Government

The national unemployment rate has edged up to 5.8 per cent in November, despite the number of people in employment rising by 21,000 in the month, while Western Australia continues to maintain a much lower jobless rate.

Premier Colin Barnett has announced new measures to address public safety and help mitigate the risk sharks pose to water users.

Jobs advertised on the internet and in newspapers fell for the second consecutive month, and there are no clear signs of the labour market bouncing back in the coming months.

Electoral commissioner Ed Killesteyn is under pressure to quit after an inquiry found serious flaws in the Western Australian Senate election count, which could lead to $13 million being spent on a fresh poll.

The state government has formalised plans for Chinese group Shanghai Zhongfu to develop thousands of hectares of irrigated land in the Kimberley, more than a year after naming the company as its preferred proponent for the land.

The WA Nationals will retain the key regional development portfolio under a minor cabinet reshuffle triggered by the resignation of Brendon Grylls.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has rejected spending more public money to keep Holden operating in Australia, amid reports the car maker's American parent company General Motors wants to close Australian operations by 2016.

Inflation pressures remain weak in developed economies, contrary to expectations after a prolonged period of quantitative easing.

The state government's $609 million City Link project is progressing faster than expected, with the project's $360 million rail component completed six months ahead of schedule.

The market capitalisation of Western Australia's top 100 listed companies has fallen on the back of lower commodity prices, marking an end to four months of consecutive gains.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer has been appointed to two key parliamentary committees dealing with economic matters.

Treasurer Joe Hockey says the latest economic growth figures point to another deterioration in the federal budget.

The federal Labor party says it will back a cash bidding system for offshore oil and gas exploration permits.

The slowing of Western Australia's population growth as forecast in this year's state budget appears to be well under way, particularly in response to the tapering off of resources construction activity.

Retail spending rose for the fourth month in a row as consumer confidence and recent interest rate cuts encourage Australians to spend.

A leading business group is hopeful that tax benefits aimed at small firms and tied to Labor's mining tax will be retained in the May budget.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate at 2.5 per cent, saying the global and local economic outlook is improving.

The federal government has backed down on schools funding after a row with a majority of the states and territories.

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has offered the states and territories incentive payments to sell off public assets and put the money into new job-creating infrastructure.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann insists there is a budget emergency, but that doesn't mean the government has to act in a "panicked, chaotic fashion" to deal with it.

The state government will retrospectively amend its land tax legislation after a court ruling broadened the potential for property developers to obtain an exemption.

The state government needs to tackle real regulatory minefields, like liquor licensing, and not just abolish redundant laws.

Mia Davies has been elected deputy leader of the WA Nationals and will become a cabinet minister after beating Wendy Duncan in a party-room ballot.

Almost 200 police officers are set to quit the Western Australian force under a voluntary severance scheme designed to ease pressure on the state budget and put more police on the streets.

The federal government will go back to the drawing board on schools funding from 2015 after finding what it says is a $1.2 billion shortfall in Labor's scheme.

The states and territories will need to argue the case for a lower GST threshold on foreign imports, the federal government says.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens says he is prepared to put the final nail in the coffin of the "uncomfortably high" Australian dollar if need be.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors has released its bi-annual Director Sentiment Index survey showing confidence of Australian directors about business and the future of the economy has improved since the election of the Abbott government.

Clive Palmer has announced a High Court challenge to attempt to have his party's Senate candidate Dio Wang declared a winner in Western Australia.

The International Monetary Fund believes it could take until 2016 before the Australian economy returns to trend growth of around three per cent.

The federal agency managing the government's bond portfolio says a buffer beyond what is expected to be the peak in commonwealth debt is needed to cope with unforeseen events in any one year.

Labor has launched a last-ditch fight to keep the mining tax as the federal government prepares to scrap the measure in a parliamentary vote.