THE NEWS WRAP: Telstra won’t renegotiate NBN deal under an Abbott government

Telstra chief executive David Thodey has ruled out renegotiating its $11 billion NBN compensation deal with a future Coalition government.

“We have a contract with the government and we know what value we need to participate. And that’s really the end of the story. In terms of the value our shareholders agreed to receive from the government and NBN Co, the deal has not changed,” Thodey told The Australian.

Shadow communications minister Malcolm Turnbull welcomed Thodey’s comments, claiming the Coalition’s alternative fibre-to-the-node rollout would see Telstra shareholders paid decommissioning fees sooner.

Bernie Fraser slams the big four banks over their mortgage rates

Former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser has slammed the big four banks, claiming that while they have room to cut rates, they are placing shareholder interest ahead of their customers in not doing so.

”It’s a question of the relative priority they attach to their shareholders and their customers. That’s been the case right through the recent period when they haven’t always passed on all the RBA moves,” Mr Fraser said.

”I used to think that you could get competition with four good competitors, but they’re not sort of demonstrating that belief of mine, really. I live in hope that one will take a lead one way and do something a bit more dramatic and that will spark a bit more real competition.”

Coalition government to target building unions

Shadow industrial relations minister Eric Abetz is considering introducing policies targeting militant unions in the construction industry if it wins this year’s election.

Possible changes include the reintroduction of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, along with a possible national rollout of Victorian policies preventing companies with union deals bidding for major government infrastructure contracts.

“We are monitoring what Victoria and the other states are doing in this area, and we will have more to say on a building code closer to the election,” Abetz told The Australian.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.2% to 14089.7. The Aussie dollar is down to US101.97 cents.