THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
The Takeovers Panel is set to reform its guidelines ahead of an expected surge in disputes in merger and acquisition deals due to the financial crisis. The panel is looking at simplifying its written guidelines on issues including funding and rights issues so that decision makers can read it directly rather than have it interpreted by a lawyer, according to Takeovers Panel president Simon McKeon. Mr McKeon warns that the smaller numbers of deals at present meant that there is more time and opportunity for disputes. Page 1.
Property group Stockland is today expected to announce a A$1.5 billion capital raising, its second in only six months. The raising, which is being advised by Deutsche Bank, is to be priced at between A$2.60 and A$2.70, a discount to yesterday's closing price of A$3.35. The capital will provide firepower as Stockland seeks a merger with rival GPT, in which it already has a 12.7 percent holding. 'A merger between us makes a lot of sense,' says Stockland chief executive Matthew Quinn. Page 1.
Prime Minster Kevin Rudd said yesterday that a record share of loans to first-home buyers in March showed that the government was committed to reducing the impact of the global recession. The 27.3 percent rise in the number of first-home buyer loans helped increase the total number of home loans for March by 4.9 percent. RBC Capital Markets economist Su-Lin Ong says the federal boost to the first-home owners' grant and low interest rates had 'clearly lent support to the lower end of the housing market.' Page 3.
New South Wales Finance Minister Joe Tripodi said yesterday that a number of overseas investors were interested in participating in the state's proposed A$6 billion energy privatisation scheme. Mr Tripodi made the claim following a 21-day overseas tour aimed at marketing the retail energy sell-off. However, UBS analyst David Leitch said it was crystal clear that there was 'far more value in the existing assets to the local players than to anyone else,' with energy companies AGL and Origin Energy considered to be front runners in the bidding. Page 4.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
County Fire Authority chief officer Russell Rees could not give an explanation why Strathewen, in Victoria, had not been warned of the imminent fire danger on the day the Black Saturday bushfires killed 27 people in the small township. Mr Rees told the royal commission yesterday that he could not answer why the town had not been warned despite fire experts accurately predicting the path of the firewall. 'The lack of warning is what killed so many people,' said Strathewen resident Faye Park. Page 15.
The principal of a regional Catholic college in Toowoomba, Queensland, has been charged with allegedly failing to inform police of a suspected case of child abuse in 2007. The principal, who cannot be named, is understood to have confronted the teacher responsible for the alleged abuse, but later accepted a written denial. The teacher, who also served at the school as a child protection officer, was arrested last November following a direct complaint to the police by another student. The principal was yesterday granted bail and will reappear in court on July 7.
Page 17.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
The New South Wales Government will today announce a deal with James Packer's Perisher Blue that will allow the development of a new 800-bed village in the alpine resort. Premier Nathan Rees said yesterday that the development would create over 1300 jobs during its construction and attract A$112 million in capital investment. The 40-year agreement will see 10 separate leases amalgamated into one. David Read, of the Ski Lodges Organisation of Perisher, Smiggins and Guthega, said the village would breathe a bit of life into Perisher in the summer months. Page 1.
Australian medical researchers have identified a number of man-made compounds that prevent the build up of an enzyme responsible for heart disease. Martin Rees, of the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, says the enzyme, which also gives nasal mucus its green hue, gets dumped in our arteries during heart disease. Mr Rees and his team have discovered 11 synthetic compounds that can neutralise the enzyme's disinfectant properties, which are responsible for the damage to heart arteries. Page 3.
The chief investigating officer in the case of a disabled woman who fell to her death while picnicking on a cliff in the Blue Mountains told the coroner's court yesterday that she may have been pushed. Sarah Rawson, 25, died while on a date with Shawn Mullen in 2006. Detective Senior Constable Jason Howe said that Mr Mullen, who had a history of mental illness, may have pushed Ms Rawson after a possible rejection of his sexual advances. However, Detective Howe also conceded that Ms Rawson may have also just slipped. Page 3.
Three men linked to Australian outlaw motorcycle gang the Bandidos have been arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping and assault of a 27-year-old man last month. Officers from the anti-bikie unit Strike Force Raptor raided four homes in Sydney suburbs Guilford, Merrylands and Auburn yesterday. Paul Younan, 27, a former Nomads member who allegedly defected to the Bandidos, has been charged with kidnapping and assault and will appear in court today. Page 3.
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is set to introduce random tests for alcohol and drug use across a broad range of airline industry workers. Pilots, air traffic controllers, baggage handlers, flight attendants, aircraft engineers, refuellers and ground staff will all be tested. Under the system anybody found with a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.02 percent, or any trace of drugs, would be immediately stood down. 'All the key players in the industry have signed up,' CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said yesterday. Page 2.
Representatives of the Victorian police and Metropolitan Fire Brigade are to travel to India to brief students on safety issues when in Australia. The tour, which has been organised by Victoria University, has been prompted by increasing safety fears following a rise in robberies targeting Indian students. A spokesperson for Victoria Police says most of the assaults are based on opportunity. However, Nazeem Hussain, of the Islamic Council of Victoria, says racism is the primary cause of the attacks. Page 3.
The directors of a Melbourne go-kart centre, which was yesterday fined A$1.4 million over the death of a patron in 2006, will never be held accountable, according to Judge Duncan Allen. Lydia Carter, 51, died when her kart crashed into a barrier which was not properly installed. Judge Allen said that it was 'most unfortunate' that the directors of Auscarts, who were 'fully aware of the risk,' will not be held to account for the tragedy, or pay the record fine, as the company has since gone into liquidation. Page 5.
Australians are enjoying the cheapest air travel in more than a decade due to the discounting of airfares, according to a leading online travel agent. Webjet has calculated that international fares are 40 percent cheaper and domestic fares 20 percent less expensive than the same time last year. Managing director David Clarke said a fall in demand for non-economy class tickets, increased capacity, a drop in tourist numbers and greater competition were all factors that had contributed to the discounting. Page 8.
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