Mark Beyer

The attributes of a good leader include the ability to plan for the long term and put in place a succession plan.

This week's landmark decision on the preferred developer for the Oakajee port project has reminded Western Australians that Japan still plays a very big role in the state's economy.

Newspaper headlines have turned increasingly negative this month on Australia's economic outlook.

New treatments for flea infestations in sheep and for whooping cough were the winners of competitions run in Perth last week by the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board and Curtin University respectively.

One of the perennial topics of discussion in Western Australia is 'life beyond the boom'.

Osborne Park-based Structural Monitoring Systems plc has become the latest WA technology company to hit the wall, announcing today that it would be terminating the employment of all executives and staff.

Many business people in Perth hanker for the days when Sir Charles Court ran the state with forceful conviction and a single-minded focus on development.

Premier Alan Carpenter and Liberal leader Troy Buswell both made bold announcements on major infrastructure projects last weekend.

Fifteen years after establishing Perth's first internet service provider, iiNet boss Michael Malone retains a disarming honesty and humour that is rarely found in chief executives.

Australia is among the world leaders in broadband penetration and regular claims to the contrary are bad for business, iiNet managing director Michael Malone told a WA Business News Success & Leadership breakfast last week.

More than two-and-a-half years after kicking off the process, the state government has finally been handed a final report on its infrastructure strategy.

The debate over development of Western Australia's iron ore industry seems to have given rise to a number of myths that are distorting informed discussion.

German steel maker ThyssenKrupp has thrown its support behind Moly Mines Ltd's delayed $1.1 billion Spinifex Ridge project by signing a 10 year offtake agreement and agreeing to invest equity in the project.

While the world is full of brave people who try to predict the future, the fluctuating fortunes of Western Australian energy companies Alinta and The Griffin Group show how dangerous this practice can be.

The top job at Alcoa Inc in Australia brings with it an instant public role that few other chief executives would have to take on.

If opinion polls are any guide, Labor is set to retain power at the next state election, and if that happens we can expect big changes inside the Carpenter government.

There are two committees in Perth that can be considered centres of commercial and public influence - the University of Western Australia's Business School board and the Committee for Perth.

It's often said that true character is revealed in times of adversity, and in the past 18 months Perth has witnessed two enormous boardroom battles that have shone a revealing light on some of the state's most prominent company directors.

Labor's victory in last year's federal election has elevated Western Australians Stephen Smith and Chris Evans to two of the most senior roles in the federal government.

During the past four years, Western Australia has experienced three major power crises, raising serious questions about management of the state's energy infrastructure.

Western Australia's two major industry lobbies, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, have witnessed changes at the top during the past year, with new leadership taking the reins.

Outside of government and business, there is a wide array of people in science, media, the law and other professions who are highly influential in Western Australia.

There are two committees in Perth that can be considered centres of commercial and public influence - the University of Western Australia's Business School board and the Committee for Perth.

More than a dozen people have been removed from WA Business News' Most Influential lists during the past 12 months, and only in some cases by choice.

Alan Carpenter has had a tough run as premier but a close analysis shows he is more powerful than ever. Mark Beyer reports.

Premier Alan Carpenter has left many people confused and frustrated by his blanket rejection of the ambitious island development proposal announced last week for North Fremantle.

Perth-based petroleum executive Bret Mattes has broken new ground in Indonesia by becoming what is believed to be the first foreigner to be appointed chief executive of a national energy company.

WA Business News invited some of Western Australia's top architects and planners to discuss Perth's development in a boardroom forum last month.

Mineral sands miner Bemax Resources Ltd, which has extensive operations in Western Australia's South West, has recommended that shareholders accept a $301 million takeover offer.

Iron ore developers Murchison Metals Ltd and Midwest Corporation Ltd are likely to merge after Midwest's directors unanimously endorsed a proposed scheme of arrangement that values their stock at $7.17 per share.

Investment manager Great Southern Ltd has commenced a strategic review of its business after reporting a worse than expected loss of $49.1 million for the half-year to 31 March 2008.

The building industry has welcomed a federal government review of the sector's industrial relations watchdog, saying it is "a positive sign that the government is committed to maintaining a tough cop on the beat".