Government

Former federal police commissioner Mick Keelty is already convinced the missing votes in the Western Australian Senate election materially affected the result, but says it's unlikely their disappearance was caused by corruption.

Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett says the rocky start to his second term is behind him.

Premier Colin Barnett has defended the government's plans to sell the Kwinana Bulk Terminal to Len Buckeridge in the hopes of bringing to an end the BGC chairman's $1 billion lawsuit against the state.

A motion suggesting Prime Minister Tony Abbott scrap laws requiring balanced reporting by Australian media will be among those debated by the Western Australian branch of the Liberal Party at its state conference.

Labor will seek to block government plans to scrap a superannuation contribution scheme designed to benefit low-income earners.

Western Australia's unemployment rate has fallen to just 4.3 per cent, with the jobless rate remaining steady at a national level.

Australia's competition watchdog has recommended reforms to ensure ongoing business growth at the nation's major ports.

Education ministers from states yet to sign up to the Gonski school funding overhaul are meeting with federal minister Christopher Pyne to discuss the matter.

Tighter federal and state budgets are going to make economic reform harder in the future, a report says.

A fourth consecutive month of growth in the market capitalisation of Western Australia's top 100 listed companies is a sign of renewed business confidence within the WA economy, according to market analysts.

Former federal police chief Mick Keelty has begun his investigation into 1,375 missing votes from the Western Australian Senate ballot.

The ethical bar for ministers may now be set too high, Premier Colin Barnett says, after treasurer Troy Buswell came under pressure for helping to get his son an appointment for a driving test.

Australia's jobless rate is expected to drift higher, despite the recent pickup in economic data and improvement in consumer and business confidence.

The state government has proposed folding in the entire City of Vincent to a bigger City of Perth but Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi says the move is a "cop out" driven by populist politics.

Treasurer Troy Buswell has been accused of abusing his power by intervening to get his son an appointment for a driving test.

Retail spending continues to improve, driven by department store sales, reflecting the bounce in consumer confidence since the September federal election.

Labor must expand or die, according to Western Australian leader Mark McGowan, who has revealed plans for local party branches to hold meetings online.

The controversial results of Western Australia's senate recount have been formally declared ahead of a likely High Court challenge.

The Abbott government may be on the right track with plans to axe the carbon and mining taxes, but after that it’s anyone’s guess.

Consumers could be faced with higher prices in coming months due to an acceleration in business energy costs.

Clive Palmer says a discrepancy in the numbers across three vote recounts in the seat of Fairfax proves officials have been counting votes incorrectly, while the Liberal National Party is yet to rule out challenging his narrow win.

There is growing confidence the central bank will leave the official cash rate unchanged at its November board meeting for the second year in a row.

The fate of Western Australia's Senate election looks set to be decided in court - or with a new election for six WA senate seats - after the Australian Electoral Commission admitted it had lost more than 1,300 votes.

The state government will introduce legislation this week which it says will encourage greater transparency around the environmental approvals process for mining projects and cut costs for business.

With hopes fading that non-mining sections of the economy will take up the slack of a waning resources investment boom any time soon, an independent forecaster believes government infrastructure spending must be encouraged.

More than 1,100 West Australian public servants have applied for generous voluntary redundancy packages, as the state government strives to trim the budget.

The husband of Perth federal MP Alannah MacTiernan plans to plead guilty to a charge that he mishandled money from his law firm's trust fund.

Billionaire Clive Palmer has accused the Australian Electoral Commission of "complete incompetence" after more doubts emerged during the recount of votes for Western Australia's new senators.

A council representing industry heavyweights including BHP Billiton and Alcoa has thrown its support behind the City of Kwinana's proposal to take over part of the City of Cockburn and assume responsibility for the Kwinana industrial strip.

Weak performance in emerging economies is causing a world economic slowdown this year, but the advanced economies should step it up next year.

Chinese interest in Australian property and resources may be in the spotlight, but Japan still has a significant foothold, particularly in WA.

Non-mining investment is at levels not seen since the 1990s recession but a falling Australian dollar, low interest rates and improving business confidence should turn things around.