Mark Beyer

THE $1.86 billion sale of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline has been judged by WA Business News to be the top business deal in Western Australia in 2004.

ENERGY reform is likely to be a key issue for Neil Hamilton in 2005, whichever party wins the State election.

SPORT is rarely far from business in the world of Neil Hamilton, who is a huge fan of Australian Rules and Rugby Union football.

Neil Hamilton unexpectedly found himself at the centre of two of the biggest business crises of 2004. He spoke to Mark Beyer about the year that was and his plans for the future.

A NEW scheme designed to help Western Australian farmers gain international recognition for sustainable practices has been endorsed by one of the world’s largest grocery groups.

GROCERY wholesaler Metcash Trading has pledged to sell all of the Action supermarkets across Australia to independent owners should it succeed in its

ACHIEVING early success is one of the key ingredients in Mark Barnaba’s business formula and one he has certainly lived up to at his new merchant bank,

OUTSOURCING by the booming mining industry has been good news for fast-growing Hazelmere company Action Mining Services, which opened new and expanded premises this month.

THE Water Corporation could be forced to modify aspects of its $350 million desalination plant at Kwinana to take account of a new port project planned by Fremantle Ports.

Nanotechnology company pSivida has emerged this year as Western Australia’s largest biotechnology stock. Mark Beyer reports on its global progress.

ACCOUNTING firm Ernst & Young will cap off another year of growth this month by moving into new premises that are 40 per cent larger than its current Central Park offices.

PERTH investors with an appetite for risk and a taste for something totally different are being offered an opportunity to back the development of a new kind of ‘less lethal’ ammunition.

EMERGING technology company Advanced Powder Technologies has adopted a new name and rejigged its ownership as it moves toward an Australian Stock Excha

A commercial port at Kwinana, backed by BGC boss Len Buckeridge, has finally gained environmental approval from the State Government, four years after the project company signed a contract with the government of Richard Court.

In Western Australia’s most comprehensive executive salary survey, Mark Beyer looks behind the headline numbers to find the State’s best value chief executives.

The State Government broke new ground this year when it recruited Dr Neale Fong to head its health reform taskforce on a salary package worth up to $53

The private Perth company that owns the Red Rooster and Chicken Treat brands across Australia plans extensive national growth ahead of an eventual stock market float.

Share option schemes made a big difference to the total remuneration of more than 20 chief executives last year.

With the shortage of skilled labour arguably the biggest issue facing Western Australian business, WA Business News hosted a forum to seek solutions. Mark Beyer reports.

The traditional apprentice system, which has undergone little change for several decades, needs to be modernised and become more flexible, industry representatives told the skills shortage forum.

The State Government has hailed a deal with the Indigenous people of the west Kimberley as a major step towards the long-awaited expansion of the Ord River irrigation project.

After 12 years under the leadership of managing director Neil Hamilton, listed investment company Chieftain Securities is about to be reborn with new management and a new focus on the energy sector.

Prime Minister John Howard has highlighted skills shortages as one of the Federal Government’s top priorities for its new term.

One of the hottest topics at the skills shortage forum was the negative attitude of students and parents towards traditional trades such as metalwork and mechanics.

Perth-based heavy equipment supplier and possible sales target Emeco International has reported its fifth successive year of 30 per cent-plus growth in net profit.

CBH chairman Robert Sewell didn’t mince his words last week when announcing a $72 million investment in two major flour milling companies in Asia.

Listed engineering company RCR Tomlinson has capped off a busy 12 months by making its third acquisition and lifting its market capitalisation towards its goal of $50 million.

Accounting firm Deloitte has undergone two major changes to its audit practice this week, recruiting Ernst & Young principal Tim Richards and saying goodbye to long-serving partner Graham McHarrie.

Western Australia’s venture capital industry has formed a new networking group to tackle the perennial issue of funding for ‘early stage’ technology companies.