Government

Former bureaucrat Paul Whyte has pleaded guilty to more than 500 charges stemming from Western Australia's biggest public sector theft.

New laws to overhaul Western Australia's much-criticised unpaid fines regime have been passed by the state's parliament.

Western Australia's planned new laws to accelerate major project approvals would be a good model for other states and should be passed through state parliament quickly, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said today.

A new trade deal with Indonesia is creating opportunities for industries as diverse as farming and cybersecurity.

WA's universities are not the only businesses bearing the brunt of fewer international students, with the economic fallout likely to extend to the state's property, retail and transport sectors.

India could be the world's next great growth story, and Australia is acting to strengthen its relationship with the country of more than 1.3 billion people.

The state government will no doubt take comfort from polling that suggests most Western Australians are happy with closed borders.

Free to read: With WA's exports to China approaching $100 billion annually, business leaders are considering how the state might create alternative opportunities in a volatile environment. Plus, click through for our podcast with Asian Engagement Minister Peter Tinley.

OPINION: The current economic crisis may provide an opportunity to re-engineer workplace relations.

OPINION: The WA public is eager to return to life as they remember it pre-COVID, and that involves football.

Shares have slipped early on the Australian share market after six consecutive days of gains.

OPINION: New Chinese edicts on production of electric vehicles could play out in favour of WA lithium producers.

The state government has appointed Philip Helberg, an experienced engineer with a mix of private and public sector experience, to lead Infrastructure WA for five years, beginning in August.

Former Channel 7 reporter and current 6PR weekend presenter Mark Gibson has declared he will run for Lord Mayor of the City of Perth in October's election, becoming the third candidate to announce a bid for the top job.

Former Western Australian under-treasurer Tim Marney has been appointed deputy chair of the federal government's five industrial relations working groups. Christian Porter, who will chair the working groups, announced Mr Marney's appointment this week.

Western Australians will be able to travel to the Kimberley, Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku and parts of the East Pilbara tomorrow after the federal government agreed to lift the state's biosecurity restrictions, two weeks earlier than the anticipated deadline.

OPINION: The virus has created a major shift in sentiment about the cost of diversifying our economy and trading relationships.

OPINION: Trade threats from China are forcing a rethink for WA's exporters and the McGowan government.

A ban on live exports in 2011 has been ruled invalid by the Federal Court, following a long-running dispute between 300 producers and former agriculture minister Joe Ludwig.

Almost all businesses will be able to reopen in Western Australia next weekend, as the state becomes the first in the country to reduce the four square metre rule, and gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed.

Australian farmers are among the least subsidised in the world, while government support has shifted from manufacturing into the services industry in recent years, according to two new reports.

The end of federal assistance to businesses and workers will be a pivotal point in how Australia emerges from COVID-19 lockdown.

A breakdown in talks between universities and the national teaching union is unwelcome news for WA's higher education sector.

Unions and businesses have very different views about workplace casualisation, with the Morrison government hoping to square the circle as part of an upcoming industrial relations reform agenda.

A 3.1 per cent contraction of Western Australia's economy is anticipated in the 2021 financial year, following a 5 per cent fall in the current quarter, but Treasurer Ben Wyatt is more optimistic about the pace of recovery than he was two months ago.

The state government has set up an advisory group, with executives from more than 20 businesses and community groups, to provide advice on the impacts of COVID-19 and measures to help economic recovery.

The state government will implement a number of procurement changes for goods and services contracts in a bid to help Western Australian businesses recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

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.