Hockey puts tax white paper on hold; Gina Rinehart’s legal bid to see House of Hancock first: Midday roundup

The federal government will delay the release of its tax white paper in a bid to first recover from poor polling and leadership instability, according to Fairfax.

The move is part of a broader strategy to build a case for change prior to developing legislation – a factor Coalition MPs have cited as one of the reasons for their discontent with the Prime Minister’s leadership.

The tax white paper will be delayed until after the release of the 2015 intergenerational report, which focuses on demographic changes and the implications for economic growth.

Treasurer Joe Hockey told The Australian Financial Review the intergenerational report will help shape the direction of the tax white paper.

“Our tax system has the potential to help us deal with some of the challenges the IGR will highlight,” he said.

Gina Rinehart makes bid to see House of Hancock first

Mining heiress Gina Rinehart is taking legal action to obtain a copy of the second and final episode of the biopic made about her family’s life before it screens on Channel Nine this Sunday, reports Fairfax.

Rinehart’s lawyer, Tom Blackburn, made an application for urgent preliminary discovery against Nine Entertainment Company this morning, with Rinehart requesting to view the program to see if there were grounds for an urgent injunction to prevent the series final from going to air.

More than 2 million viewers tuned in to watch the first episode of the series last Sunday. After it aired, Rinehart’s camp released a statement damning Channel Nine.

“Channel Nine has seemingly gone out of its way to cause undue damage and upset to those currently living and the memory of those no longer with us,” said Tad Watroba, executive director Hancock Prospecting.

“Despite repeatedly bringing it to Nine CEO David Gyngell’s attention, many scenes broadcast last night were fictitious, unfounded or grossly distorted, and some simply never occurred.”

Shares up on open

Aussie shares have traded higher this morning, following strong leads from international markets.

Tristan K’Nell, head of trading at Quay Equities, said in a statement the share market had a “huge start” to trading by erasing the past four days of losses.

“Local shares rallied on a combination of the ceasefire deal between Russia and the Ukraine lessening geopolitical risk, a crude oil bounce boosting our oil and energy players, while Rio Tinto’s reporting also boosted sentiment in our resource sector,” he said.

“Market turnover into lunch was strong at $1.769 billion. I think the afternoon session will see some selling given a huge outperformance this morning.”

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was up 111.5 points to 5855.1 points at 11.27am AEDT. On Thursday, the Dow Jones closed 110.24 points higher, up 0.62% to 17,972.38 points.