Mark Beyer

A successful career in politics, just like in business, can depend on being in the right place at the right time.

The State Government appeared to be a model of sensible pragmatism last week when it granted approval for Griffin Group’s planned coal-fired power station at Collie.

Accounting firm Hall Chadwick has become a prime merger candidate after insolvency partners Kim Strickland and Chris Williamson left with their staff to set up a new practice under the name SimsPartners.

The State Government has challenged the accuracy of an Auditor-General’s report on iron ore royalties as it continues its efforts to abolish ‘concessional’ royalty payments by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

South African company Kumba Resources has put forward an indicative proposal to move to full ownership of its Australian mineral sands subsidiary Ticor.

One week after Woolworths and Metcash Trading agreed to the carve up of Foodland’s trans-Tasman grocery business, Woolworths is refusing to disclose details of the 16 grocery stores it plans to acquire in Western Australia.

Perth investors who like the taste of barramundi are currently in the rare position of being able to select from an investment menu with three Western Australian aquaculture companies.

Home-grown technology developed by private Perth company McRobert Aquaculture Systems has been promoted as having the potential to “revolutionise” the global aquaculture industry.

Spending on water and power infrastructure were the two stand-out increases in the 2005-06 State Budget, handed down last week by Treasurer Eric Ripper.

The State Government has held out the possibility of major tax reform after committing to establish a wide-ranging review of state taxes.

Nearly one quarter of all small businesses are planning to change banks in the next six months, a national survey has found.

Perth company Comet Ridge has reported positive results from its Tipton West coal seam methane gas project in Queensland, adding to hopes it may join the ranks of gas producers in the region.

The Australian stockmarket has experienced a mild correction over the past two months but for many smaller industrial stocks it has been a rout. Mark Beyer goes looking for value.

When a company goes from a standing start to nearly 400 staff in the space of three years, you might think it would be time to take stock and consolidate.

Perth-born technology company Alphawest is enjoying a period of solid business growth but it also has a soft share price and a corporate raider on its share register. Mark Beyer reports.

The competitive landscape facing Western Australian businesses will become a lot clearer over the next few weeks after the state and federal governments release plans for tax and industrial relations reforms.

The State Government has initiated a major review of its $4 billion capital works program to assess the impact of rapidly escalating building and construction costs.

A corporate regulation forum in Perth last week was told that companies should turn regulation into an asset by highlighting the high standards of corporate governance and legal compliance in Australia.

Three major Western Australian businesses have changed hands in the past month, with Heatley Sales receiving an injection of private equity and Pioneer Water Tanks and Summit Storage Products passing to new owners.

The Paino family, owners of prominent South Fremantle business Sealanes, provides a telling case study of a management succession that has not run according to plan.

Western Australia has a generation of highly driven business entrepreneurs who have been with us for decades and continue running their companies well past retirement age.

The term ‘family business’ is typically associated with private companies, yet people like Rupert Murdoch, Kerry Packer and Frank Lowy have proven it to have a much wider import.

The Fremantle Port Authority is planning a major expansion of its port facilities in Cockburn Sound to accommodate the anticipated needs of Rio Tinto’s HIsmelt pig iron plant.

If winning the big jobs is a measure of success, then Freehills gets top billing in the insolvency market this year after being appointed as legal adviser to the administrators of failed mining company Sons of Gwalia.

A distinctive feature of the corporate law market in Perth is the prominence of boutique firms, which consistently give the big national firms a run for their money.

An upsurge in strike activity and the prospect of major Federal Government reforms has placed industrial relations front and centre as a business issue in Western Australia.

Sydney law firm Dennis & Co is organising a class action for shareholders in failed mining company Sons of Gwalia, in the process attracting the ire of listed litigation funding company and competitor, IMF (Australia).

Ingot Capital Management, the Sydney-based fund manager that backed the 2003 rescue of ERG Limited, has emerged as a major shareholder in another troubled Perth technology company, Intellect Holdings.

The spread of community banks in Western Australia is continuing apace, with a prominent former Perth-based Citibank manager the surprise force behind the latest proposal.

Western Power chief executive Tony Iannello has foreshadowed a series of major changes, including his own planned departure and the creation of new corporate brands, as the utility prepares for a four-way break-up next year.

The State Government has pledged to focus next year’s budget on increased community spending and infrastructure investment ahead of the tax cuts demanded by Federal Treasurer Peter Costello.