Scandals swamp PM's campaign – The Aus; WA pushes plan to reform GST carve-up – The Fin; MCC takes $2bn hit on WA foray – The West; Puma Energy to gobble up Gull – The West; Cost blowout on AngloGold mine – The Aus
Scandals swamp PM's campaign
Tony Abbott has capitalised on the fraud charges laid against former Labor MP Craig Thomson to launch a fresh attack on the judgement of Julia Gillard, whose bid to assert control over the political debate by naming the election date early was swamped by the scandal.The Aus
WA pushes plan to reform GST carve-up
West Australian Treasurer Troy Buswell has asked the states to reform the GST distribution system to better recognise the risks taken by the mining states in building key infrastructure for the resources sector. The Fin
MCC takes $2bn hit on WA foray
Contracting behemoth Metallurgical Corporation of China has unveiled the cost of its foray into WA, telling investors it is staring at losses of more than $2 billion from its local operations. The West
Puma Energy to gobble up Gull
WA's Gull Petroleum is set to change hands for the second time in two years, with global giant Puma Energy firming as the buyer of Archer Capital's Ausfuel business as early as next week. The West
Cost blowout on AngloGold mine
Anglogold Ashanti and local partner Independence Gold have reported a cost blowout of $82 million, or 11 per cent, at the Tropicana gold project in Western Australia due to higher labour and fuel costs.The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Julia Gillard's attempt to seize the election initiative was rattled yesterday when former Labor MP Craig Thomson was charged with defrauding his former employer, the Health Services Union, and warned to expect another 149 charges.
Page 4: Tony Abbott announced yesterday that Labor's schoolkids bonus would be axed by a coalition government, branding the scheme a “cash splash” totally unrelated to education.
Page 5: Colin Barnett says he will continue using the government jet during the state election campaign, as Labor had done previously.
Page 7: Labor wants its ambitious Metronet costed by Treasury but the government has refused its request to allow Under-Treasurer Tim Marney to independently analyse the project.
Transport Ministers Anthony Albanese and Troy Buswell will turn the first sod today on the biggest road project in Perth's history – a $1 billion plan for a network of freeways and interchanges around Perth Airport.
The WA Liberal Party has launched its second Supreme Court challenge against local governments that ban political signs on private property for the state election campaign.
Page 9: The resources boom has been a key driver in the construction of nearly 30 residential skyscrapers in Perth's east end, helping turn the city into a residential hub for the first time.
Page 16: Finance Minister Penny Wong will admit today that parts of WA are struggling in the face of the strong Australian dollar despite the state's outward appearance of strength.
Business: Contracting behemoth Metallurgical Corporation of China has unveiled the cost of its foray into WA, telling investors it is staring at losses of more than $2 billion from its local operations.
A concerted effort from Woolworths management to improve its supermarket and liquor business has failed to stop sales growth continuing to slip behind arch rival Coles.
WA's Gull Petroleum is set to change hands for the second time in two years, with global giant Puma Energy firming as the buyer of Archer Capital'sAusfuel business as early as next week.
The state government's move to jump-start the long-awaited expansion of the Esperance Port has won universal applause from iron ore miners and service providers in the region.
Gina Rinehart has retained top spot of Forbes Asia's annual Australian rich list despite falling iron ore prices eating into her $16.41 billion fortune.
The stock market bounce has lifted Euroz-managed Westoz Investment back into the black, the group yesterday disclosing a $19.1 million net profit for the December half.
Australia's biggest cattle exporter says the nation must work harder to repair relationships with Indonesia following the controversial live cattle exports suspension.
The Environmental Protection Authority has moved to streamline the approval process for a Chinese-owned company granted exclusive rights to develop a sugar industry on the Ord River.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard's gamble of fixing the election date months in advance has been soured by the arrest of federal MP Craig Thomson on fraud offences.
Taxing superannuation payouts for individuals with $1 million in retirement savings would hit self-funded retirees on modest incomes, wealth industry executives claim.
Tony Abbott has elevated economic management above the carbon tax as the most important issue at the September 14 election and, in doing so, reiterated a pledge to take the $1.2 billion school kids' bonus away from families.
Page 3: Low international carbon prices jeopardise global efforts to combat climate change, warns Ross Garnaut, the former climate change adviser to the Gillard government.
Australia is losing share in the multi billion-dollar global market of business events and conferences, with a strong dollar and a soggy global economy compounding the country's geographic disadvantage.
Page 9: Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has rejected speculation Julia Gillard announced the election date 7 ½ months early to foil another leadership challenge by him.
