Noel Dyson

THE recent dot.com shakeout and current gloomy economic environment haven’t stopped two Perth-based online companies from posting their first positive cash flows.

A WORKING party undertaking a long-awaited review into unconscionable conduct has delivered its recommendations to Fair Trading Minister John Kobelke.

THE WA Government has released a letter notifying businesses of the cessation of workplace agreements, even though its industrial relations legislation has not been introduced into Parliament.

RETAILERS and the City of Perth are involved in a dispute over who has responsibility for, and control of, marketing the city.

THE search is on in the Great Southern to find bush products that can be turned into export dollars.

SMALL business has done better than expected in terms of representation on the State Development Forum – a Government think tank aimed at stimulating development.The forum idea was floated in September with the announcement of six members.

A WA-based tax-effective investment project aimed at raising about $10 million to produce a 40-minute long animated film has had an interim stop order placed on its prospectus by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

A DECISION last week by the full bench of the Supreme Court could have serious ramifications for the building industry.

EVEN though both major political parties consider small business to be one of the target areas in the November 10 election, their efforts to reach them appear to have failed.

AN environment allowing leaders to bloom must be fostered if Australia is to succeed, says Edith Cowan University executive dean of the faculty of business and public management Wally Cox.

LIQUOR store brands Liquorama, Giant and Harvest have merged to create a buying bloc of 65 stores in WA and around 250 nationally.

BOTH major parties contesting the November 10 Federal election appear to have paid only lip service to the concerns of business, according to the special election panel put together by Business News.

DESPITE initial misgivings from some attendees, Perth’s Freight Planning Congress appears to have gone extremely well.

A YOUNG Perth entrepreneur is banking on the fact that WA’s top executives are really time poor.Steven Ward has set up a business called Lifestyle Concierge Services to “take the burden of everyday life off professionals in Perth”.

SOME groups invited to take part in the process to produce rules defining “employee-like” contractors for the WA Government’s new payroll tax regime have hit out at the Government’s insistence that the discussions be held confidentially.

MULTI award-winning air conditioning business Ford & Doonan has moved into franchising.The first franchise has been set up in Mandurah and will be run by Brian and Louise Swift.

WA is on track to become the world’s third oil and gas capital after Houston and Aberdeen – particularly in terms of engineering design.But this ascension in terms of oil and gas is placing a strain on WA’s engineering base.

INDEPENDENT grocers Australia-wide are using the November 10 election to get their concerns about the growing strength of the Coles and Woolworths grocery chains heard.

THE last thing most small businesses in the financial services industry wanted after having to deal with the Y2K bug, the GST and soon to be introduced privacy laws was another administrative headache.

ABOUT 1,200 commuters will be looking for parking spaces from November 5 due to the closure of the Busport car park.

ONE major issue facing the truck industry is access to the Perth metropolitan area – something that will be a key discussion point at the Freight Planning Congress this weekend.

WITH the Federal election fast approaching, small business looms as one of the key battlegrounds. Small business is a key constituent of both major parties.

INDUSTRY groups are concerned Labor’s GST rollback could increase tax complexity and increase the costs facing WA’s gas and power utilities.

HIGH fuel prices, rising insurance costs, an ageing workforce and stagnating haulage rates threaten to bring the State's trucking industry to its knees.

A REPORT that includes recommendations for changes to WA’s workers’ compensation system is drawing mixed responses from business groups.

INSURANCE customers, particularly in the property and aviation industries, could be in for a nasty Christmas present when their insurance premium bills come in.

MOVED to a new location and want to let your potential customers know where you are?The owners of the El Nino Cafe, one of the residents in the newly refurbished Hatch Building on Stirling Street Perth, have found an answer.

FEDERAL Labor’s GST rollback proposal runs the risk of returning Australian businesses to the old sales tax days and creating two separate tax systems.

A NUMBER of WA business owners have been caught in a credit card scam perpetrated by criminal interests believed to be from Malaysia.

SINCE the Machinery of Government taskforce changes came into place, some people have had difficulty finding the Government departments they used to deal with.

THE number of new bankruptcies for the September quarter has fallen 9 per cent on the previous quarter.Provisional bankruptcy statistics show the number of new bankruptcies was 6,504. In the June quarter there were 7,169.

A KEY test to prove workers are bona fide contractors for income tax purposes is being proposed as an option for defining contractors under WA’s extended payroll system.