural executives have raised concerns about the commercial viability of a $700 million plan from an obscure Chinese group to develop the second stage of the Ord River project in northern Western Australia.
Page 8: Australian businesses spend about a working week a year dealing with the GST, a World Bank and PwC global study suggests.
Page 9: Embattled mining entrepreneur Nathan Tinkler suffered another blow when an arm of his horse-racing empire was placed into liquidation.
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart will hit the speaking circuit on Thursday to discuss how Australians can join her in becoming rich.
Page 10: Australia is slipping down a global ranking of manufacturing competitiveness as rated by leading chief executives and is not on the global radar as a destination for investment.
Page 12: Australia is looking increasingly like a “one trick pony” that is vulnerable to resource shocks, and boasts credit metrics that are “right off the scale” for a AAA-rated nation, Standard & Poor's analyst Kyran Curry says.
Page 19: Mining magnate Clive Palmer has turned on his Chinese allies, claiming CITIC Pacific is “running scared” because the state-owned company has no chance of beating him in court.
Page 21: Well-heeled consumers with a taste for luxury brands and designer fashion have helped David Jones post its first quarterly sales growth in almost two years, but chief executive Paul Zahra says trading remains challenging while “mainstream” consumers keep their wallets closed.
Page 22: Australia's four major banks are willing to lend again to Nine Entertainment Co, with each believed to be considering a minimum contribution of $100 million.
QR National's board has been dealt a 14 per cent protest vote against its remuneration report after it allowed accounting changes to influence executive bonuses.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Thousands of asylum-seekers slated for transfer to Nauru and Papua New Guinea will be released into the community with no work rights and minimal support after the Gillard government effectively conceded its revived Pacific Solution had been overwhelmed by a massive increase in boat arrivals.
Labor has given union representatives and members a new avenue to sue for alleged discrimination, fuelling employer warnings that new national laws will encourage ‘‘forum shopping’’.
The Gillard government is pushing the states to offer households the option of paying higher electricity prices during hot spells and other peak periods by mid2014 as part of a reform package aimed at giving consumers new ways to reduce their energy bills.
Page 2: Stockbroker Brent Potts and business partner Peter Gray contributed their own cash towards a $28 million investment in a coal company at the centre of a NSW corruption scandal that later channelled cash to Eddie Obeid.
Page 5: A historic deal to end the 30-year war over Tasmania’s forests by protecting more than 500,000ha — one of the nation’s largest conservation outcomes — is due to be unveiled today.
Page 7: Landowners on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea are threatening to close down the Australian centre that received its first 19 asylum-seekers at 7am yesterday.
Page 8: Employer and industry groups have railed against technical amendments to the Fair Work Act, warning they amount to tribunal stacking and an attempt to ‘‘future proof’’ full bench decisions for the next decade.
Business: The anaemic state of the retail market continues to shadow the major bricks-and-mortar chains as David Jones reported a razorthin increase in sales for the first quarter of the financial year and warned that Christmas trading was unlikely to be substantially improved from last year.
The federal Coalition has unveiled plans to free up business investment by creating a retail market for corporate bonds, while attacking Labor for moving too slowly on a reform plan aired almost three years ago.
The future of online DVD rental company Quickflix is in doubt after a handful of its high-profile board members resigned from the cash-strapped company, sparking speculation that it could be forced to go private to stay afloat.
The support of the Queensland government shareholding in minerals transporter QR National was crucial to the company avoiding having its remuneration package voted down at its annual meeting in Brisbane yesterday.
Leighton Holdings is waiting to see the fallout from a strategic review announced by the new chief executive of its parent, Hochtief, as it prepares for more boardroom changes after a management shake-up in Germany.
The federal government is seeking to increase pressure on mobile phone companies to offer fair prices for wireless spectrum worth billions of dollars, amid concerns that not all the big players will bid at an auction to be held next year.
US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has suggested that the central bank will keep trying to push down long-term interest rates next year, as federal tax and spending policies become a more substantial headwind to the US economy.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The Pacific solution is collapsing and the number of arrivals forcing the government to release thousands of asylum seekers into the community. Melbourne bus commuters were subjected to a display of racism when a Frenchwoman was abused singing in her native tongue. Future cultural projects should be funded by gamblers, the Opera House CEO says.
Page 2: Thousands of children are being hospitalised across the country after intravenously harming themselves.
Page 3: A new discussion paper will propose adoption to replace long-term foster care for NSW children in need of care.
World: The UN Security Council will hold an open debate on the Middle East crisis if a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has not been called for.
Business: David Jones has reported a 0.3 per cent rise in September quarter total sales revenue.
Sport: Newly appointed NRL referees boss Daniel Anderson will put grounding, obstruction, and the benefit of the doubt rule as his top priorities.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Government crackdown means refugees who are processed onshore will be kept in limbo and not allowed to work and could be sent to an offshore centre at any time. Nauru refugees becoming more despondent and angry with their living conditions. Click Frenzy meltdown shows the inherent weakness in the Australian online retail space and reinforces why shoppers take their money elsewhere.
Page 2: Australian troops handing over control to Afghan forces in all forward operating bases and patrol bases in Uruzgan, and after 13 years of peacekeeping in East Timor, the last Australian troops to pull out. Legal experts challenged Tony Abbott's assertion that it is illegal for asylum seekers to arrive by boat in Australia.
Page 3: Racist bus rant shows there is still a long way to go to confronting domestic violence and threats against women. Stricter scrutiny of private companies hired by public agencies to deliver services and major projects is on the cards. By 2050 booming Melbourne will need hundreds of new primary schools, childcare centres and parks.
World: Gaza ceasefire hangs in the balance as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tries to broker a truce even as rockets fly both ways.
Business: David Jones ekes out its first quarter of sales growth in two years, but market not impressed as shares head south by more than six per cent.
Sport: Adelaide's goodwill gesture to pass up its first two draft picks as penance for Kurt Tippett fiasco saves red faces for the AFL.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Edelstens claim they were being blackmailed by a former business partner in the US. Receivers say failed lender Banksia lent itself $11 million before collapsing owing $660 million to thousands of investors.
Page 2: New runway will give Melbourne the edge over Sydney to attract business to the city, says infrastructure expert Sir Rod Eddington.
Page 3: Broadmeadows immigration detention centre to be upgraded to triple its intake of asylum seekers to 450 people. Knobbly-kneed Zebra born at Werribee Open Range Zoo. The million shoppers who signed on to Click Frenzy could now face five years being bombarded with advertising and promotions. Victorians in for a lazy, hot summer.
World: Violence continues between Gaza and Israel as leaders hold talks for a ceasefire.
Business: David Jones chalks up its first quarterly sales rise in two years, but says hold the champagne because it's too early to celebrate.
Sport: A Supreme Court injunction could hold the key to Kurt Tippett becoming a Sydney Swans player within a week.
