Government

OPINION: Reducing state debt will be a top priority for the new government and perhaps, as a former PM has suggested, a more cooperative approach is needed.

Pauline Hanson has fended off claims her Western Australian One Nation team is in disarray on the eve of the state election.

ANALYSIS: Labor's shadow treasurer, Ben Wyatt, says the Federal Government wouldn't dare deprive WA of the $1.2 billion which will be freed up if his party wins Saturday's election and abandons the Roe 8 highway project.

The Labor Party is budgeting on $750 million of spending cuts and $400 million of metropolitan land sales to help pay for its election promises, and claims it will achieve a budget surplus of $205 million in 2019-20.

ANALYSIS: Any improvement in the state’s budget position is entirely dependent on the corporate sector returning to full health.

Premier Colin Barnett has taken aim at Labor leader Mark McGowan, accusing him of being cheap and tacky over a proposal to sell stadium naming rights.

Relations between the Western Australian government's alliance partners have hit rock bottom, after the Nationals WA attacked the Liberals over plans to cut $800 million out of its prized Royalties for Regions program, calling it a "final betrayal".

Treasury costings of the Liberal Party’s campaign promises have shown the estimates to be reasonable, with the Liberal's plan showing the state getting back to a small surplus in 2019-20.

ANALYSIS: Perth Modern School parents have vowed to continue their campaign against the Labor Party’s plan to move and rebadge the state’s most historic government high school if it wins Saturday’s state election.

There was a slight dip in the number of Western Australian businesses entering administration in January compared to the same month in 2016, according to the latest data from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Western Australia's environment minister says there is no justification to stop work on the Roe 8 project, despite a Senate inquiry saying the Commonwealth should suspend approval for it.

The Barnett government has seized on comments by Australia's competition chief Rod Sims that plans to privatise Western Australia's poles and wires utility, Western Power, would lead to lower prices, while Labor leader Mark McGowan has claimed a re-elected Liberal government would also sell Water Corporation. 

ANALYSIS: Pauline Hanson has done her cause no good with the claim that there is ‘sheer hatred’ in Western Australia towards Premier Colin Barnett. Labor leader Mark McGowan might be more popular with the voters, but the ‘sheer hatred’ tag is extraordinary.

The Reserve Bank of Australia remains upbeat about the nation's economy, signalling it doesn't intend to move interest rates this year.

ANALYSIS: One of the sleeper issues in the election campaign is the strategy for renewable energy over the next four years. There has been surprisingly little debate on the issue, which affects householders and business alike.

Demanding WA Labor submit election promises to Treasury for scrutiny has proved a potent line of attack for the Liberals this week, as the government tried to change the topic from its preference deal with Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Western Australia's deputy premier says the government is finding it hard to cut through to the public because it is being heavily outspent by the opposition and unions on political advertising.

Moves to extend trading hours on weekdays and on Sundays could be a hit with voters, according to a recent survey conducted for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA, with 59 per cent of shoppers keen for longer weekday trade.

ANALYSIS: The Labor Party has no intention of backing down on its planned 4 per cent stamp duty surcharge on foreign buyers of residential properties if it wins the general election on March 11.

WA Labor has demanded the Liberals guarantee a privatisation of Western Power won't lead to electricity price rises and release legislation on the deal, while the Liberals say prices will not be impacted because they are independently regulated.

US interest rate policy, the ongoing fallout from Brexit, rising international protectionism and the performance of China are all risks facing the Australian economy.

Australia's service sector activity was nearly flat last month implying jobs growth will remain weak for the near term.

The latest poll ahead of the Western Australian election shows Labor could receive a hefty nine per cent swing, but that might not be enough to form government.

The Australian market looks set to open lower following Wall Street, which retraced from record highs amid renewed expectations of a US interest rate rise.

Gold prices were on track for their weakest session since December on Thursday (US time), buoyed by a firm dollar and rising US rate hike expectations in March following buoyant US economic data and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve governors.

US stocks retreated on Thursday, led by financial stocks, while Caterpillar shares dropped following news that federal officials searched its Illinois facilities.

ANALYSIS: Colin Barnett says cuts in penalty rates should be extended to include the tourism industry to reflect the fact it is a 24-hours, seven-days-a-week operation.

The entire City of Perth council may be sacked over the lord mayor's travel scandal if Labor wins the state election and the Local Government Act allows it, opposition leader Mark McGowan says.

ANALYSIS: The row between Premier Colin Barnett and opposition leader Mark McGowan over the cost of their election promises is a clear sign the campaign is getting to the pointy end. But don’t rule out surprises.

ANALYSIS: The major parties are ramping up expectations of what they will deliver if they win the March 11 state poll, but financial realities have a way of stifling the best of intentions.

Premier Colin Barnett has demanded Labor submit its election promises to Treasury for costing, saying that should be the modern standard for oppositions.

GDP has bounced back from a poor showing in the September quarter with December quarter seasonally adjusted growth of 1.1 per cent, while Western Australia snapped a five quarter streak of shrinking state demand to grow 0.4 per cent.