Page 11: Business has lashed out at possible cuts to corporate tax breaks, warning it will hurt investment and accusing the federal government of trying to score political points before the September election.
Page 15: West Australian Treasurer Troy Buswell has asked the states to reform the GST distribution system to better recognise the risks taken by the mining states in building key infrastructure for the resources sector.
Page 16: A federal government attempt to neuter state government codes aimed at curbing disruptive industrial disputes has confused the industry and sparked claims it will not achieve its goal.
Page 17: Woolworths' strategy of marketing personalised offers to customers has fuelled its strongest food and liquor sales growth for more than a year as the supermarket giant fights back against rival Coles.
Gas producers Santos and Eni have dashed hopes of a last-minute deal being brokered by the Northern Territory government on gas supply for Rio Tinto's Gove alumina refinery, increasing the chances that production at the plant may be suspended.
Page 20: AngloGold Ashanti chief Mark Cutifani has blamed the overheated West Australian construction market for a cost blowout at its Tropicana goldmine.
Rio Tinto insists first commercial production at its .2 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia is on track for the first half despite suggestions it was considering a shutdown amid a long-running dispute with the government.
Page 21: National Australia Bank has topped its big four rivals in the home loan market as the sector suffered its worst year on record amid global economic uncertainty.
THE AUSTRALIAN
Page 1: Tony Abbott has capitalised on the fraud charges laid against former Labor MP Craig Thomson to launch a fresh attack on the judgement of Julia Gillard, whose bid to assert control over the political debate by naming the election date early was swamped by the scandal.
Tony Abbott has made an election pitch to middle Australia, declaring the family tax benefit and the private health insurance rebate ‘‘tax justice for families’’.
Page 2: The big banks face a fresh collision course with the government over mortgage rates following a sharp improvement in funding markets, with the banks paying some of the lowest rates to borrow from wholesale markets in years.
The federal government is understood to be looking at reintroducing a limit on tax-free superannuation payouts, imposing an exit tax on funds carrying balances close to $1 million.
National employers have warned that the Gillard government’s new construction code could stop controversial attempts by Victoria to crack down on so-called union-friendly workplace agreements.
Industry has savaged the Gillard government’s decision to dump the inquiry into construction costs and productivity, warning that unions have been exploiting the existing framework at the cost of the private sector.
Page 4: Julia Gillard may have announced an election date in September to help fend off pressure for potentially disastrous by-elections if Craig Thomson, Peter Slipper or any other MP resigns from parliament.
Page 5: The cost of ex-tropical cyclone Oswald to mining companies could total half a billion dollars as two big miners yesterday revealed they could not meet contracts to sell coal after floodwaters cut two vital train lines to the ports.
Page 7: Indonesia's Agriculture Ministry, the party that controls it and one of the country’s biggest beef importers are entangled in a corruption scandal with potential ramifications for the Australian export industry.
Business: The checkouts of the nation’s supermarkets are ringing up big sales numbers, but the giants in the game, Woolworths and Coles, are having to claw for every dollar as customers demand ever-lower prices and deep discounts to part with their cash.
Andrew Forrest’s battle to keep miners and explorers off his ancestral pastoral station will see him lock horns with a group boasting a track record of success in protracted land disputes.
The collapse of baby products retailer Mothercare Australia is expected to attract a small group of potential industry buyers, including major shareholders Myer Family Company and Mothercare of Britain.
Rio Tinto has downplayed but not denied reports it is considering suspending construction at its billion ($5.7bn) Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia as the government demands a bigger stake in the project.
Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia is to wear an impairment charge of $68 million in light of lower prices for the nuclear fuel and the revenue-sapping effects of the strong dollar.
The Australian Agricultural Company claims decisions last year that put it on track to file a loss will mean a better result than otherwise this year.
Orica chief Ian Smith has outlined a three-pronged strategy for cutting capital spending at the explosives maker, as his big customers — including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto — continue to cut back on spending.
Gina Rinehart has held on to the top spot on Forbes Asia’s annual Australian rich list despite falling iron ore prices eating into her $16.41 billion mining fortune.
Proof that the free-to-air TV industry was increasingly becoming a two-horse race was borne out by advertising data for the December half, which revealed Seven and Nine making windfall gains at the expense of Ten.
