Government

Local Government Minister David Templeman has issued the Town of Cambridge with a 'show cause' notice, giving the council 21 days before it is suspended for a period of up to six months.

Renegotiating agreements with state governments to fund training and moves to simplify the awards system will be part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s new economic strategy, while a bill designed to ensure trade union legal compliance has been junked.

The state government will lift regional travel restrictions in time for the long weekend, with Premier Mark McGowan urging Western Australians to travel within the state and support local businesses.

The federal government's JobKeeper wage subsidy program is now expected to cost $70 billion, only about half the original estimate of $130 billion.

Nearly 50 drilling projects will be funded through the state government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme, with winners including big businesses such as AngloGold Ashanti Australia and Rio Tinto.

The state government has appointed a review team to identify skills and training development solutions in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the Western Australian workforce.

The disability sector's peak body has welcomed moves by the state government to delay Western Australia’s transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme's new quality standards until December 1 due to COVID-19, and to allocate $2 million to help the sector meet the new requirements.

Electric vehicles and pumped hydro are high on the federal government’s list of short-term priorities to reduce emissions, a new report shows, as Energy Minister Angus Taylor quietly moves towards an interventionist emissions policy.

OPINION: The government faces a challenge to balance public health concerns with the need to get the WA economy going again.

Turnover for clothing retailers and cafes Australia-wide was halved in April 2020 compared to the same month in 2019, with Deloitte warning employment in some sectors may not recover for five to six years.

OPINION: Mixed messages about the economic effects of COVID-19 make it clear that, as with the virus, the world is in uncharted territory.

The federal government will consider university plans to bring back international students as long as they can quarantine them properly.

The Morrison government has welcomed the World Health Assembly agreeing to establish an independent inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic.

Premier Mark McGowan is maintaining a cautious approach to opening up Western Australia’s regional borders, saying the state government has no firm date on when this will occur.

Western Australia has lost about 80,000 jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, proportionally lower than any region other than the Northern Territory; while Bunbury, the Wheatbelt and inner Perth were the hardest hit parts of the state.

Driving growth through productivity, not higher taxes, is Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s key strategy for paying back the COVID-19-accrued debt, with a number of options for tax reform available if he has the ambition.

Western Australia has officially moved into the second phase of lifting some of its coronavirus restrictions, while recording no new infections and two recoveries overnight.

The number of homes being built in Western Australia has fallen by 25.2 per cent since coronavirus-related restrictions were implemented in late March, according to Housing Industry Association (WA), which has predicted the state will be the first to experience a homebuilding downturn.

The number of Australians in employment have fallen by 594,300 people in April, with Western Australia recording 62,300 fewer people in full- or part-time work following coronavirus-related lockdowns.

Barley growers in WA’s south are most exposed by growing trade tensions between Australia and China.

The state government has unveiled reform packages designed to improve procurement processes and environmental approvals, with the latter seen as an important step towards a keenly awaited bilateral approvals plan with the federal government.

China has ignored Australia's attempts to discuss trade tensions over beef and barley imports, and state governments fear they could become the meat in the sandwich as the trade tangle heats up.

Consumer confidence received a much needed boost from last Friday's three-step plan from the national cabinet to lift coronavirus-related restrictions in the months ahead.

The federal government has borrowed nearly $60 billion since December, while 25,000 Western Australians will head back to work as stage one restrictions are lifted, according to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has been tested for COVID-19 after a coughing fit in parliament.

The National COVID-19 Coordination Commission chaired by Nev Power has produced its first tangible result with the launch of an online planning tool to help business develop a recovery plan from the shutdown.

Going against the grain is nothing new for iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest.

Businesses in the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors are holding out for COVID-19 restrictions to lift, as a majority of turnaround professionals believe these businesses won’t be able to survive more than three months if the shutdown continues.

Central banks have ditched their traditional caution in attempting to stimulate economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and an ongoing evolution in thinking about monetary policy helps explain why.

Activate Perth chair and mayoral hopeful Di Bain has penned an open letter to the state government lobbying it to spend up to $130 million raised through Perth CBD’s parking levy as stimulus for the city’s commercial tenants.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has chosen to keep interest rates unchanged today at 0.25 per cent, despite news of over 1 million job losses nationwide and a 48.5 per cent drop in car sales.

Western Australians broadly approve of the state government’s efforts to suppress COVID-19 but are becoming concerned about their own economic security, according to new research into the community’s response to the pandemic.

Some in WA’s education sector remain at odds over how and when to reopen schools, as the state takes steps to relax its strict social distancing policies.