Government

The Barnett government and the Labor opposition have put forward their competing plans to better protect subcontractors and ensure they are paid for their involvement on government contracts.

A recent move by the federal government to include distillers in a tax rebate scheme for breweries is a step in the right direction, but not a total fix.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates to an all-time low, but already economists are wondering if more will be needed to get the country's economy moving.

One Nation candidate Rodney Culleton and the Greens' Rachel Siewert have won the final two out of the 12 Western Australian Senate seats, joining five Liberals, four Labor and one other Green, the Australian Electoral Commission says.

Water Corporation CEO Sue Murphy was Business News’s luncheon guest at the newly re-opened Julio’s restaurant, where a range of business and personal topics was on the menu. 

WA’s belated adoption of changes to voter registration requirements has opened up a new challenge for the major parties ahead of the March 2017 poll.

A series of new rail and road tunnels, including a CBD train loop and a line from Stirling to Murdoch could be needed as Perth's population grows to 3.5 million, according to Transport Minister Dean Nalder, as he unveiled the state government's long term transport blueprint this morning.

Iron ore shipments contributed more than $45 billion to the Western Australian economy in the 12 months to June, a figure well down on last year, according to BNiQ, despite a pick-up in volumes by the state’s major producers.

Marine services company MMA Offshore has flagged a $140 million impairment in its upcoming FY16 results, with the majority of the charge attributed to its vessel fleet.

US stocks mostly rose in anticipation of results from tech heavyweights Alphabet and Amazon, while the yen eased after Reuters reported the Bank of Japan was considering expanding monetary stimulus to address signs of weak inflation.

Oil prices have fallen nearly two per cent, hitting April lows and with US crude headed for its biggest monthly loss in a year, on growing worries that the world was pumping more crude than needed.

The Australian dollar has fallen against its US counterpart as the greenback staged a minor rebound.

Gold has turned lower after hitting a two-week peak as the US dollar pared losses and US stocks climbed from their lows ahead of a possible Bank of Japan announcement to expand monetary stimulus on Friday.

Only 14 per cent of Western Australian small businesses are supportive of the state government’s policies, while they're less confident about the economy than in any other state, according to the latest quarterly survey by marketing group Sensis.

The Australian dollar has gained some ground after the US dollar weakened on signs the Federal Reserve is not ready to lift interest rates in September.

Gold has extended its climb above $US1,330 an ounce after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as expected and the US dollar pared gains against a basket of major currencies.

FMG could be lowest cost

Wall Street has ended lower after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but opened the door to a possible rate increase later this year.

The Australian dollar has fallen and economists say a Reserve Bank rate cut is more likely next Tuesday following the release of data showing annual inflation is at its lowest level since June 1999.

The richest 1 per cent of Australians have become less well off in the past eight years, while net wealth in the bottom 10 per cent of households has continued to grow, according to the Melbourne Institute’s Hilda survey report.

The Reserve Bank says Brexit fears won't hit the global economy too hard, but more sluggish local consumer prices could set the scene for an August rate cut.

More than half of respondents to a survey of 1,200 Business News subscribers and users believe the state’s business environment deteriorated in the 2016 financial year.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has promoted little-known Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan to a cabinet position as resources minister, with Josh Frydenberg moving from that role to the portfolios of energy and environment.

Treasurer Mike Nahan has said encouraging private investment in the Pilbara electricity grid could reduce its excess capacity and also energy prices in the north west, at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch today.

Malcolm Turnbull’s campaign failings have highlighted the danger of giving your opponent a free kick, and WA Liberals are sure to heed the warning.

The state government plans to cancel a new environmental review of the controversial Roe 8 highway extension project after winning a legal appeal today, but it remains unclear when contracts for the project will be awarded.

The state government has flagged the possibility of a broad inquiry into the use of imported building materials after confirming today that roofing panels supplied by Chinese company Yuanda to Perth Children’s Hospital contained asbestos.

Unemployment in Western Australia retreated slightly last month, while the national jobless rate edged higher, new figures have shown.

Moving state government departments out of Perth’s central business district into regional and urban centres will have social benefits, according to Environment Minister Albert Jacob, as the government announced today the shift of 800 staff to a Primewest development in Joondalup.

A credit rating downgrade could cost more than $1 billion in extra interest bills, but higher taxes to balance the budget is not the solution, according to KPMG Economics.

A ramp-up of iron ore exports has lifted annual throughput at Port Hedland to a new record of 460.4 million tonnes, with the combined Pilbara Ports Authority tracking for a figure of 633.5mt per year.

Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union WA assistant secretary Joe McDonald was among 29 union representatives fined a total of $61,000 for unlawful industrial action at Lakeside Joondalup in 2014.