Government

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

Labor says Tony Abbott will have no more excuses to hold back on his policy costings once the final pre-election budget numbers are released.

Expect costs to rise as falling revenue streams put pressure on the Barnett government’s ability to balance the budget bottom line.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced $35.6 million in funding to work with business to retrain Australia's manufacturing workforce for the future.

The state government has gone back on its decision to slash by half the amount paid to households that feed solar power into Western Australia's energy grid.

The so-called PNG solution is a band-aid measure designed to sweep the issue of boat people under the carpet.

The federal government has invoked the ‘law of unexpected consequences’ with its new bank levy.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the price of an average jar of Vegemite will rise by about 50 cents, if the rate of the GST is increased.

Treasurer Troy Buswell has pledged to keep the state’s budget in the black, despite projections of a $147 million deficit in 2014-15.

The deterioration in the economic outlook underpinning the latest interest rate cut was so minor it is barely detectable in new forecasts from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Federal Treasury has again been too optimistic with its latest budget forecast.

The Barnett government's cost-cutting measures in the state budget have prompted an industry backlash, with the government accused of adding to the cost of doing business in Western Australia.

The state government will embark on a record infrastructure spend of almost $27 billion over the next four years, despite a deterioration of the state’s revenue base and warnings from credit agenci

The cost of refurbishing Muja power station, which was meant to cost taxpayers nothing, has officially hit $331 million.

Increased land tax rates, more rigorous tax compliance, and the introduction of school fees for children of 457 visa holders are among a suite of measures the government has introduced to lift reve

The Barnett government is forecast to deliver a $147 million budget deficit in 2014-15, with a blowout in spending and net debt set to place significant strain on the state's finances.

Premier Colin Barnett says he hasn't given up pushing for the Woodside-led Browse gas project to be developed onshore in the Kimberley.

Kevin Rudd's stoush with media mogul Rupert Murdoch is showing no signs of easing, with the prime minister demanding to know what talks, if any, Tony Abbott has had with him over the future of the

The state government’s proposed council amalgamations were framed in terms of increasing efficiency, but could make life more difficult for developers.

There was good news and bad news for the Labor government in the latest jobs data.

On the eve of the state budget, Premier Colin Barnett has foreshadowed program cuts and "revenue measures" as the once-boom state struggles with lower income.

The coalition's plan to cut company tax will boost jobs, opposition leader Tony Abbott says.

The High Court has upheld Labor's controversial Minerals Resource Rent Tax, rejecting a challenge launched by miner Fortescue Metals Group.

The Reserve Bank and currency markets are helping business, but what about Canberra?

The $1 billion Gateway WA roads project is set to proceed to major delivery, with finalisation of the project price, scope of works and construction methodology.

Weak international trade figures and job ads data shows Australian economic transition away from a mining investment boom is not going as smoothly as it could.

If a political leader in election mode was looking for a sensible road project to fund, they could offer to improve the key industrial exit roads heading north out of Perth.

Labor and the coalition are at odds over what an expected interest rate cut means for the economy as the election campaign enters its second day.

Having cleared the decks, Labor has decided the timing’s right for the election.