Peter Kennedy

State Labor is taking the fight to the government over its economic performance.

Colin Barnett is in for his biggest test as premier in 2015, as mounting financial woes threaten to drain his political capital.

Simmering tensions between the Liberal and National parties within the State Government are threatening to come to a head next month. The issue? Local government reform.

He may be new to the role, but the treasurer has a vital role to play in the fortunes of the Barnett government.

Young political up-and-comers, and their mentors, should hasten slowly to avoid disaster.

The government has thrown out an early marker for the 2017 state election.

Colin Barnett hopes his capital works program will one day be seen in the same light as those of WA political giants, Charles Court and John Forrest.

The government has thrown out an early marker for the 2017 state election.

This week’s instalment from Peter Kennedy’s Tales from Boom Town focuses on the extraordinary events that led to Colin Barnett becoming premier of WA.

The third instalment from Peter Kennedy’s new book on WA’s recent political past examines the pressure on Carmen Lawrence to set up a royal commission into what became known as WA Inc.

The second of four extracts from Peter Kennedy’s new book examines the Rothwells rescue and the murky links between WA business and politics.

In the first of four extracts from Peter Kennedy’s recently released book, Tales from Boom Town, the author looks at the first WA Inc deal and the introduction of fly in, fly out mining in WA.

Despite ruling out a run at state politics, Stephen Smith has been vocal about WA’s role in Asia of late.

The foreign affairs minister must be thankful she didn’t take up Richard Court’s offer of the state Liberal leadership in 2001.

The premier and the treasurer are making some headway in their concerted efforts to rescue the budget.

The key Royalties for Regions project threatens to sap the government as it fends off claims of favoured treatment and political donations.

Both the EPA and Colin Barnett wished the bad headlines would go away … and to a large degree they did.

Labor may not be able to snatch Vasse from the conservatives, but it could muddy the waters in the by-election brought about by the departure of Troy Buswell.

A second ratings agency downgrade has prompted Colin Barnett to ratchet up the tough talk on the GST.

The state coalition alliance partners may revert to the squabbling siblings of old if Nationals members feel their needs are being ignored.

A recent Economic Regulation Authority report would bolster the government’s case for the sale of Synergy –if it were to make one.

The state government’s decision to give top priority to the construction of the Forrestfield-airport rail link is bold, strategic and expensive. To be operating by 2020, the move is also political.

Education Minister Peter Collier has embarked on a bold strategy aimed at reallocating his $4.6 billion budget among the state’s 700 secondary and primary schools. It is a move fraught with political risk.

The state government has a lot of political capital invested in a successful build of its Burswood stadium.

Pressure is mounting for WA Liberals to lead the way on GST reform.

Opinion polls have always presented a dilemma for political leaders, with the temptation to comment when they are favourable almost impossible to resist; but polls can be fickle.

WA Labor’s road to reform got off to a good start at last week’s annual conference, but the momentum must be maintained.

While unchallenged as premier and Liberal Party leader, Colin Barnett has to go sometime.

State and federal governments need to tread carefully when making changes to pensioner ‘entitlements’.

A stubbornly strong dollar and tumbling iron ore prices will test the budget assumptions.

Labor can’t face the challenges ahead if the party remains focused on bitter battles and disputes of the past.

The fractious relationship between Colin Barnett and Clive Palmer has echoes of an earlier stoush between a 20th century premier and a mining magnate.