Gary Kleyn

SOME government departments and agencies need to lift their game and rise to the challenge of being more transparent in the face of increased public scrutiny.

THE new home building boom in WA, which began twelve months ago, shows no signs of slowing according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

MORE than $1.1 billion in private tourism projects are earmarked for development across WA, according to a new WA Tourism Commission report.

DEVELOPMENTS will be considered on their merits under the new land use plan which will launch the City of Bunbury into the 21st Century says Mayor John Castrilli.

THE SKY Biz 2000 scheme has been singled out by the Ministry of Fair Trading as possibly being in breach of WA's Fair Trading Act.

PERTH property owners who have not licensed their non-residential parking space will face fines of up to $5,000 in a crackdown under the new Perth Parking Management Act.

FARMERS are being told to watch out for a marketing scheme being offered to wheat belt farmers wanting to sell up.

THE outlook for the South West is terrific provided the life support in the form of the forestry industry does not endure further attacks.

NON-executive directors need a pay rise, says former National Mutual group managing director Geoff Tomlinson.

A traditional short-coming of real estate valuers is their lack of marketing skills says newly appointed Australian Property Institute WA president Murray Stubbs.

NANNUP locals have asked Forest Products Minister Paul Omodei to confirm the WA Government's commitment to provide 20,000 cubic metres of first grade sawlog for a value-adding project to support current employment levels in the town.

THE emerging economies of WA, Queensland and the Northern Territory will surge ahead in the next five years with growth in excess of the national average, says a new study by BIS Shrapnel.

AROUND 28.5 hectares of broadacre residential land in High Wycombe is being offered for sale by public tender by Chester-ton International.

LISTED property trusts, underperformers when compared with the general equity market during January, have bounced back in February.

US COMMUNITY development consultant Mac Holladay is back in WA this month to hold two community builders workshops.

WA IS incredibly outward looking, according to a visiting British Minister in Perth recently.

THE corporate headquarters of textbook, stationery and art supplier Bookland is for sale by tender through Chesterton International.

FEDERAL Minister for Trade Mark Vaile has returned after leading over forty senior business people to the Middle East on one of Australia's largest ministerial trade missions.

THE recent influx of city people entering the Boorara Forest Block at Northcliffe is not welcome says tourist operators in the area.

BUNBURY City Council CEO Michael Whitaker's honeymoon period looks set to end as his administration faces attacks from various quarters of the business community.

THE Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment plummeted 9 per cent to 101 in February, putting further interest rate rises in doubt.

THE downward trend in vacancy levels looks likely to continue according to Jones Lang LaSalle research analyst Frank Sorgiovanni.

THE managed funds market was valued at more than $560 billion in the December quarter – an increase of 6.5 per cent on the previous quarter.

THE Co-operative Bulk Handling Grain Silos at North Quay, will not be saved says Planning Minster Graham Kierath.

A SCHEME that rewards employers who take on more trainees and apprentices has been expanded into all regional areas.

TELSTRA has one and, if the Federal Cabinet has their way, the four major banks in Australia will have one – an universal service obligation.

IRONICALLY, in the electronic age, one of the world's oldest forms of trade is making a comeback. Trade in barter dollars has been proving internationally successful for the past thirty years.

THE real estate industry will be further hampered if the Federal and State Governments act on the advice given by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission following a review on the industry.

THE value of South West building approvals halved in December according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

BANKWEST is entering the securitisation market with an issue of $1.005 billion of mortgage-backed securities.

THE outlook for the property market in 2000 looks good despite rising interest rates says Real Estate Institute of WA public affairs director Lino Iacomella.

Back beach given makeover, Austrade is coming to Bunbury, and the work being done to improve Aboriginal employment prospects.