Government

The Western Australian government has sparked immediate protests after allowing resources giant Woodside to perform feasibility work at sacred Aboriginal burial sites as part of the proposed gas hu

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke says it is important that Congress raise America's borrowing limit before the Treasury runs out of manoeuvring room to avoid a potential default on US debt.

The federal government is resisting pressure to reveal how much it is receiving from the minerals resource rent tax.

The federal opposition says the government should come clean with the public on how much the mining tax has raised to date, then immediately move to scrap it.

Consumer prices are rising in line with the Reserve Bank of Australia's target for inflation, a report says.

Australia is ranked the third most free economy in the world despite its score falling slightly in the past year, a new report says.

The state government is expected to raise $10 million from the sale of a 1,500 square metre parcel of prime riverfront land at the edge of the heritage-listed Sunset Hospital site in Dalkeith.

First home buyers who jointly purchase a property with a private company are still eligible for the state government's First Home Owners Grant, in light of a ruling by the State Administrative Trib

The WA Nationals have ruled out forming government with Labor should they again hold the balance of power at the next state election.

Victoria has overtaken Western Australia to be the country's most competitive state for business taxes, an updated study by the Institute of Public Affairs has found.

The spate of major project deferrals announced last year have hit confidence levels among WA business hard, with expectations for the state economy dropping to its lowest level since the GFC.

Treasurer Troy Buswell says his legal team is assessing an offer to settle court action between himself and his former lover, independent MP Adele Carles.

The federal coalition appears to be backing away from its pledge to deliver a budget surplus in every year of its first term in office.

The state government has trimmed its surplus forecast for the current financial year by $56 million as it lifts spending to meet the needs of an expanding population while revenue from mining royal

Women may rule in Australia but for some it's been tough at the top in 2012.

Federal budget cuts to single parents, foreign aid and universities should be reversed in light of an abandoned surplus, the Greens say.

It was a boom that would seemingly go on forever.

Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded its outlook for Western Australia's AAA credit rating to negative from stable because of the state's mounting debt.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has accused the opposition of twisting the facts about the economy as he continues to defend Labor's decision to drop its budget surplus.

Australia's ability to repay its debt will be unaffected by the government's admission it's unlikely to deliver a budget surplus this financial year, a global ratings agency says.

A lawyer for the ex-partner of state Treasurer Troy Buswell has asked the Liberal minister to cease legal action against his former flame.

The federal government's admission that a budget surplus was now unlikely has led to opposition charges that it has mismanaged the economy - a view which appears to resonate with WA Business News r

Businesses may get that sales boost they've been begging Santa for after all, with a new survey showing a rise in consumer spending ahead of Christmas.

Australia's economic growth is likely to slow in the near future, an industry study predicts.

Premier Colin Barnett wants a legal stoush between the state's treasurer and his ex-lover resolved soon as it's proving a distraction.

The state government will get a US$22 million stamp duty windfall after Canadian company Cameco completed the purchase of the Yeelirrie uranium project for US$430 million.

Former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser says the pursuit of a federal budget surplus is harming the economy.

The former head of Western Australia's anti-corruption commission believes Julia Gillard may have breached state law by providing legal advice for the incorporation of an association used

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut the cash rate in December to support underperforming sectors of the economy, including housing construction and retail, ahead of the expected peak in the mining in

Health director general Kim Snowball has tendered his resignation, saying that the demands of the job had taken a toll on his personal and family life.

A meeting of federal, state and territory treasurers wound up quickly and without any major agreements on the main agenda items of the GST and inefficient state taxes.

The downturn in China's economy since 2011 has sliced $US2.4 billion off Australia's economic growth and led to a slide in export income of $US2.6 billion, according to a United Nations report.