WA Today: Labor launches election campaign

Alan Carpenter has promised a new $850 million rail line to Ellenbrook as Labor officially launched its campaign. Mr Carpenter said the new line would begin construction in 2012 before it was completed in 2015 if Labor was re-elected. He also promised a $100 million rapid transport route down Alexander Drive, originating at Gnangara Drive and ending up at Wellington Station. The route would use automatic trams.

Bus routes would also be boosted by an $85 million boost to expand services and under a re-elected Labor government 30 new rail cars would be purchased to boost the capacity of the rail system by 40 per cent, Mr Carpenter said.

Federal Climate Change minster Penny Wong introduced Mr Carpenter describing him as "a beacon of leadership". One of Mr Carpenter's key focuses was to highlight the Liberals plan to allow uranium mining.

The West: Premier pledges $1.1 billion transport expansion

Premier Alan Carpenter today unveiled a $1.1 billion expansion of Perth’s public transport system. Speaking at the Labor Party’s election launch at Perth’s Convention Centre, Mr Carpenter pledged that a re-elected Labor government would build a new rail line to the north-eastern suburb of Ellenbrook.

SMH: Power sale sees both sides running for cover

THE debacle that has become Labor's bid to sell the NSW power network continued to forge unlikely alliances over the weekend with neither party able to maintain a unified front.

The Opposition Leader, Barry O'Farrell, was forced yesterday to explain away the apparent support of the sale by two prominent colleagues, federal frontbencher Tony Abbott and NSW leadership aspirant Mike Baird. A spokesman for Mr O'Farrell said both had publicly supported privatisation in principle, but agreed with his position that now was not the right time to go ahead with the sale.

TV NZ: Fare shock for capital commuters

Wellington commuters using public transport face a fare price shock on Monday. Bus and train commuters in the capital will have to pay up to $1 more per trip. The Wellington Regional Council says the fare rises are a sad reality as it tries to cope with rising costs. "This represents about a 5% increase per year and lots of costs have gone up much higher than that, especially petrol," says Peter Glensor, Wellington Regional Councillor

The Age: 'Gateways' to solving city's gridlock

The Government needs to try new tactics to ease the pressure on Melbourne, writes David O'Brien.

One solution may not be to shut up shop on population growth in Victoria, but rather to ease the pressures on Melbourne as the state capital to be the primary accommodation for new housing developments. A greater focus on opportunities in regional centres can help develop them and support towns while taking infrastructure pressure off Melbourne.

NZ Herald: Tui oil sparks profit surge at NZOG - $97.2m for the year

New Zealand Oil & Gas has posted a surge in full year net profit to $97.2 million on the back of production from the Tui oilfields off the Taranaki coast. "This outstanding result was built on a combination of high oil prices and higher than expected production from Tui," NZOG said today.

The Australian:
Toll Holdin's Paul Little thrives on tough market

WHILE many businesses have been forced to curtail their investment activities in a bid to survive turbulent market conditions, Paul Little's Toll Holdings has made more than eight acquisitions in the past year.

In the 20 years since he took over the running of the transport and logistics group, Little's voracious appetite for buying new businesses -- most notably the hostile and protracted $6.2 billion takeover of Patrick Corporation in 2006 -- has seen Toll grow into one of Australia's largest publicly traded companies and become a household name.

The Age: Aussie gold output slumps

Gold production in Australia, the world's third-largest producer, slumped 13% in the June quarter as rising production costs constrained output from mines, Surbiton Associates Pty said.

Surging prices of raw materials, fuel and labor are raising costs for Australian mining companies, curbing expansion plans and curtailing new production. Australian output for the full year dropped 7% to its lowest in 19 years, Surbiton said.

Online Opinion: 'Peak Oil' drives urgent energy alternatives

Ian Dunlop

In the furore over increasing oil prices, the two words our leaders seem determined not to mention are “Peak Oil”. Having built our prosperity on cheap energy from fossil fuels, particularly oil, it is perhaps understandable that they cannot bring themselves to admit that business-as-usual is over as cheap energy disappears - first due to the need to address global warming, and second due to the peaking of global oil supply, which will probably have an even greater impact than global warming in the short term.

The Age: Toyota shelves goal of selling 10 mln vehicles

Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday slashed its 2009 sales forecast due to slowing demand, putting off its goal of becoming the world's first automaker to sell more than 10 million vehicles in a year.

Toyota, vying with General Motors to be the world number one, now aims to sell 9.7 million vehicles in 2009, down from a previous target of 10.4 million. That would mark a 2.1 percent rise compared with the current year.

The Age: Toyota to lease new fuel cell hybrid

Toyota Motor Corp says it will start leasing its new fuel cell hybrid next month as part of its efforts to encourage the widespread use of the zero-emission vehicles.

Japan's top automaker, which has already won strong interest in its fuel sipping petrol-electric hybrids, will lease one of its Toyota FCHV-adv vehicles to Japan's environment ministry.

Stuff.co.nz: Wrightson acquires fuel distribution networks

Rural Services company PGG Wrightson has cast its widening net over the fuel distribution sector, which it says will make it a one-stop shop for farmers.

NBR.co.nz: Petrol costs boost Queen city CBD rentals

Rising fuel costs may be driving the appeal of living closer to Auckland's central business district, according to Crockers Research. Rental levels in Ponsonby, Grey Lynn and Westmere have risen sharply over the past 12 months, and Remuera is also showing early stages of a similar surge - for two-bedroom properties.