Mark Beyer

Former Woodside Petroleum managing director John Akehurst is making a return to the oil and gas sector as deputy chairman of Gordon Martin’s Coogee Resources, which is planning to develop a $450 million oil project in the Timor Sea.

The latest financial results from Perth-based debt collection company Repcol have highlighted the dramatic impact of new accounting standards on reported profits.

Science and innovation minister Francis Logan has outlined an ambitious plan to develop a series of technology parks across Perth to foster the growth of targeted industries.

Curtin University of Technology has made two high profile appointments, with the recruitment of Gordon Martin as chancellor and Professor Linda Kristjanson as pro vice chancellor research and development.

The Cliff Head oil project has reported a three-week delay and a further 7.5 per cent cost increase, adding to a long and expensive list of cost increases.

Coogee Chemicals' oil and gas sister company Coogee Resources has announced it is "keen to move quickly" towards development of its Timor Sea oil fields following a "significant" discovery at its Swift North-1 field.

Sweeping reforms to building industry apprenticeships have belatedly been finalised after industry groups and the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union reached agreement on technical definitions.

The state government has provided funding and planning support for the development of a visionary oil and gas precinct at the Australian Marine Complex at Henderson, south of Perth.

Western Australia’s two listed pearl producers have reported mixed financial results this month, with Atlas Pacific returning to profit and Atlantic suffering another loss.

Perth company Arafura Pearls’ plans of becoming a profitable pearl producer have suffered a big setback, with the company forced to raise extra capital to help it recover from cyclone damage and to reduce its debts.

IBM will have nearly 200 research & development staff in Perth generating annual exports of $25 million following the global computing giant’s acquisition of United States software company Micromuse Inc.

Mid-tier accounting firm PKF has bolstered its tax practice by recruiting experienced PricewaterhouseCoopers partner John Murray.

Many accountants and lawyers aspire to leave the big firms and set up a boutique practice but recently there have been some notable moves in the opposite direction.

The state government is seeking to reintroduce a training levy to the mining industry that could put up to $10 million a year into a trade training fund.

The Construction, Forestry Mining and Energy Union is facing legal action on at least five fronts in Western Australia and that number is expected to increase despite the resolution of the recent dispute on the Mandurah rail project.

The expected duration of apprenticeships would be cut from four years to as little as three years under reform proposals being put to the state government.

Alinta Ltd's hopes of acquiring Sydney-based The Australian Gas Light Company have taken a small but notable step forward after the two companies finalised a confidentiality agreement.

Western Australia's economy has continued to outperform the rest of the country and has pulled ahead of Queensland to be the best performing state, National Australia Bank has found.

Embattled former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge today stepped aside from the board of Australian Wool Services Ltd, the fourth such decision this week, as his link with the Iraq wheat scandal generates heat for other companies in his sphere like IBT Education

Embattled former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge announced this week that he is taking leave from three public company boards, and the company that will be most relieved is IBT Education, which has felt heat on this issue from Canberra to Canada.

John Poynton’s Prime Health Group has further expanded its interests in the corporate health sector by acquiring RMS Corporation.

Technology has been driving big changes at Perth-based international printing franchise Snap Printing.

Planned reforms to building industry apprenticeships that were hailed as a major breakthrough have become bogged down in a technical dispute between industry groups and the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union.

Former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge has responded to mounting pressure by announcing that he would step aside from his public company board positions.

Former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge has responded to mounting pressure by announcing that he would step aside from his public company board positions.

Two new medical research centres, worth a combined $200 million, will be built in Perth in an attempt to make Western Australia a world leader in medical and biotech research.

Premier Alan Carpenter has warned striking workers on the southern suburbs rail project to go back to work or else face "cataclysmic" consequences.

The Commonwealth Grants Commission has recommended that Western Australia's share of GST grants should be cut by $89 million because of increases in the state's revenue raising capacity.

Former Orbital director Ken Johnsen is leading the revival of little-known Balcatta company SafeEffect Technologies, which is aiming to relist on the Australian Stock Exchange this month after a two-and-a-half-year suspension.

Nearly three years ago, automated ticketing company ERG completed a major balance sheet restructuring and installed a new board of directors.

Private engineering consulting firm PCT Engineers has received a boost with diversified Asian industrial company IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group agreeing to acquire a 25 per cent shareholding.

Orbital Corporation’s latest results gave investors a glimpse into its colourful past when it wrote-down the value of a $19 million interest-free loan provided by the state government.