Court settles $200M row with win for magnates

Two of Australia's wealthiest people, Gina Rinehart and fellow iron ore magnate Angela Bennett, look set to recover up to $200 million from Rio Tinto in mining royalties, according to The Australian.

It is a major win for the two women, who put their own bitter legal and business feuds aside to join forces in the action.

Palmer lashes out at AEC after registering party

Clive Palmer is closer to fulfilling his political ambitions after applying to register the Palmer United Party with the Australian Electoral Commission on Monday, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Palmer changed the name from the United Australia Party to the Palmer United Party on Sunday after advice it may clash with a Queensland-based party, Uniting Australia Party.

However, the Mineralogy chairman, who says he will stand for the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax, has accused the AEC of being “unlawful and undemocratic” after knocking back his original application, which had more than 700 signatures rather than the 550 required.

Aurizon opens door to buying state holding

Aurizon chief executive Lance Hockridge has left the door open to acquiring the remainder of the Queensland government’s stake in the rail group after confirming talks to sell a minority stake in its rail tracks business, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The company’s shares rose 1.6% to a record high of $4.34 after it unveiled plans to open the networks business to minority investors and pursue $3 billion of fresh debt.

Aurizon declined to specify how much equity it could sell in the business, which generates returns from providing access to tracks for coal haulers.

However, analysts speculate it will offload about 25%, which would generate at least $1.3 billion in cash, according to Goldman Sachs.