Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has flagged Labor will set up a headquarters in Brisbane as well as outposts in Western Australia and South Australia to help boost the export opportunities for the mining equipment sector if it wins the next election.
Opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb believes Labor's deceit over the coalition's $31.6 billion of promised savings will be the last straw for many voters.
The Barnett government has scrapped funding for a small business training scheme as it seeks to rein in spending to preserve its modest budget surplus.
Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey has defended the coalition's $31.6 billion of proposed savings, saying Labor's accusations that they don't add up are "dead wrong".
Mining investment should stay strong for the coming year, economists say.But they are still looking for a pick-up in investment in other parts of the economy.
The coalition’s proposed parental leave scheme has come under attack from equal opportunity advocates, who argue investing in childcare would be a better way to boost participation.
The coalition will argue that abolishing the carbon tax will save the budget $5.6 billion over four years and the party's paid parental leave scheme will add to the bottom line, news reports say.
Wage growth under recent enterprise bargaining agreements has been restrained, posing little threat to the inflation outlook, new federal government figures suggest.
Tony Abbott says the coalition will have more to say about budget savings this week, but maintains the opposition's full costings won't be released until the final week of the campaign.
Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke has taken aim at the poor standard of political leadership in Australia, which he said was the fundamental barrier to implementing vital economic reforms.
Human rights group UNICEF is appealing to the state government to reconsider its plan to charge 457 visa holders $4,000 a year to educate their children at public schools.
Seven outstanding Western Australian business and community leaders will go on to represent the state in the 2013 EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards after being announced ascategory winners for the
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.
Businesses will only have to lodge GST returns with the tax office once a year rather than four times under a new Labor measure to reduce business red tape.
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.
