Unions push for pre-poll wages grab – The Fin; MP backs Kwinana port plan – The West; Rio warns Gove plan at risk – The Fin; Foreigners circle Treasury Wine – The Aus; Liquidators keep eye on mining and retail – The Fin
Unions push for pre-poll wages grab
Transport workers will lead the nation’s unions in a concerted push for higher wages before the federal election, with NSW workers set to begin a campaign of strikes and industrial action which would disrupt coal exports. The Fin
MP backs Kwinana port plan.
National Party powerbroker Wendy Duncan has swung her support behind building magnate Len Buckeridge’s plan for a private bulk commodity port in Kwinana, saying it was desperately needed for live animal exports. The West
Rio warns Gove plan at risk
Rio Tinto has warned that it is considering suspending operations at its loss-making alumina refinery in Arnhem Land as the Northern-Territory government struggles to broker a deal for the supply of gas to the plant. The Fin
Foreigners circle Treasury Wine
Australia’s largest wine company could soon be in foreign hands, with institutional investors predicting Treasury Wine Estates – owner of some of the country’s most famous wine labels – is ripe for a takeover offer with a potential bidding war netting up to $4.2 billion. The Aus
Liquidators keep eye on mining and retail
The mining and retail sectors could experience the highest number of corporate collapses this year, with data showing an increase in insolvencies in Western Australia late last year. The Fin
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: A leading road trauma researcher says the WA Government lacks the political courage to bring in measures that could cut the state’s road toll.
Page 4: Up to 100 people remain unaccounted for as devastating bushfires continue to ravage southern Tasmania.
Page 5: Country towns are at crisis point because there are few young volunteers to replace veterans in the fire brigades, volunteer fire and rescue associations say.
Page 8: The WA Nationals have surrendered their prized status as electoral kingmakers ruling out forming government with Labor after the March 9 state election or directing preferences to them.
Page 9: Aerial patrols touted as the cornerstone of State Government efforts to protect swimmers against sharks detect as few as one in eight, research has found.
Page 10: The State Government’s shaky Budget surplus is set to come under growing pressure amid revelations Western Power could need almost $800 million more than it has been allocated over the next four years.
Page 13: Householders would be the big winners under a proposed shake-up of water bills that could save a typical residential customer more then $100 a year.
Page 14: Political parties have been urged to address the burgeoning cost of doing business in WA in the lead-up to the March State election after confidence in the economy fell to its lowest point since the global financial crisis.
Page 15: Big companies have avoided paying billions in tax in Australia by using complex but legal tax minimisation schemes that the Federal Government fears could bleed the country dry.
Page 22: National Party powerbroker Wendy Duncan has swung her support behind building magnate Len Buckeridge’s plan for a private bulk commodity port in Kwinana, saying it was desperately needed for live animal exports.
Confidence in the long-term economy has dropped to its lowest ebb since the global financial crisis as employers struggle with the rising cost of doing business in WA, according to a prominent survey.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Transport workers will lead the nation’s unions in a concerted push for higher wages before the federal election, with NSW workers set to begin a campaign of strikes and industrial action which would disrupt coal exports.
Rio Tinto has warned that it is considering suspending operations at its loss-making alumina refinery in Arnhem Land as the Northern-Territory government struggles to broker a deal for the supply of gas to the plant.
Page 3: The new head of the Board of Taxation wants to boost the body’s role in forming tax policy and bring more business to the table.
The mining and retail sectors could experience the highest number of corporate collapses this year, with data showing an increase in insolvencies in Western Australia late last year.
Page 5: The Greens will be ask Treasurer Wayne Swan to scrap the ATM fees charged by the big four banks to ease pressure on households paying hundreds of dollars in the charges every year.
Federal Labor has seized on an interview given by Tony Abbott’s chief of staff Peta Credlin to claim the Liberal Party is concerned he has a problem with female voters.
Page 7: The new leader of Victoria’s militant construction union is maintaining the campaign to sever ties with the Cbus industry super fund and Commonwealth Bank of Australia in protest at the bitter industrial disputes involving the builder Grocon last year.
Page 11: Economists have welcomed the federal government’s decision to drop its surplus pledge but predict growth will take a hit in the 2013 financial year as lower commodity prices and consumer confidence filter through the national economy.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Australia will play a lead role in managing international sanctions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban and rogue state Iran after being appointed chair of the UN Security Council committees that impose and enforce sanctions.
