Peter Kennedy

OPINION: The federal government may be forced to play nice with WA’s Labor government, as fallout from within the Liberals over the GST gets ugly.

OPINION: Ben Wyatt has dealt with a range of challenges during his relatively short political career, but next month’s budget will be his most significant.

OPINION: The federal Liberal government’s failure to deal with the issue of same-sex marriage is indicative of a party more concerned with its own internal machinations than effective governance.

Perth property developer Nigel Satterley is confident of an early breakthrough in the campaign he has spearheaded with other business leaders for a better deal for Western Australia over the distribution of GST revenue.

OPINION: With federal governments seemingly in campaign mode 24-7, calls for fixed four-year terms for the House of Representatives make sense.

OPINION: The ball is in Malcolm Turnbull’s court if the Liberals want to shore up seats in WA.

OPINION: The government is finding out the argument that ‘it’s the Liberals’ fault’ will only hold for so long.

OPINION: The formation of the Put Western Australia First Party has raised the stakes over tax reform, with the Liberals and Labor on notice that Senate seats may come under threat unless something tangible is done to resolve the GST impasse.

OPINION: While good relations between government and the private sector are important, Mark McGowan will be keen to avoid being seen as too close to business.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA chief executive Deidre Willmott will not be a contender for Liberal Party endorsement for the Legislative Assembly seat of Cottesloe when the incumbent, former premier Colin Barnett, quits politics.

OPINION: If Rio and BHP thought their political troubles ended when Brendon Grylls lost his seat at the recent election, they had better think again.

Western Australian Planning Commission chairman Eric Lumsden says the newly endorsed $2.3 billion road and rail package for the metropolitan area will address Perth’s public transport needs for the next 25 to 50 years.

OPINION: A Productivity Commision analysis of the tax carve-up is just the start in what could be a divisive process.

OPINION: Colin Barnett has decided to stay on as the member for Cottesloe, but how for long is another matter.

OPINION: The McGowan government will need to get straight down to business, given the backlog of issues it needs to address.

OPINION: The former WA under treasurer urges Mark McGowan to tackle state spending and secure federal funding for key infrastructure projects.

ANALYSIS: If the actions of his predecessors are any guide, the Liberal Party will be looking for a candidate to replace former premier Colin Barnett in his seat of Cottesloe within months.

ANALYSIS: Freshly recycled Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan has been fast tracked into Premier-elect Mark McGowan’s new cabinet, even though she will not formally start her term in the Legislative Council until mid-May.

ANALYSIS: The failure of Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls and straight talking Liberal frontbencher Joe Francis to retain their seats is a devastating blow to their parties. But it can only get worse.

ANALYSIS: The union movement hasn’t wasted any time reminding Premier-elect Mark McGowan that it wants a share of the spoils, even before he has moved into his new West Perth office.

ANALYSIS: Outgoing Liberal minister Joe Francis, who appears to have lost his seat of Jandakot, says Colin Barnett should have been replaced as premier last year to improve the government’s re-election prospects.

ANALYSIS: The dust has hardly settled but the blame game is already under way over the Liberal Party’s disastrous performance in Western Australia’s state election.

ANALYSIS: One state Liberal Party MP believes that hostility towards the outgoing premier, Colin Barnett, was responsible for up to 10 per cent of the unprecedented swing that swept the Liberal-National governing alliance from power in Saturday’s election.

OPINION: Reducing state debt will be a top priority for the new government and perhaps, as a former PM has suggested, a more cooperative approach is needed.

ANALYSIS: Labor's shadow treasurer, Ben Wyatt, says the Federal Government wouldn't dare deprive WA of the $1.2 billion which will be freed up if his party wins Saturday's election and abandons the Roe 8 highway project.

ANALYSIS: Perth Modern School parents have vowed to continue their campaign against the Labor Party’s plan to move and rebadge the state’s most historic government high school if it wins Saturday’s state election.

ANALYSIS: Pauline Hanson has done her cause no good with the claim that there is ‘sheer hatred’ in Western Australia towards Premier Colin Barnett. Labor leader Mark McGowan might be more popular with the voters, but the ‘sheer hatred’ tag is extraordinary.

ANALYSIS: One of the sleeper issues in the election campaign is the strategy for renewable energy over the next four years. There has been surprisingly little debate on the issue, which affects householders and business alike.

ANALYSIS: The Labor Party has no intention of backing down on its planned 4 per cent stamp duty surcharge on foreign buyers of residential properties if it wins the general election on March 11.

ANALYSIS: Colin Barnett says cuts in penalty rates should be extended to include the tourism industry to reflect the fact it is a 24-hours, seven-days-a-week operation.

ANALYSIS: The row between Premier Colin Barnett and opposition leader Mark McGowan over the cost of their election promises is a clear sign the campaign is getting to the pointy end. But don’t rule out surprises.

ANALYSIS: The major parties are ramping up expectations of what they will deliver if they win the March 11 state poll, but financial realities have a way of stifling the best of intentions.