Mark Pownall

MUCH has been said lately regarding fund managers’ new interest, some would say interference, in companies they invest in.

IT’S no longer just about winning an award these days – it appears that stealing the show on the night is just as important in the game of one-upmanship needed to win the gong in

With his business ailing, the move last week to feature 2002 40under40 winner Manny Papadoulis on our front page prompted a strong response from both angry creditors and his industry supporters. Mark Pownall spoke to the businessman about his troubled tim

DIRECTORS’ fees and management incentives have featured prominently in the news recently.

THE Australian Shareholders Association’s battle against what it sees as inappropriate options packages is not just reserved for monster corporations such as Southcorp.

WEST Australian Newspapers Holdings has committed to entering the online advertising fray, outlining plans to spend $400,000 developing its web presence this financial year.

WESTERN Australian companies continue to set new benchmarks in their sponsorship of the arts, with traditional supporter Wesfarmers unveiling a major new program worth $500,000.

THE Rugby Union World Cup is being hailed as a boon for tourism, a major drawcard for business leaders and an opportunity to sell Australia to a television audience in the billions.

WA Business News editor Mark Pownall takes a look at the issues involved with proposals to deregulate our skies.  

IT has been fascinating to read some of the reports on Perth as a place to live and work in recent times.

Free at last JUST in case anyone is interested, I’ve declared this paper an Alan Bond free zone – the only one in the country as far as I can tell.

IF you had been stuck on a desert island for the past 20 years, or maybe taken a Forrest Gump-like approach to ultra-marathons, you would hardly recognise the world of sport in 2003.

AS the Federal Government salivates over the billions it will earn from the Gorgon project, it would be worth its leadership considering how this potential resources revenue and vast billions that preceded it came to be.

AUSTRALIAN Wine Holdings is preparing the groundwork for a major acquisition with a fund raising effort to pay off debt associated with the purchase of Hay Shed Hill Estate for almost $6.3 million last year.

THE green light for the Gorgon is a major step ahead for Western Australia and, as the Federal politicians know, a significant boost to the nation’s treasury.

THE surprise announcement of a merger between Bluewave Seafood and two industry minnows is likely to end fishermen’s domination of any major processors in the southern lobster regio

IT seems that we have seen our first results from negotiations for a free trade agreement with the US, with many Western Australian farmers ending up winners even though no deal has been signed yet.

WA Business News played host to a wide range of business people and the leading State Government figures on the issue of taxes and charges imposed in Western Australia.

THIS week’s vote by BankWest shareholders to agree to a takeover by UK-based HBOS should come as no surprise. Faced with the prospect of the bank becoming a lame duck with a parent that might refuse to invest, shareholders had little choice.

DID anyone notice a bit of news floating around last week that Australia’s film-making industry was doing well on the back of a clever tax deduction.

BEST Employers in Western Australia is an important project for WA Business News, one we intend to develop into something of a signature award like our successful 4

HOUSING affordability is being billed as a Federal election issue. On the face of it, concern for new homebuyers or, more importantly, renters wanting to become home owners, is understandable.

THE development of the Gorgon gas field off Western Australia’s north west coast is shaping as the major test of the Gallop Government’s business-friendly credentials ahead of the next election.

HIGH profile Western Australian weight loss group The Metabolism Centre has signalled a major challenge to the weight loss market by going to the Australian Stock Exchange to fund a national roll out.

FRANKLAND River Olive Company Pty Ltd has won the approval of investors in the troubled Preston Vale wine project to take over as the responsible entity for Western Australia’s largest vineyard-based scheme.

EVER since The West Australian newspaper ran Dullsville as its front page headline, there has been significant public debate about whether or not this is a great place to live.

WA Business News has won third prize for Best Newspaper, Small Tabloids at the Association of Area Business Publication’s Editorial Excellence Awards, announced at

WHILE Save Ningaloo campaigners were in the final stages of their long running and, ultimately, successful battle against the Maud’s Landing development, a wealthy conservationist linked to their cause may well have had his mind elsewhere.

WESTERN Australia’s dominant media player The West Australian newspaper has advertised nationally for a new editor following the departure of Brian Rogers, who surprised the industry recently by resigning just six months into a two-year contract.

PROFESSIONAL indemnity is one of the crises that has failed to capture the imagination of the very people who will end up being affected – consumers.

IT was with some trepidation that I prepared for the judging process for this year’s Family Business Awards.

THE high-profile dumping of the Maud’s Landing proposal near Coral Bay may have been politically expedient but it leaves the Gallop Government looking extremely weak when it comes to policy.