THE NEWS WRAP: Senior Labor MP calls on Swan to rethink budget surplus aim

A senior Labor MP has called on the Federal Government to “give up” its pledge to return the budget to surplus, claiming that the Australian public would understand if there was another deficit.

Joel Fitzgibbon said that the government should rethink its bid to achieve a slender budget surplus in the next financial year, given weaker than expected GDP figures and falling interest rates.

Tinkler faces sporting tax bill

Mining magnate Nathan Tinkler’s financial woes have deepened, with his NRL and A-League sporting teams at risk of being wound up.

The Australian Taxation Office has applied to wind up Tinkler’s Hunter Sports Group, the Newcastle Knights and the Newcastle Jets over a $2.7 million tax debt.

Barcode inventor dies

The investor of the barcode, who came up with the ubiquitous system in the 1940s, has died aged 91.

Norman Joseph Woodland’s invention was first used for a pack of chewing gum in 1972. He patented the barcode, although it was later sold for just $15,000.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.56% to 13,170.72. The Australian dollar was down to US105.24 cents.