Peter Kennedy

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: A boom-bust economic cycle and wrangles over GST funding are two of the challenges to have faced WA’s political leaders over the past 25 years. This article is part of a special series to mark Business News' 25-year anniversary.

Opinion: A Committee for Perth report says the WA capital has dropped the ball, and lacks a strategy for its economic future.

Opinion: The long-awaited sale of the government’s betting agency could still come at a big cost to taxpayers.

Opinion: Having made solid progress in reducing its budget deficit, the pressure is on the state government to introduce structural economic reform.

Opinion: While the issue of gender quotas has been a winner for Labor, it remains a divisive topic within Liberal ranks, as the recent pre-selection for the Wentworth by-election indicates.

Opinion: A federal Labor government would change the political dynamic between Canberra and WA for the better, but all relationships need careful management.

Opinion: Despite taking on the unenviable job of opposition leader after a huge election defeat, Mike Nahan is still making his voice heard.

The Liberals’ decision not to contest two recent by-elections was a defensive move that puts the party on the back foot in those seats ahead of the next federal poll.

A specially commissioned Liberal Party WA report is set to reignite controversy over the way Goods and Services Tax revenue is redistributed just as federal treasurer Scott Morrison was hoping the states would accept his recent compromise proposal.

While Bob Carr’s new book may be criticised by some within Labor ranks, it contains some timely advice for politicians of all hues.

Opinion: The McGowan government would be advised to avoid the irresponsible spending blowout of their predecessors, however tough the political sell.

Despite the turnaround in the Darling Range by-election, the Liberals would do well not to get ahead of themselves.

Opinion: A big weekend of by-elections could have been avoided if tighter candidate guidelines were in place.

The state government is hoping it has done enough to sway the vote its way in this month’s Darling Range by-election.

The GST is a potential sleeper issue as WA heads to three by-elections.

Opinion: The WA and federal governments have plenty at stake when they release their respective budgets.

Opinion: The departure of career public servant Stephen Wood has raised questions about the role of the bureaucracy in providing frank and fearless advice.

It’s one thing to call for transparency when in opposition, but another altogether to provide full accountability when in government.

Opinion: Local branch members got their man when David Honey won the recent Cottesloe by-election.

Opinion: The opposition leader has broken publicly with many of his colleagues to question the ongoing sustainability of the Royalties for Regions program.

OPINION: The challenges facing the McGowan government are laid out in the report into the Barnett government’s financial record.

Although now far from the political spotlight, Colin Barnett has warned of significant upheaval if the GST mess isn’t sorted out.

Mark McGowan will hope to bask in the warm afterglow of ongoing public approval of the new stadium at Burswood.

To a large degree, Labor’s big budget repair plans have stalled, while newcomers on both sides of the aisle find their way around their house on the hill.

The state government is facing its first major personnel crisis, and the opposition is keen for a win.

The opposition parties in Perth and Canberra are kicking the can down the road on debt, despite the parlous state of their respective budgetary positions.

Private sector sponsorship of public infrastructure has frequently caused controversy, and the sale of naming rights to Perth’s new stadium is no exception.

OPINION: Skewed voter representation and the often-obstructionist outcome that follows has some eyeing changes to the WA Legislative Council.

OPINION: It will be every state for itself when the Productivity Commission’s report into the GST distribution is released in January.

OPINION: It is vital for the WA government to stick with its budget repair plans despite breaking an election commitment on pay rises.

OPINION: Labor will need to compromise if its budget plans are to pass the parliament, and a push for upper house reform may not be out of the question.

Allegations that late High Court judge Lionel Murphy had been involved in a tax avoidance scheme in Western Australia are contained in classified documents considered by a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry released in Canberra today.