Government

Local businesses aren’t popping the champagne corks for an economic recovery just yet despite the latest data from the Commonwealth Bank showing a rise in transactions across a range of sectors during the Christmas trading period.

A significant lift in private capital expenditure in the tourism sector could provide a tailwind for Western Australia’s struggling economy this year, according to the author of a report released by investment bank UBS.

OPINION: Expect Brendon Grylls to go hard at BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto over his tax plan ahead of the March state election.

The Western Australian parliament has finished all business until after the election on March 11, after it was prorogued by WA governor Kerry Sanderson.

Education is at the centre of the state opposition's election promises for the second consecutive day, with Labor promising to spend $50 million upgrading a high school in the Liberal-held seat of Balcatta.

OPINION: WA Liberals would prefer Malcolm Turnbull stayed away in the lead-up to the March election, unless he has some good news to share about the GST.

The state government says it expects to reap about $300 million from the sale of all nine lots at Elizabeth Quay, with three offers being considered for the last vacant site.

The state government has granted $415,000 to 20 local defence industry businesses on the same day it announced applications were open for a pool of $400,000 of innovation vouchers.

Rising gas prices on the east coast have highlighted yet another anomaly in the GST structure that costs WA.

The Royal Automobile Club of WA and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA have both welcomed an election pledge by Premier Colin Barnett to spend $520 million upgrading a freight rail line between Thornlie and Cockburn to enable passenger service.

The head contractor building the new Perth Children’s Hospital dropped a bombshell this morning, with the project’s manager saying the company is not responsible for the lead-contaminated water, and that water being delivered to the site already contains the harmful  metal.

Higher fuel and domestic holiday travel costs have contributed to a 0.4 per cent rise in Perth prices in the December quarter, while national inflation remains below the Reserve Bank's target, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ most recent data.

ANALYSIS: Politics is getting in the way of timely and cost-efficient delivery of much-needed major projects.

One of state’s biggest residential construction firms, Builton Group, has succumbed to the financial stresses engulfing the sector, appointing an external administrator earlier today after reports of the company’s financial troubles emerged last week.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has written to the local branches of two trade unions, saying they misrepresented his views on the float of Western Power in a recent advertisement campaign.

A final investment decision on the state’s next major greenfields iron ore project could come as early as next year, after Balla Balla Infrastructure Group today signed a state agreement with the government for a new transhipment port and rail facility in the Pilbara.

Former One Nation senator Rod Culleton insists he won't be clearing out his offices and is determined to attend the start of federal parliament.

The Labor Party moved swiftly today to reassure the business sector that it would not hand over responsibility for project approvals to an independent tribunal, after reports it was considering such a change.

A Belmont-based, family-owned uniform supplier has won a $96.5 million contract to continue providing its services to the state government over the next 10 years.

Outback Western Australia is the worst-performing property market in the nation, according to a new report by ratings agency Moody’s, which also found housing prices in Perth have fallen by 8 per cent since peaking in December 2014.

The state’s unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points in December to 6.6 per cent as the number of women in the labour force eased slightly, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

Mike Baird has made a shock announcement this morning, saying he will immediately resign both as premier of NSW and from politics altogether, before revealing a number of serious family health issues.

The state government has received a proposal for a $1.85 billion World Trade Centre in the Perth CBD from a Middle Eastern-backed private group that includes former Perth Airport manager Neil Kidd.

Consumers are optimistic about their future finances, but they're still worried about the contraction of the economy reported last month, Westpac says.

Turnbull government ministers Greg Hunt and Arthur Sinodinos have been given senior portfolios in a reshuffle announced today, while Perth MP Ken Wyatt has made hstory by being named the first indigenous Australian appointed to a federal ministry.

Colin Barnett has criticised protesters for disrupting the government's Roe 8 project, saying they were refusing to accept the courts' decisions and did not deserve sympathy.

Federal Liberal politician Sussan Ley will resign as minister for health, aged care and sport after coming under fire in recent weeks for expense issues, although she insists she followed the ministerial code of conduct.

The state’s businesses leaders are optimistic about improved conditions in the year ahead, according to feedback from the annual Business News chief executive survey, with tax reform identified as a priority issue whichever party is in government after the March poll.

SPECIAL REPORT: Several high-profile schools have announced plans for restrained fee changes, including some freezes and reductions, in order to stay competitive after several years of weak economic performance in Western Australia. 

Fresh from a year that delivered major political shocks and proved tougher than expected, Australian business leaders are taking a cautious approach to 2017.

Rental, hiring and real estate services were among the industries that fared worst as external administrations jumped 14 per cent in Western Australia for the September quarter, as insolvency experts warn that an economic rebound has not yet clearly emerged.

WA Senator Rod Culleton says he will appeal against a Federal Court ruling that he is bankrupt as he fights to save his political career.