Government

Treasurer Chris Bowen is putting renewed pressure on the coalition to release its costings after an independent analysis found a $30 billion hole in their figures.

The two men vying for the nation’s top job at next month’s federal election talked up their infrastructure credentials during their first visits to Western Australia during the campaign.

First and second year apprentices across all industries are set to receive phased pay increases of up to 40 per cent over the next two years, following a Fair Work Commission ruling today.

More heat is being applied to Education Minister Peter Collier, with the state opposition demanding an independent inquiry into allegations he tampered with an inquiry into alleged bullying behavio

Tony Abbott says he has instructed the Liberal Party not to accept any more donations from tobacco companies.

A plywood train is sitting in the Hay Street Mall, part of a council protest against government plans to run the real thing down the middle of the city's shopping malls.

Economic growth is expected to remain below trend well into the new year as Australia struggles to transition away from being a mining focused economy.

A leading business group is unimpressed at how the federal election campaign has shaped up after what had been a promising start.

Government failures at James Price Point can teach us many lessons, around long-term planning, due process and adapting to change.

Greens leader Christine Milne has warned the botched approvals process for James Price Point is a sign of things to come under a coalition plan to return environmental decision-making powers to the

Premier Colin Barnett's push to keep the Browse gas project onshore has suffered another blow, with lead proponent Woodside recommending, as expected, the construction of a floating offshore plant

Premier Colin Barnett says he's received clarification of the federal coalition's paid parental leave plan and the state will cooperate with it.

The debate around Liberal leader Tony Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme is another example of how it often takes someone on the wrong side of the political divide to achieve things.

Those who made the initial decision on the solar feed-in tariff should have been more switched on to community sentiment.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott says the coalition will contribute more than $600 million towards the $840 million Swan Valley Bypass project if it wins government at next month’s federal election.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has played up the benefits of his $5.5 billion a year paid parental leave scheme for small business.

Federal Resources and Energy Minister Gary Gray says it was "inappropriate" for Premier Colin Barnett to make public a letter the minister sent to him about the Browse Basin.

Commerce Minister Michael Mischin says he is open to the possibility of further extending Sunday shopping hours, but has not made any firm decision on the matter.

Two new oil and gas research initiatives have received promises of federal funding, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd talking up the future of the sector in Western Australia today.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says plans to introduce tax concessions and incentives in the Northern Territory could be extended to northern Western Australia and Queensland.

The coalition has refused to commit to reducing application fees for 457 visa workers if elected to government, despite flagging plans to make the scheme more “user-friendly”.

Federal Labor would set up a special economic zone in northern Australia if re-elected, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

Penalty rates for workers are firmly in the sights of the coalition if it wins the federal election, unions say.

Average wage rates across the national economy grew by just 2.9 per cent over the past financial year, and economists tip continued low growth as rising unemployment signals a weakening labour market.

The federal government has promised $22 million for seven new trade training centres at schools in Western Australia, part of Labor’s 10-year, $2.5 billion program aimed at boosting trade education.

The federal opposition is refusing to say when it will return the budget to surplus, with Liberal treasury spokesman Joe Hockey claiming the bottom line figures are "almost too unpredictable".

Events of the past week have shown that governments in Perth and Canberra face an enormous task getting their budgets under control, no matter which party is in power.

Voters are being prepared for Tony Abbott to emulate Premier Colin Barnett and backflip on numerous election promises, according to high-profile Labor candidate Alannah MacTiernan.

The departments of Treasury and Finance expect the federal budget deficit to be $30.1 billion in 2013/14, unchanged from the government's own forecast.

Business conditions remain at four-year lows, while low interest rates and the falling Australian dollar have failed to boost business confidence.

Australian businesses are taking longer to pay each other in 2013 compared to a year earlier, in an indication that their level of financial health has not improved, according to credit bureau Dun