Government

Western Australian merchandise exports in the year to June were down more than 15 per cent on the previous financial year, according to the latest trade balance update from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

A scaling back of penalty rates for hospitality and retail workers on Sundays was among the major recommendations in the Productivity Commission’s draft workplace relations framework released today.

The Reserve Bank appears unlikely to cut rates any time soon after leaving the cash rate at a record low of 2 per cent for a third straight month.

Australians splashing out on household goods have delivered a boost to retail spending in June.

Job advertisements in Western Australia are down more than 40 per cent since this time last year, according to fresh data from ANZ.

The annual rate of inflation is staying well below the Reserve Bank's two to three per cent target, weighed down by falls in utility prices.

Federal MP Don Randall has been farewelled at a funeral service in Perth.

Households are going without food and medicines and are unable to pay bills as cost of living pressures take hold, welfare advocates say.

Employment figures are due next week and may go some way to resolve the mystery of jobs growth that appears too strong to be consistent with an economy growing at less than its normal pace.

Australian companies risk falling behind their overseas rivals because investors' demands for large dividends stymies investment in innovation.

Australia won't sign up to the massive trans-Pacific partnership trade deal if it can't get a better agreement for sugar farmers and clear up issues surrounding medicines and the rights of companie

Payroll tax is costing Western Australian businesses more than $2,700 per employee on the back of strong wages growth in the state during the past decade, according to a report released today.

A renewed steep sell-off on the Chinese share market risks undermining improving levels of consumer confidence in Australia.

Major changes to Western Australia's electoral boundaries have been proposed to reflect uneven population growth in the state.

Forcing Australia's wealthiest people to pay at least a minimum rate of tax would raise an additional $2.5 billion a year, modelling shows.

Business confidence has jumped to its highest level since September last year, with sentiment improving across all sectors except for mining.

After a prodigious drop in exploration spending during the past decade, miners and governments have unveiled a blueprint to kickstart greenfields programs.

An interest rate cut is still possible, but evidence of further economic weakness will not automatically trigger such a move, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens warns.

A spike in petrol prices has lifted inflation, but not to levels that would prevent a rate cut by the Reserve Bank.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten believes his ambitious renewable energy target will give voters a "clear choice" at the next federal election.

Aggregate spending was up 0.6 per cent in WA in June, bringing the total increase in the past 12 months to 7.7 per cent, according to data released by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia today.

Long-serving Liberal member of federal parliament Don Randall has passed away from what was believed to be a heart attack while on an electorate visit, aged 62.

Less than one-fifth of Western Australians are deemed to be financially fit, while the majority feel less financially secure than they did a year ago, according to a report by Bankwest.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has hosed down expectations his leaders' retreat will settle on changes to the GST.

Treasurer Mike Nahan refuses to talk about changing the GST unless it means increasing his state's share of the revenue carve-up.

Suburban office developers are facing an uncertain outlook similar to their CBD counterparts.

The state government has announced plans to release another 5,000 hectares of farm land in the Ord River irrigation area, as Chinese-backed company Kimberley Agricultural Investment continues to seek development approvals for land it secured three years ago.

The state government is softening its stance on ride-sharing service Uber, but won't drop prosecutions against drivers accused of breaking the law, Premier Colin Barnett says.

The Aussie dollar is likely to fall to around US70 cents by the end of the year in response to higher US interest rates and sliding commodity prices, UBS predicts.

Calls for reform to penalty rates are likely to grow louder following last month’s rise in unemployment in Western Australia.

The number of 457 visa applications that require employers to seek Australian workers first could slump to just 25 per cent because of free trade agreements, unions say.

Several local councils are hoping the state’s assets privatisation program will give them control over one of their most significant expenses – the cost of operating street lights.