Kiosko.net Today's newspapers

y Information liftout
Alarm over super IT savings plan. Plus: New market for film futures. Page 31

y Share schemes
Tax Office issues crucial ruling on employee share schemes. Page 3

y Industrial espionage
Why you and your business may be at risk. Work Space, page 58

y Gas plant disruption
Shell’s Arrow bid puts brakes on key Queensland project. Page 18

y Luxury Magazine
Gallery capital: Berlin masters the art of being poor but sexy. OUT FRIDAY

TUESDAY 16 MARCH 2010

www.afr.com

Price $3.00 (incl GST)

n Secret CSIRO study revealed

Labor under fire on broadband
David Crowe
Chief political correspondent

n Senators demand details

n Telstra vote faces delay

POLITICAL MOVES
‘The new head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has moved to reassert
a weakened department’s policymaking role.’ Tony Walker, page 61 Senators dismissed
the seven-page CSIRO report as a “pamphlet” that failed to make a convincing
case for the nation’s biggest infrastructure

A scientific study used to justify the Rudd government’s $43 billion national broadband
network cited Wikipedia to compare technologies and made no findings on cost, raising
new doubts about the project as the Senate yesterday delayed a crucial vote on the
reform.

Insulation detail hidden, page 4 Hypocrisy in the house, page 6 Demand for tax report,
page 8 Broadband debacle, page 63

project and raised questions about the quality of the evidence used to decide on
the policy. The concerns present another chal-

lenge to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy as he moved last night to postpone
legislation that would force Telstra to split its wholesale and retail operations
amid regulatory fears that have weighed on the company’s share price. The CSIRO
report, obtained by The Australian Financial Review under Freedom of Information
laws, devoted just five paragraphs to the tech-

nical design the government ultimately selected – and which added tens of billions
of dollars to the project cost. The cross-bench senators who would decide the government’s
reforms said the inadequate report highlighted the urgent need for Senator Conroy
to release a detailed impleT elstra bond issue, page 18 n

Continued page 6

Relief for investors in frozen funds
Nick Lenaghan
Tens of thousands of investors trapped in frozen unlisted property funds will have
the right to apply for redemptions following a ruling by the corporate regulator,
a move expected to provide a much-needed injection of confidence into the $20 billion
sector. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has confirmed
that relief provided to frozen mortgage funds, allowing fund managers to make a rolling
withdrawal offer to their unitholders, also applies to unlisted property funds. The
move potentially may affect a swathe of embattled unlisted property funds, including
those run by Charter Hall (formerly Macquarie), Centro, Westpac, Becton, and Orchard.
But it may make little difference to investors in the immediate short term, where
their fund simply does not have enough liquidity to allow redemptions. Robert Olde,
who heads industry body the Australian Direct Property Investment Association (ADPIA),
welcomed the relief, which ASIC is expected to communicate to fund managers at the
group’s annual conference this week. “By actually improving the posiContinued
page 55 Stockland downsizes houses, page 53 n

Henry warns big banks too powerful
John Kehoe
Treasury secretary Ken Henry has raised concerns about the increased market power
of the major banks and has said it is important that competition from smaller lenders
returns quickly. A week after the Reserve Bank of Australia exposed the big banks
for lifting their profit margins on loans, Dr Henry said the 0.25 percentage point
increase in net interest margins since the financial crisis struck was a “concern
to policymarkers”. “It’s true that the banking sector has become more concentrated
since the onset of the crisis,” he said. “The evidence suggests some diminution
of competitive pressure over the past couple of years.” Dr Henry also warned that
the expected further consolidation in the sector must lead to lower costs for consumers
and that as funding costs fell due to a recovery in global credit markets “benefits
should be passed on to customers, not shareholders”. The comments from the country’s
top economic bureaucrat give added credibility to Treasurer Wayne Swan’s criticism
of the banks for their rate increases above RBA rises. Dr Henry said if Australia
did not follow global moves to improve financial regulation, local institutions
Lending low in January, page 11 n

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday . . . he is supporting the move by nurses to
offer medical services.

Photo: AAP

Nurses undercut GPs in health battle
John Breusch and Khia Mercer
To understand why Louise Stewart has doctors so worried, take a look at what the
Perth businesswoman is undertaking: a cut-price sale. As the founder and owner of
the Revive chain of nurse practitioner clinics, Stewart is challenging the way family
medicine is delivered. She’s setting up clinics in shopping malls, employing nurses
over doctors and offering half-price introductory 15 l Markets 18 l Information ‘Whether
or not the states ultimately like his plan, it is going to be hard for them to knock
it back out of hand.’ Laura Tingle comment, page 7
H Funding woos premiers, page 7

discounts for check-ups and treating everyday ailments– and all with the backing
of the Rudd government. While Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is grabbing the headlines
31 l Enterprise

through his proposed shake-up of public hospitals, it’s what he’s doing in primary
care that is likely to be far more visible to most Australians. The Prime Minister
yesterday sought to beef up the front-line medical workforce by announcing a $632
million commitment to increase the training of general practitioners. At the same
time, legislation now before the Senate would for the first
Continued page 60

Continued page 10

Home delivery 1800 646 990

INDEX

l World l Companies

21 l Financial Services 47 l Property 50 l Letters

53 l Work Space 57 l Editorial


www.afr.com

A meal and a drink are just part of the service≥
Wine or beer on Perth CityFlyer flights after 12pm everyday. Qantas Airways Limited
ABN 16 009 661 901. QDB0210/AFR4

To make business travel more of a breeze for you, Qantas offers a meal or snack on
every flight. And after 4pm on weekday CityFlyer flights, you can also enjoy a
complimentary wine or beer from the bar. That’s the spirit.The Spirit of Australia.
qantas.com
SBA 001