Government

Australian economic conditions are expected to stay subdued for the rest of the year, although they will improve slowly.

Lax security has allowed some Australian employees to fleece their bosses to the tune of $398 million, according to a recent study.

Treasurer Wayne Swan says the federal government will make room in the budget for its spending priorities and will still return a surplus.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne has told business groups to stop complaining every time the federal government tries to drum up extra tax.

A stabilising Chinese economy and tentative signs of an improvement in the non-mining sectors of the local economy were behind the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep the cash rate at 3.5

The cost of electricity is shaping up as a key election issue in Western Australia, with Labor unveiling a $630 million, three-year plan to reduce bills.

The federal opposition has seized on a survey which suggests half of small businesses are already feeling the effects of Labor's carbon tax.

A man who jumped the fence of Premier Colin Barnett's home and chained himself to the front gate is being removed by police.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the federal budget will return to surplus as planned, despite the additional cost of its new asylum seeker measures.

Jobs and growth pressures in Western Australia are expected to be the focus of a community cabinet meeting in Perth on September 5.

Australia's two-decade long economic expansion is at risk unless productivity growth returns to its long term average, according to a new report.

Community sentiment towards Australia's newest onshore asylum-seeker detention centre remains mixed, Northam Shire president Steve Pollard says.

A range of positive factors, including solid wage growth, has failed to lift the mood of consumers.

One of the world's largest credit agencies has warned Australia's states and territories to watch their persistent budget deficits and rising debt levels.

Wage prices data which came in close to expectations is unlikely to sway the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy too much, economists say.

The "world's biggest" carbon tax is partly responsible for a decline in international business confidence in Australia, the federal opposition says.

Bipartisan support is expected for proposed new legislation in Western Australia banning taxpayer-funded government advertising within three months of a state election, the oppositio

Environmental groups have called on the federal government to reject a push to allow state governments to approve certain business developments without federal oversight.

Australian businesses regained their confidence in July, as global sentiment stabilised, and the impact of Reserve Bank of Australia rate cuts began to be felt.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan has had his contract renewed after a recent Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) investigation cleared him of misusing his credit card.

A call for Western Australia to abandon or improve its popular Royalties for Regions (RfR) program has been rejected by the state government.

Premier Colin Barnett has refused a televised debate with opposition leader Mark McGowan after accusing him of being a "fence sitter" on key election issues.

In what is fast becoming one of Australia's most bitterly fought environmental campaigns, cold, hard cash - rather than conservation - is likely to determine the fate of Woodside Petroleum's multib

The federal government faces another tussle with the Australian Greens over a cut in the corporate tax rate, if the reduction is funded by reducing research and development (R&D) tax concession

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr has used a visit to the University of WA to announce increased aid to help African nations develop their mining industries, which he said was a much better way of

The forecast pace of growth in the Australian economy for 2012 is better than previously expected, but problems in the euro zone threaten to crash the party, the Reserve Bank of Australia says.

Business groups welcome new prospects for a corporate tax cut after this year's false promise, but they fear it could come at a painful cost in other areas.

The Western Australian Greens have chosen a small business owner in Broome to battle for a seat brimming with hot issues in the next state election.

The latest job figures show Australia's economy is more resilient than expected, the federal government says.

Hancock Prospecting's chief development officer, John Klepec, has hit out at the federal government's treatment of business in Australia while accepting the top award at Diggers and Dealers on beha

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has stolen words out of the Queensland Premier's mouth and then blamed him for electricity price hikes, Premier Colin Barnett says.

A mortgage broker believes the Olympic Games has probably done more to boost consumer confidence than central bank interest rate decisions.