Government

The financial affairs of numerous previously low-key unlisted or foreign-owned companies headquartered in Western Australia have been released by the Australian Taxation Office for the second year running.

Mark Potter will be one of around 100 Western Australian industry representatives ready to tout the state's defence contracting capability at a forum with the federal government’s new Centre for Defence Industry Capability this morning.

Treasurer Mike Nahan has labelled opposition leader Mark McGowan’s plan to slash senior executive positions and bring in new key performance indicators as ‘not credible’.

The acting United States Ambassador to Australia, James Carouso, says there is enormous scope for increased American investment in northern Australia, including in the Broome and Ord River regions.

Commerce Minister Michael Mischin will today encourage local defence contractors to apply for a state government industry assistance program to fund productivity enhancements, speaking at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA defence conference.

Perth should consider increased use of private water recycling infrastructure in new residential developments to reduce costs for consumers and lower the capital burden on the taxpayer, according to a report by ACIL Allen to be released today.

The state’s domestic gas market is expected to have excess supply of 640 terajoules per day by 2021, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator, although a delay in commencement of production at the Wheatstone or Gorgon domestic gas facilities could lead to a tightening of the supply as early as next year.

The state government should pay for a slice of the environmental approval costs and release more freehold land in the Pilbara to encourage the growth of agribusiness in the region, according to spe

A proposal to roughly double the royalties paid by the state’s two biggest iron ore miners was divisive and could set a dangerous precedent for fixing budget issues, Fortescue Metals Group chief executive Nev Power told this morning’s Business News Success & Leadership breakfast.

A perfect storm has pushed Australia's economy halfway to recession, but economists are optimistic about a year-end rebound.

The federal government is moving towards changing the way road usage is priced, a reform backed in last year’s Harper competition review.

Three leading professionals have joined forces to take control of the Peppermint Grove branch of the Liberal Party, which is influential in the preselection process for Colin Barnett’s state seat of Cottesloe.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is expecting a negative blip in economic growth at the end of this year but is not overly concerned about it.

Legal issues swirling around One Nation’s Rod Culleton could cruel the party’s chances at the March state poll.

Western Australia experienced yet another horror month for new car sales, with the prospect of a last-minute turnaround to bring the year on par with 2015’s poor result looking very unlikely.

The federal government is on the brink of striking a deal with Western Australia to let the state run the National Disability Insurance Scheme locally.

A particularly stressful week for farmers has come to a relieving end with the Greens today supporting the federal government’s proposed 15 per cent backpacker tax after voting against it yesterday.

Western Australian women have gone backwards in terms of the gender pay gap, with full-time workers earning on average 30.9 per cent - or $43,000 a year - less than men.

The federal government’s plan for a 15 per cent rate backpacker tax has been knocked down in the Senate, with the state’s farming body left furious and desperate for a solution.

Colin Barnett says he would like to see penalty rates cut for casual small business employees on Sundays and public holidays, but lift the base rate for standard hours.

The Barnett government is hoping to raise $3 billion by selling 51 per cent of Western Power to Australian investors, and will also use the privatisation deal to remove about $8 billion of debt off the state’s books.

The state government has allocated $2 million for a new co-working space in Karratha to promote small business and startups in the area.

The state’s agricultural body has welcomed the Commonwealth’s decision to reduce its planned backpacker tax to 15 per cent, less than half than what was originally proposed.

Attorney General George Brandis says every decision he made in relation to the Bell Group liquidation protected the interests of taxpayers, as the Insurance Commission of Western Australia estimates the litigation over the matter could take another 15 years to resolve.

Attorney General Michael Mischin said today he was disappointed at the federal government’s role in overturning state legislation designed to settle the long-running Bell Group dispute, as the amount of litigation around the matter once again escalates.   

The federal government is aiming to provide better transport across the nation by considering changes to how Australians pay for roads.

Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the US election two weeks ago is already having ramifications for world trade, with his confirmation today he will withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership likely to spark a recalibration of plans among nations in the region.

Former Western Australian premier Richard Court has been named Australia’s next ambassador to Japan.

Western Australian businesses will have another opportunity to win work in the defence sector, with 30 companies today meeting the two potential head contractors for the Army’s Land400 procurement program.

Colin Barnett may be the government’s best performer in parliament, but his standing in voters’ eyes is fuelling talk of a challenge.

The state government reached a milestone in its asset sales program last night after passing a bill to enable the leasing of Port Hedland's Utah Point, despite opposition from a lobby group representing the miners that currently use the wharf facility. 

Unemployment in Western Australia surged last month, placing it ahead of South Australia as the worst-performing state in October.