Business

EmploymentQld’s bucket list plan to save jobs

As Queensland’s unemployment rate surges to the worst in the nation and the local tourism industry crumbles, there’s a new plan for holiday-makers that could save thousands of jobs.

MATTHEW KILLORAN, MICHAEL WRAY

Farm expansionJohn Nicoletti snaps up new farms in $30m buying spree

WA grain king John Nicoletti went on a $30 million farm buying spree in 2019, despite making plans the prior year to retire from farming.

Jenne Brammer

Luxury lobbyIs this Perth’s most expensive entrance?

A $16 million refurbishment of the Central Park towers lobby has been completed following a fierce battle to attract and retain tenants.

Kim Macdonald

CITY BEATQueensland cement giant tops list for best returns

A Brisbane-based cement industry giant has topped the list of the nation’s 2000 biggest firms for generating the best results for stakeholders. See what other Queensland companies made the cut.

Anthony Marx

Blackstone beefs up drilling fleet in Vietnam nickel hunt

ASX-listed base metals developer, Blackstone Minerals, has further strengthened its drilling and geophysics armoury on the ground in Vietnam as it ramps up exploration at its 90 per cent-owned historic Ta Khoa nickel-copper-PGM project, 160km west of Hanoi.

Matt Birney

Refinance planGascoyne could be back on ASX next month

As administrators flag a $125m funding package for the collapsed miner that will provide for its recapitalisation.

Stuart McKinnon

St George onto new deep EM nickel targets at Mt Alexander

St George Mining’s deep drilling program at Mt Alexander in WA has continued to meet with success. Initial results from the Investigators and Cathedrals targets confirm the nickel-bearing Cathedrals structure extends to more than 500 metres depth according to the company.

Matt Birney

Ardea strikes gold in maiden drill program at Aphrodite

ASX-listed Ardea Resources has received plenty of encouragement from the first RC drilling the company has undertaken at its Aphrodite North gold project, 80km north of Kalgoorlie, with significant gold hits encountered in what it says are newly defined mineralised lodes.

Matt Birney

EXCLUSIVERevealed: Every SA business gone bust in 2020

Read the full list of South Australian companies that have gone to the wall in 2020, as experts warn ‘zombie businesses’ propped up by lenient regulations are dragging otherwise healthy firms down with them.

David Mills and Cathryn McLauchlan

Shock exitTim Gossage given the axe in Ten cuts

Channel Ten sports presenter Tim Gossage has emerged as the latest veteran journalist to get the chop as part of the network’s sweeping cost cuts.

Investor angerRebels pressure BHP for stop order at heritage sites

An investor activist group has called for a vote on the Big Australian placing a moratorium on mining activities at cultural heritage sites until laws that protect them are strengthened.

Stuart McKinnon

DEVASTATINGFlight Centre boss’s new demands after $475m loss

Queensland travel giant Flight Centre has revealed the eye-watering amount it has refunded Aussie customers as its CEO calls for a plan to live with COVID-19.

Hayden Johnson

‘Outrageous abuse of power’Melbourne columnist slams McGowan over Palmer stoush

A News Corp columnist has weighed into the Clive Palmer debate — backing the mining magnate while accusing the McGowan Government of “the single most outrageous abuse of power in Australian history”.

Investors applaudWage subsidies, rent rebellion pad Premier’s profit

The retailer — which includes well-known brands Peter Alexander, Smiggles, Portmans and dotti — is in for a COVID-19 windfall despite a huge sales slump.

Sean Smith

‘Nazi’ outrage‘D***head’ Palmer ‘spitting on graves of diggers’

The Jewish community has slammed Clive Palmer for ‘making a d***head of himself’ and ‘weaponising the Holocaust’ after the Queensland billionaire likened the McGowan Government to Nazi Germany today.

Caitlyn Rintoul

Drought, fires, virusQBE shares up as first-half loss short of forecast

Investors have raised the share price of QBE by 7 per cent after its first-half net loss was not quite as bad as forecast.

Steven Deare

New boardWA a winner in new grains industry body

Two prominent West Australian farmers will make up Grains Australia’s new five-strong board.

Jenne Brammer

Time to shineGold rally resets price floor, says glowing Evolution

Evolution boss Jake Klein says the global environment is still primed for the precious metal to go even higher as his company reports record profit off the back of this year’s price rally.

Stuart McKinnon

Worst marketWest Perth exodus adds to Perth office vacancy misery

COVID lockdowns and the work-from-home revolution has seen employers review their office space needs.

Sean Smith

Big guns join fightFormer Virgin Blue bosses who could thwart airline sale

Two Queenslanders are among a raft of well-known airline executives working to keep Virgin Australia in Aussie hands by stopping its sale to an American investment giant.

Hayden Johnson

Green lightHuge $98m Cockburn hotel, apartment tower plan approved

Cockburn Central’s transformation into a vibrant southern suburbs hub is about to take another huge step forward with a $98 million hotel and apartment development getting the green light.

Ben Smith