Tom Zaunmayr joined Business News in 2023 as a senior journalist, covering state politics, resources (iron ore), Aboriginal affairs, regional development and agriculture.
He spent the past decade covering news in regional WA where he developed a passion for local and state politics, regional development, small business, Aboriginal affairs, human interest and anything Pilbara related.
Mr Zaunmayr spent five years in Karratha during one of the biggest periods of transition for the Pilbara town before moving to Kalgoorlie during COVID to take on a role as deputy editor of WA's only daily regional newspaper.
From there, he moved back above the 26th parallel as Seven West Media's Northern Papers editor based in Broome, and did a stint as editor of the National Indigenous Times.
There is no good replacement for Western Australia’s live sheep trade, Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis has conceded, as the industry grapples with its looming closure.
The WA government will step in to fill a $300 million funding gap for regional road projects left by the federal government’s exit from 50 funding partnerships nationwide.
Western Australian retailers are pleading for a hardline crackdown on workplace attacks amid shock new data that reveals most shop attendants no longer feel safe at work.
A medical manufacturing facility formerly run by COVID vaccine producer Pfizer has received a $2 million state government cash injection to expand WA’s pharmaceutical capabilities.
Fortescue has staked out an area larger than Brisbane near its Pilbara iron ore operations for a potential green energy hub, days after terminating an application for another site.
Native title holders opposing an iron ore mine bordering Karijini hold a swag of tenements next to the park they say have been pegged to ensure “culturally safe” mining.
Local government truck movements and port terminal operations need to be standardised to improve supply chain resilience, according to the boss of a WA freight-forwarding company.
Qantas has quietly grounded bi-weekly flights between Melbourne and Exmouth on the same day it launched another direct interstate flight between northern WA and the east coast.
The boss of Australia’s native title lobby has warned Indigenous groups cannot be pushed into fast-tracking reforms after a string of high-profile court wins against oil and gas projects.
The state government is probing what needs to be done to ensure the latest attempt to establish a bioenergy industry in WA doesn’t suffer the same fate as efforts nearly two decades ago.
Fortescue’s proposed multi-billion-dollar renewable energy hub in the Pilbara has been shelved as the miner insists it will meet bold decarbonisation targets by 2030.
Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston has been accused of mansplaining in a fiery sparring match with federal Liberal senators Dean Smith and Linda Reynolds during a Perth Mint probe.
A large work camp has been erected at Exmouth’s Harold E Holt naval base for what is believed to be a sorely-needed overhaul of several critical military facilities.
Perth Mint’s ex-leaders failed to grasp their obligation to taxpayers as the organisation made forays into “risky” products and overseas markets, according to the state’s auditor general.
Native title bodies, miners and government have done good work to set Aboriginal businesses up for success. Without public support, their wings will always be clipped.
Liberal leader Libby Mettam and North West Central MP Merome Beard, who has defected from the Nationals, faced repeated questions around opposition leadership on Wednesday.
Plans for a state-of-the-art US military space defence system in Exmouth have been shelved, with no funds forthcoming to expand the surveillance base’s capability.
The WA Liberals have committed to beginning construction of a new maternity hospital in Nedlands in its first term should the party win government in 2025.
A tax pouring record funds into state coffers as insurers hike premiums in the wake of natural disasters needs to be abolished, according to a national consumer lobby group.