Super giant to reduce its stake in Ausgrid

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 18 : 30-Jun-21

Industry superannuation fund AustralianSuper proposes to reduce its stake in electricity distribution company Ausgrid from 25.2 per cent to about 10 per cent. AustralianSuper and IFM Investors paid $16bn for about 50 per cent of Ausgrid in 2016, as part of the New South Wales government’s privatisation program. AustralianSuper and IFM each have a right of first offer over any sale by the other of their Ausgrid holdings; AustralianSuper is in turn one of the largest shareholders in IFM.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, AUSGRID PTY LTD

Part-timers win in award flexibility

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jun-21

Part-time retail workers currently earn over-time if they work longer than their set roster, even if their roster is only five hours a week. They can only waive overtime if they agree in writing to alter their roster. Employer groups have previously called for the rules to be changed, arguing it makes them tend to favour casuals over part-time employees. The Fair Work Commission has heeded the call of employer groups and has announced that part-time retail workers can work extra hours without over-time just by sending a text message to their boss, and will change the retail award to that effect as from 1 July.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Not so foolish after all: ‘fool’s gold’ contains a newly discovered type of real gold

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Original article by Denis Fougerouse
theconversation.com – Page: Online : 29-Jun-21

Pyrite has long been known as ‘fool’s gold’ because of its resemblance to the precious metal, but pyrite crystals do actually contain small amounts of real gold. Gold hidden within pyrite is sometimes referred to as ‘invisible gold’, and researchers have recently discovered a third, previously unrecognised way that gold can "lurk" inside pyrite. Their discovery may help gold miners to more efficiently extract gold from pyrite, thereby reducing emissions, as well as providing interesting insights into how mineral deposits form.

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PM opens vaccines to under-40s

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Original article by Greg Brown, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: Online : 29-Jun-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has disclosed a plan for compulsory vaccination for aged care workers by September, following a meeting of national cabinet on 28 June. The meeting also agreed that people under the age of 40 would be able to join the vaccine rollout and receive the AstraZeneca jab, while Morrison said the federal government would offer doctors indemnity for giving vaccines to anyone under 60. Twenty-three new COVID-19 cases in Australia were reported on 28 June, with 18 being in NSW, while the Northern Territory government extended the snap lockdown of the Darwin region until 2 July after a new case was reported in the NT.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ASTRAZENECA PLC

Mine workers locked down amid NT scare

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 29-Jun-21

Newmont Corporation is facing a lengthy shutdown of its Tanami gold mine in the Northern Territory, as a result of it having gone into lockdown. The lockdown resulted from a miner who is believed to have become infected while in a Queensland quarantine hotel, before unknowingly passing it on to his colleagues at the mine between 18 and 24 June. Around 640 miners are currently locked down at Tanami; they are being confined to their single-room quarters for 14 days and having meals delivered to their door. The Tanami mine produced 495,000 ounces of gold in 2020.

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NEWMONT AUSTRALIA LIMITED

NRL players under tight COVID-19 restrictions, State of Origin III may be moved from Sydney

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Original article by
abc.net au – Page: Online : 29-Jun-21

The Australian Rugby League Commission will meet on 29 June to decide how to progress the NRL competition in the wake of the current COVID-19 situation. Four Sydney clubs are preparing for matches without crowds, but could find themselves being moved after the meeting. Players and officials have been placed on level four biosecurity protocols, which include restrictions such as not having visitors to their home, while the ARLC needs to decide whether to move the third State of Origin match on 14 July from Sydney. Newcastle is an option if it wants to keep the game in NSW, while Gold Coast and Melbourne are interstate options.

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AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE COMMISSION LIMITED, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Statewide, Hostplus in tie-up talks

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 : 29-Jun-21

Superannuation funds Statewide Super and Hostplus have confirmed they are discussing a merger that would create a fund with assets of $77 billion. Statewide Super is based in Adelaide and has assets of $10.8 billion, while Hostplus has assets of $66 billion and has traditionally focused on workers in the hospitality, tourism, recreation and sports sectors. It recently announced plans to merge with the $3 billion Intrust Super, while the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority suggested in May that any super fund with assets under $30 billion would become increasingly uncompetitive against so-called megafunds.

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STATEWIDE SUPERANNUATION PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, INTRUST SUPER FUND, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Metcash swings back into the black

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Original article by Valerina Changarathil
The Australian – Page: 15 : 29-Jun-21

Grocery, hardware and liquor wholesaler Metcash released its results for the year to 30 April on 28 June, with Metcash reporting an after tax profit of $239 million. This compared to a loss of $56.8 million for the previous corresponding period, while underlying profit jumped 27 per cent to $252.7 million. Revenue was up almost 10 per cent to $14.3 billion, while operating cash flow increased from $117.5 million to $457.5 million. Metcash declared a dividend of $0.095, while it announced an off-market share buyback of about $175 million.

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METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS

Nine was intent on destroying war hero

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Original article by Kieran Gair
The Australian – Page: 5 : 29-Jun-21

Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith is suing Nine Entertainment over newspaper articles that appeared in 2018 that allege he committed or was complicit in murders on deployments to Afghanistan, and that he assaulted a woman in 2018. Former Liberal defence minister and Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson told the Federal Court on 28 June that the general public idolised Roberts-Smith, while Nelson claimed that the journalists who wrote the articles in question were "intent on bringing him down". The court also heard the case may have to be paused because of the impact of Sydney’s two-week lockdown on the availability of interstate witnesses.

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NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

Chinese seize African iron projects

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 29-Jun-21

Chinese-backed company AustSino Resources has emerged as the likely developer of a number of iron ore projects in the African countries of Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The former ASX-listed company has connections to state-owned Chinese enterprises like China Railway Construction and steelmaker Baowu, while the projects in question would add around 100 million tonnes of iron ore to global markets and could help China to reduce its dependence on Western Australia’s Pilbara region for iron ore.

CORPORATES
AUSTSINO RESOURCES GROUP LIMITED, CHINA RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION LIMITED, BAOWU