Mark Beyer

BUDDING national AM radio network WorldAudio has bought licences for three regional locations in Western Australia as it builds its network for a planned national launch at the end of August.

TWO senior tax advisers from KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers have set up a consultancy specialising in the field of indirect tax.

A UNION campaign to highlight alleged exploitation of imported workers has turned into a stoush between labour hire company Freespirit and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry ove

THE new leadership of Western Australia’s largest industrial company could be announced next week after Wesfarmers’ annual strategic planning conference.

AN extraordinary rift between two blocs of shareholders could unravel the planned $5.4 million backdoor listing of Total Corrosion Control on the Australian Stock Exchange.

THE recent charging of a CSBP executive over a $1.7 million fraud has served as a timely reminder of the risks posed by corporate fraud.

A SURVEY of Western Australian listed companies has highlighted the dominance of accounting firm Ernst & Young in the local audit market.

BHP Billiton has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction management contract for its $1.4 billion Ravensthorpe nickel project to a joint venture between GRD Minproc

THE surprisingly strong growth in big resource projects across Western Australia has left industry watchers increasingly worried about looming shortages of skilled labour.

DANIELLE Blain is well known to many people in Perth as the State president of the Liberal Party and as a director of Schaffer Corporation.

FREMANTLE Port Authority will be calling tenders this week for the construction of a new rail loop and rail terminal at North Fremantle.

THE Rising Stars survey provides unique insights into the strategies and outlook of fast-growing Western Australian

Federal Opposition leader Mark Latham, visiting Perth next week, could be Prime Minister before the end of the year.

A FEW big players have dominated the agribusiness investment market in Australia but Rewards Group has defied the odds to carve a successful niche.

THE Rising Stars survey is a platform to showcase private enterprises and unlisted public companies in Western Australia that have sustained high rates of growth over the past two financial years ending June 30 2003.

TWO thirds of Western Australian businesses believe government red tape is adversely influencing their business.

The entry of Melbourne accounting firm Pitcher Partners into the local market will be followed by more big changes among second tier accounting firms.

THE Woodside Building and the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre are two of the biggest recent commercial construction projects in Perth – and Blackadder Group supplied scaf

THE rapid growth in housing lending has been great news for Australian Finance Group, which has a hand in nearly 10 per cent of all new housing loans across the country.

A NEW policy gap between the Federal Government and the Labor Party has opened over last month’s Australian Industrial Relations Commission ruling on redundancy payments by small

BOTH Western Australia’s wine and tourism industries are emerging as big winners from the Australia US Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

DESPITE the benefits of the recent free trade agreement with the US Curtin University professor Peter Kenyon said Australia was helping stifle multilateral trade negotiations.

THE Australian Securities and Investments Commission has credited its insolvent trading program with seven Western Australian companies, including Feature Tours, going into voluntary administration.

WA Business News recently held a forum on the effects of the US Free Trade Agreement. Mark Beyer and Jim Hawtin report.

A REVIEW of the Australian Stock Exchange’s corporate governance guidelines has recommended changes to assist smaller listed companies.

ALTHOUGH some fairly significant hurdles remain, the Free Trade Agreement with the US is anticipated to come into force by the beginning of 2005.

News on the failure of Consolidated Constructions just gets worse for creditors, while tabling of the Construction Contracts Bill could lead to a better deal for builders and subcontractors.

GREAT Southern Plantations and Integrated Tree Cropping are seeking to raise more than $100 million to complete two major deals that position the companies for future growth.

CREDITORS of Consolidated Constructions are expected to grill administrator Gary Anderson over the company’s final actions when he fronts a creditors committee meeting today (March 18).

The recent collapse of Consolidated Constructions has its share of corporate mystery and intrigue, as Mark Beyer reports.

NEW Western Australian stamp duty rules designed to make life easier for motor vehicle dealers have been criticised by self-styled tax watchdog Taxpayers Australia.

In the back blocks of Canning Vale, where Perth’s urban sprawl gives way to small farm lots, a group of scientists is creating a unique research and development centre.