Mark Beyer

State and federal budgets provide some welcome, but unexpected, outcomes.

PREMIER Colin Barnett has described the loss of the giant Ichthys gas project to Darwin as an embarrassment for Western Australia, yet under recent contracts at least some work is flowing to engineers and other businesses in the west.

A lot of talk but little action seems to be the order of the day.

Kevin Rudd’s backflip highlights the divide on the emissions trading scheme.

GOVERNMENTS around the globe have, almost without exception, felt compelled to try and take charge of their economies to tackle the recent financial crisis.

It always pays to look on the bright side, and it’s not such a bad outlook for WA.

A CLOSE reading of last week's historic $53 million settlement between failed miner Sons of Gwalia's administrators and its former directors indicates that the final payout may be less than the headline figure.

Although no longer leading the political charge, Matt Birney’s still making waves.

Some hard questions still need to be answered on Chinese investment in Australia.

Kevin Rudd is becoming dangerously profligate in his economic policies.

A new review may kick-start changes to the environmental approvals process

THE drying climate and a growing population has resulted in Western Australia budgeting to spend an average of about $1 billion per year for the next five years on major water supply capital projects.

Grain Coop CBH is at odds with the tax office.

The premier is big on rhetoric but lacks a clear plan for infrastructure.

AN extensive upgrade of the road network around Perth airport is set to be Western Australia's biggest roads project over the next few years.

ECONOMIST Ian Satchwell doesn't mince his words when describing the likely impact of big LNG projects like Gorgon.

THE global gas industry could be on the brink of having its first floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility, and there is a likelihood this technology will be in Australian waters in the next decade.

The Gorgon gas project set to proceed this year will be followed by more mega projects off the WA coast, presenting exciting opportunities.

State and federal governments can work together on labour market policy.

TORTUOUS state government efforts to find a site for an LNG processing hub on the Kimberley coast may count for nought, at least for the next decade.

LIQUEFIED natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas that has been liquefied by reducing its temperature to about minus 160ºC.

Long-term business strategies could become casualties of the downturn.

CHINESE company CITIC Pacific Mining is doing more than its fair share to counter the downturn in mining and construction jobs in Western Australia, announcing that the peak workforce on its Sino Iron project will peak at a larger than expected 4,000 peop

Australia has managed to avoid the excesses so prevalent elsewhere.

PREMIER Colin Barnett is a long-time critic of the former Labor government's energy reforms, arguing they are structurally flawed.

THE state government's plans for a gas processing hub on the Kimberley coast have received a boost from the region's traditional owners, which have said they are ready to negotiate a deal for a large-scale liquefied natural gas development on Aboriginal l

Local suppliers need to be given a fair chance to compete.

WHILE Western Australia's geothermal energy industry progresses at a snail's pace, former Perth-based BHP Billiton executive Bret Mattes is enjoying rapid progress in Indonesia.

Record sales and revenue figures seem out of step with all the doom and gloom.

Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel is planning to close all of its mining and exploration operations in Western Australia, resulting in the loss of about 330 jobs.

Perth is being left behind when it comes to major sports facilities.

THE business sector has expressed strong support for the state government's push for mergers among local councils across Western Australia.