Your morning Briefing: Ports, mines targeted in CFMEU hit

Your 2-minute digest of the morning’s top stories and must-reads.

Good morning readers. Well-paid wharfies are set to strike, and Tomic lashes Lleyton after crashing out of the Australian Open.

Wongawilli Colliery picket line near Dapto south of Sydney. (Front left to right) Marty Childs 0414842434 and Brendon Elliott 0422463488 with fellow protestors outside the mine.(THE AUSTRALIAN/Simon Bullard)

Ports, mines strike hit

Wharfies earning up to $150,000 a year for working 33 hours a week will launch industrial action at Hutchison Ports Australia this week, condemning the loss-­making stevedore’s bid to cut their pay and conditions as the “most severe attack on waterfront conditions in a generation”.

The head of the Transport Workers Union in NSW, meantime, faces internal protests over audited accounts that show he received a 38 per cent pay rise over two years, while other full-time officials and truck driver members received as little as 1.5 per cent a year over the same period.

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The Opal Tower (left) is seen at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Monday, December 25, 2018. More than 200 people have been evacuated from a 36-story high-rise building amid fears the structure could collapse. Emergency services were called to the Opal Tower on Monday afternoon following reports residents of the building had heard cracking sounds throughout the morning. (AAP Image/Dylan Coker) NO ARCHIVING

Beam doubts

Engineers investigating defects at Sydney’s Opal Tower have raised doubts about errors in the design of key horizontal support beams. As an interim report into the cracking of concrete panels that triggered two evacuations of the building is expected to be released, investigators disagree as to whether the grade of reinforced concrete used in the support beams was strong enough to withstand the pressure of precast concrete panels installed on top of them.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: British Prime Minister, Theresa May arrives at Downing Street on January 14, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***

Last gasp

British Prime Minister Theresa May has delivered “a hand of history’’ speech in her final salvo to rescue the flawed Brexit Withdrawal Bill that faces a calamitous defeat tomorrow morning (AEDT). But the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was unimpressed at her last stance oratory and hinted he would bring about a vote of no confidence in the Conservative government immediately after the Brexit bill decision.

“The government is in disarray; it is time for a general election.’’

Jeremy Corbyn

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HBF Health managing director John Van der Wielen 2.jpg

Poor health

Australia’s health insurance sector is in a downward performance trend, warn industry leaders, as the spotlight on insurers is set to intensify during the federal election campaign. The stock price of the listed health insurance companies — Medibank and NIB — are off about 30 per cent from their peaks.

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Australia's Bernard Tomic hits a return against Croatia's Marin Cilic during their men's singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 14, 2019. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE --

Tomic serve

Bernard Tomic has levelled an extraordinary critique of Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, accusing him of abusing the system as ructions within the playing ranks exploded to the surface. Speaking after a 6-2 6-4 7-6 (3) loss to last year’s Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic, the Queenslander opted to vent his anger at the manner in which he alleges the former world No. 1 is manipulating the local wildcard system.

“It’s all Lleyton. I’m going to say it honestly — no one likes him anymore.”

Bernard Tomic

American superstar Serena Williams and six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic headline the action at Melbourne Park on a day where another scorcher is predicted, with local hope Nick Kyrgios also featuring. Keep up with all the action in our live Australian Open blog.

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Johannes Leak’s view

Johannes Leak Letters Cartoon for 15-01-19 Version: Letters Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.