POLITICS & POLICY

Synthetic gas producer Cougar Energy Ltd (ASX: CXY) announced on Tuesday that a workable deal has been struck with the Queensland state government over the company’s shuttered underground coal gasification (UCG) facilities in the state’s South Burnett region.

Miners are threatening to restart anti-tax campaign, potentially bringing back the controversy over the government's resource levy.

Australia’s business leaders need to unite and throw their support on the initiative that would set a price on carbon and establish an emission trading scheme in the country as the head of a giant property company asserted that climate change should be a dominant agenda of both business and political leaders.

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has said his government will start the process to compulsory take land in the Kimberley for the development of a $30 billion gas precinct.

Tasmanian opposition leaders have been wondering why the government is taking too long in establishing the independent panel tasked to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s electricity industry.

Julia Gillard vowed not to allow an alliance with the Greens party to change her plans for a tax on miners' profits.

South Africa is not about to follow the lead of the Labor-led Australian government as the country’s mines minister ruled out the possibility of a new mining tax similar to the proposed minerals resource rent tax, now in limbo as politicians struggle to form a government out of a hung parliament.

Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said on Wednesday that negotiations with traditional land owners in the Kimberley area has essentially bogged down and the state may have to compulsorily allocate land to be used by the proposed $30 billion LNG gas station.

West Australia Premier Colin Barnett shot down a university report that contends tourism in Kimberley would suffer once a planned LNG processing hub is established there.

The State government of Victoria supported 59 policy changes suggested by the Bushfires Royal Commission. The final report of last year's devastating bushfires was released last month and carried 67 suggested policy changes.

Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese said on Thursday that lingering uncertainties may continue to hound further growth of the resource industry but he assured that despite the hurdles, the sector’s long-term prospect remains strong.

The Independent bloc urged Treasury to assess the the election promises made by the Tony Abbott's Coalition and Julia Gillard's Labor.

As the government, the opposition and the independent MPs are set to gather in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss the creation of a working parliament, business leaders in Queensland have voiced out their concerns that a hung parliament could prove indifferent to the business community.

Independents Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor, and Bob Katter hold a very crowded list of interest groups that are wanting to discuss with them. The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has just joined in.

Independent MP Tony Windsor of New South Wales says the financial markets will continue activities while a new government is being formed.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Monday that she is duty-bound to honor the agreement she forged with the mining industry on the minerals resource rent tax just before the federal election.

Rural housing may just boom with the Federal Independents.

With a deadlocked election results and a prospect of no definite government in place for a few more days, CommSec said that Australia may be in for some overhauls which could render an uncertain market conditions, temper the ambitious NBN project and finally seal the demise of the polarising mining tax.

Three of the biggest southeast Queensland councils have to recover more than $32 million in unpaid rates and charges. The overdue rates have been outstanding for at least three years and are not the subject of court action.

Investors sent Australian telco giant Telstra (ASX: TLS) shares down more than 6 per cent to a record low as prospects of a hung parliament cast doubts about the future of its broadband plans and the wider telecommunications industry.

Uncertainty surrounding the election outcome is providing no clear future for the national broadband network or Telstra (ASX: TLS).

The unions presses on against WorkChoices even if the nation apparently expressed doubts over the Labor party's capability to run the economy.

The health care industry hopes for a new government that would listen.

The Australian dollar and the share market are expected to go down further this week as the Labor party and the Coalition begin efforts to form a hung government.

The Labor Party bought more airtime for television advertisements than the Coalition. The advertisements from both camps, though, carried negative messages.

Labor's Julia Gillard offers male voters a tempting forthnight-long paid leave. The incentive, though, comes with a catch. One has to be the father of a new born.

Doctors may just have to be patient before recommending kidney dialysis. A recent study shows that proper monitoring of patients suffering from kidney malfunctions results in the same conditions experienced by patients placed under early dialysis.

World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) chair Michael Day disclosed the advice amidst talks that many Australian veterinarians are over vaccinating pets. He said the problem of unnecessary vaccinations is being compounded by labels on the vaccine bottles. Labels carry the prescription that the contents can be used annually.

A group of university economists issued an open letter on Monday praising the Labor-led federal government for its outstanding handling of the Australian economy during the height of the global financial crisis, which they said saved the country from sliding into the pit of recession.