Dan Wilkie

LANDCORP has reduced land prices at its major industrial estates in and around Perth by up to 25 per cent, and introduced more generous financing terms to try and encourage investment in the sector.

A $50 MILLION markets and restaurant precinct plan for Morley is the latest in a string of tourism-focused developments by the Strzelecki Group.

FREMANTLE City Council has confirmed the end of the long-running dispute over rents at Fremantle Markets.

THE historic goldmining town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder is closer to having a Hollywood experience after Western Australian investors provided initial funding for a $50 million film based on the life of CY O'Connor.

A REVIEW commissioned by the City of Perth has identified a range of shortcomings with its existing planning schemes.

LANDCORP believes it has a handle on the housing shortage in the Pilbara, despite negotiations being terminated on a significant residential development in Karratha.

National property developer Peet has announced strong results in its year end profit statement, with an operating profit after tax of $31.2 million, excluding revaluation of assets.

BALCATTA-BASED Orbital Engine Corporation has a history of creating business opportunities from innovative advancements in alternative fuels technology, but has chronically failed to turn its technical expertise into financial success.

COMPANY executives have called on the government to provide more certainty for public sector innovation funding.

Local executives joined a WA Business News forum to discuss ways to take innovative products into a competitive global market.

AS belts tighten across the board and budgets are intensely scrutinised, early stage company executives are finding it harder to attain the necessary capital to progress their projects.

THE state opposition spokesperson for science and innovation has called for major changes in the portfolio after a series of significant funding cuts.

WESTERN Australia may be an isolated state and its industry dominated by the resources sector, but that need not be a major issue for a technology firm entering the global marketplace.

With record increases in CBD office vacancies, major resources projects are tipped to prop up the market.

THE long-running dispute over rents at Fremantle Markets could be near an end, after an independent assessment indicated the markets' directors have been charging fair rents.

NATIONAL aged-care provider Regis Group has announced plans to build a 274-bed aged-care facility in Nedlands after it was unable to sell the site on Monash Avenue.

FIGURES released this week indicate Perth's property market is on the rebound, with an 18 per cent increase recorded in the number of land sales this year.

Top-end property sellers across Perth are feeling the pinch, discounting their homes heavily in order to make a sale in a normalising market.

LISTED Perth property developer Cedar Woods Properties has smashed its forecast profit for the year, booking net earnings of $9.3 million for the 2008-09 financial year.

INTERNATIONAL mining firm Downer EDI has launched a mobile equipment training facility that will be based in remote Western Australia as part of an initiative to increase its indigenous workforce.

Fremantle’s east end is in the spotlight, but there are questions over the most appropriate type of development for the area.

THE Diggers and Dealers mining forum got under way this week in Kalgoorlie-Boulder with a blast of optimism from a renowned international economist, and the prevailing mood of the delegates reflected the buoyancy in the rising commodities sector.

Mirabela Nickel has announced a major milestone with production starting at its Santa Rita open-cut nickel mine in Brazil.

THE owners of Kingsway City shopping centre in Madeley are "reasonably confident" of gaining the necessary approvals to redevelop the site, after the Supreme Court ruled the State Administrative Tribunal would have to re-examine the proposal.

THE redevelopment of Subi Centro is entering a new phase, with three mixed-use projects in the northern part of the suburb moving closer to construction.

Debra Goostrey relishes the daily challenges of her professional life, and wants to help other women build their careers.

THE tough conditions experienced by developers during the past six months have been reflected in half-yearly results, with major property developers Australand and Port Bouvard announcing significant losses.

PART of the third stage of the contentious Pretty Pool development at Port Hedland has been stalled by the environmental watchdog, which ruled it threatened a nesting site for flatback turtles.

Investors are returning to the market as the first homebuyer boost nears its end.

THE Urban Development Institute of Australia hopes the state government's funding of a study of Carnaby's black cockatoos is the first step towards a more streamlined planning and approvals process.

A WESTERN Australian not-for-profit organisation has proved the old saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure, by recycling waste materials from mine sites and donating the proceeds to charity.

Rapid changes in the uptake of technology are presenting waste issues for our disposable society.