THE NEWS WRAP: Fight over the NBN ramps up

The fight over the National Broadband Network is ramping up, with the government set to fast-track high-speed broadband to rural areas.

The move, which could aid small businesses in regional Australia, is being fiercely opposed by the Coalition, with new opposition broadband spokesman Malcolm Turnbull given the brief to ‘demolish’ the scheme. 

Carbon price urged

A tax on business’ carbon should be introduced, rather than an emission trading scheme, according to the boss of mining giant BHP Biliton.

Marius Kloppers said that any carbon tax proceeds should be ‘revenue neutral’ and put back into businesses by cutting tax.

Business draws up wish list

The Business Council of Australia has set out what it thinks should be the priorities of the Gillard government, with the lobby group’s head defending the need for high immigration to plug skills and labour gaps.

Twitter revamp

Micro-blogging network Twitter has overhauled its offering, with users now able to view pictures and videos on the site without having to visit external websites.

Overnight

The Australian dollar remained strong overnight, hitting a two-year high of US 94.57c overnight, boosted by economic uncertainly in the US.