Domestic tourists spent $4.6 billion while visiting Western Australia in the year to September, which was 12 per cent more than the previous year and three times the average increase nationally.
Australia's free trade agreement with China is likely to deliver significant benefits to agricultural exporters but the gains will be mainly indirect and apparent over the longer term, a report by Rabobank has concluded.
China's consumer inflation fell to a five-year low of 1.4 per cent in November, the government says, amid concerns over the risk of deflation in the world's second-largest economy.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced the government will ditch plans for the $7 Medicare co-payment and instead pursue an optional co-payment, to be introduced at the same time the Medicare rebate to GPs is reduced by $5.
Jobs are back on the agenda for employers in 2015, with Hudson Recruitment's latest report on hiring intentions showing positive signs, while research from hiring website Indeed has found that unfilled jobs cost Australian $6.7 billion annually.
National Australia Bank has become the second of the big four to reverse its interest rate forecasts, predicting the Reserve Bank will need to slash rates twice in 2015.
Further changes will be made to the way official employment statistics are compiled following an independent review of the process, but not this month.
Australian tax officials have been embedded in the offices of 10 multinationals as the federal government tries to capture as much as $3 billion in dodged revenue each year.
New vehicle sales in Western Australia continue to perform far below last year, with year-to-date sales down 7.9 per cent for the same period in 2013, according to new figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Drivers in Western Australia may pay more for vehicle registration or drivers' licences to help the state government pay for transport improvements, the premier has confirmed.
The number of international visitors to Western Australia each year has surpassed 800,000, with the state again recording the highest average trip expenditure per visitor for the country.
Australia's growth rate fell to 0.3 per cent in the September quarter, less than half the rate expected by market analysts, resulting in annual growth sliding to 2.7 per cent.
Local government representatives from Perth's suburban north-west have visited Canberra in an effort to spark federal support for the growth of the region.
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has called on business leaders to speak up against government regulations she says are making it harder for Australia to compete.