Anglogold Ashanti and local partner Independence Gold have reported a cost blowout of $82 million, or 11 per cent, at the Tropicana gold project in Western Australia due to higher labour and fuel costs.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Page 1: Former Labor MP Craig Thomson has been charged with 150 fraud charges, which is a problem for Julia Gillard's just announced election campaign. Moses Obeid has been accused of lying to ICAC about his knowledge of his family's involvement in coal mining in the NSW Hunter.
Page 2: ALP powerbroker Eddie Obeid demanded a better price for his family's property in the Bylong Valley in talks with mining companies.
Page 3: The NSW Ombudsman says a strategy to tackle child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities has failed. Shops in Paris will have to turn off their lights at night.
World: The Syrian regime has confirmed that Israeli jets bombed a military installation near Damascus.
Business: Woolworths plans to strike back against major rival Coles by revamping its fresh food and grocery offerings.
Sport: NRL club Parramatta have opened talks with star player Jarryd Hayne in an attempt to retain his services.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Page 1: Former Labor MP Craig Thomson has vowed to fight 149 fraud charges, including that he allegedly used a union credit card to pay for sex. Moses Obeid has conceded that his family stood to receive up to $75 million from their involvement in coal mining in the NSW Hunter.
Page 2: Senior police will go back on the beat as part of an organisational shake-up.
Page 3: Judges in the Mundine-Geale fight are considering legal action for comments made by Roosters recruit Sonny Bill Williams. Daniel Geale took his daughter to school hours after beating Anthony Mundine.
World: Israeli jets have struck at Syrian targets in a deliberate intervention in the war there.
Business: Woolworths says it must ramp up its drive for customers in the supermarket war against rival Coles.
Sport: Johnathan Thurston could miss Origin game one because of the birth of his first child.
THE AGE
Page 1: The surprise arrest of beleaguered MP Craig Thomson has sent shockwaves through the federal government. Police believe CCTV footage might hold the key to catching the killer of a man felled by a single punch outside a Melbourne nightclub in 2007. The chief of Victoria's embattled building watchdog awarded a $10 million contract to a firm part-owned by a friend and former business associate, despite his own expert panel advising against the move.
Page 2: Victoria's prisons are Australia's most violent, recording the highest rate of serious assaults. If the Victorian teachers' pay claim is successful, it will cost the state $13 billion, the government says. A study of the anti-terror provisions granted to ASIO has shown they have not led to any prosecutions and should be repealed.
Page 3: Patients are being urged to check their medical records after evidence of hospital staff making dangerous and costly mistakes. A leading rabbi is being sued in Jewish courts over controversial comments he made about child sex abuse. The St Kilda jetty is falling apart and needs to be demolished. The federal government has promised to block coal developments that would cause unacceptable damage to the Great Barrier Reef. Professor Allan Fels has recommended taxi customers be compensated for cabs that don't arrive on time.
World: Former US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has urged lawmakers to take action on guns.
Business: Woolworths plans to counter its rival Coles' heavy discounting strategy.
Sport: Black Caviar is set to return to Caulfield with a leisurely gallop on Saturday.
THE HERALD SUN
Page 1: Former Labor MP Craig Thomson will face court in Melbourne on 149 fraud charges.
Page 2: A western suburbs school has defended its decision to send students home for wearing the wrong uniform. The man accused of murdering Jill Meagher has been transferred into detective custody. Australia's drug watchdog will review the safety of the popular birth control and acne treatment Diane-35 after it was banned in France.
Page 3: Most of Victoria's state MPs would get a big bump in their superannuation under a secret deal being discussed between Labor and the coalition. Young models strutted their stuff in Myer's Melbourne city store in the hope of being chosen to share the catwalk with Jennifer Hawkins.
World: Israel has intervened in the Syrian civil war with an air strike on a convoy of missiles bound for Lebanon.
Business: Whitehaven Coal has cut its profit forecast.
Sport: Victoria's wealthy AFL clubs will fight against the league's plan to introduce a luxury tax to help poorer teams.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER
Page 1: First-term frontbencher Steven Marshall is set to become state Liberal leader after Isobel Redmond's shock resignation.
Page 3: Bored, distracted and inattentive students are the biggest problem facing teachers in South Australian classrooms.
World: Israeli aircraft have struck "centres for scientific research" near Damascus, killing two people and wounding five, the Syrian army says.
Business: Australia's energy storage market is set to grow more than 10 times to about 3000MW by 2030 as technological advances profoundly change the way we use electricity in our homes and businesses, a new report says.
Sport: Port Adelaide will seek to re-educate every member of its staff on the use of illicit drugs in a bid to be on the cutting edge in football's war against escalating drug use.