Page 2: Victoria has overtaken Western Australia as the lowest taxing state for business, a new report shows.
Page 3: Questions are again being raised over Australia's live export trade amid claims pregnant cattle were shipped to Mauritius last October.
Page 4: The Barnett Government has treated people with disabilities with disrespect by hiding figures on who has received funding support and who has missed out, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan says.
Page 23: Australia’s largest wine company could soon be in foreign hands, with institutional investors predicting Treasury Wine Estates – owner of some of the country’s most famous wine labels – is ripe for a takeover offer with a potential bidding war netting up to $4.2 billion.
After nearly a year bedding down the $1.3 billion acquisition of copper company Anvil Mining, Minmetals Resources chief Andrew Michelmore feels both his company and asset valuations are in the right place for another $1bn-plus base metals purchase.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: Questions have been raised as to whether former Labor MP Eddie Obeid has a stake in the controversial Balmain Tigers redevelopment amid the appointment of an associate as chairman of the rugby league club.
Page 2: NSW firefighters are preparing for dangerous bushfire conditions with a heatwave set to hit the state on Tuesday.
Page 3: Property owners in one of Sydney's newest suburbs say they were not told AGL Energy was proposing an expansion of a gas project that would bring coal seam gas wells close to homes.
World: The US is considering wide-ranging reforms in a bid to curb the country's gun violence, including the introduction of background checks for firearm buyers.
Business: A businessman has warned property prices at housing projects and retirement villages owned by the Becton Property Group could plummet unless a deal is made with lender Goldman Sachs.
Sport: The omission of Michael Hussey and David Warner from Australia's one-day squad has left the Nine Network puzzled, amid concerns it could decrease interest in the series against Sri Lanka.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: There are fears the death toll of Tasmania's bushfires could rise, with more than 100 people missing.
Page 2: Former NSW premier, Labor MP Nathan Rees, believes Badgerys Creek is the best place for a second Sydney airport.
Page 3: Families are being forced to pull their children out of preschools as a result of soaring fees.
World: Fears are held for the safety of the director of Italian fashion house Missoni after the plane in which he was travelling vanished off the Venezuelan coast.
Business: Ten Network may turn the corner in 2013 after a series of 2012 flops.
Sport: Nine is unhappy at the squad Australian cricket selectors have picked for the upcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Good looking men get better wages, says new study. Older gay men fear they still have police records because of gay sex charges when they were younger. 180,000 pay to have their DNA analysed to look for any genetic diseases. Study says Victorian public infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and police stations, is under increased threat of damage as climate change intensifies.
Page 2: Police begin searching burned buildings for bodies in Tasmania. Melbourne couple Mike and Hong Neighbour's Tasmanian holiday ends in Hobart shelter.
Page 3: Lack of money puts an end to a worship centre at Docklands. Apple map directions show Peninsula Link freeway the best way to to Mornington Peninsula beaches even though it hasn't opened yet. Mobile phones the coming way to pay for your goods. Port Phillip Bay is the resting place of an estimated 170-180 shipwrecks with some dating back as far as 1840. A cat trained by prisoners to carry mobile phones and tools to dig tunnels is caught red-handed inside a Brazil jail.
World: Insiders say the White House is considering a far broader approach to curbing gun violence than just banning assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition.
Business: Corporate raider Darren Olney-Fraser fears apartment prices could plunge at housing projects and retirement villages owned by Becton Property Group unless the company can broker a deal with lender Goldman Sachs.
Sport: Nine puzzled at the omissions of David Warner and Michael Hussey from one-day team.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Concerns for up to 100 people still missing in Tasmanian fires.
Page 2: 14-year-old boy bludgeoned to death was gentle with the smile of an angel.
Page 3: Bernard Tomic sporting a new blonde bombshell. Cost of food falling faster in Australia than any other developed nation.
World: Search continues for the plane carrying Missoni fashion house boss and five others that disappeared off Venezuela.
Business: Ten Network hits rock bottom as it faces a crunch year in 2013.
Sport: Nine is furious that Australia has picked a "second string" team to kick off the five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka.
