Government

Mark McGowan has done another flip flop on Perth's waterfront development, the incumbent Liberals say, suddenly backing a new plan and calling for the immediate closure of Riverside Drive.

The federal opposition says earnings on retirement savings are lower than they should be because of Labor government red tape.

The $440 million Elizabeth Quay development has become a hot election issue as the riverside development causes major traffic congestion in the city.

Foreign ownership of Western Australia's agriculture assets will be closely watched if the opposition wins the March 9 election.

Premier Colin Barnett says he may have "played some role" in controversial Dutch MP Geert Wilders being forced to cancel his speaking engagements in Perth.

A lull in the jobs market over the past couple of years is showing up in slower wages growth, clearing the way for a further round of interest rate cuts.

Adam Bandt says it's the Australian Greens, not Labor, that deserve credit for introducing a carbon price and taking steps to combat climate change.

Debt won't fall to levels seen under the previous state government while big developments continue in the state, Premier Colin Barnett says.

Premier Colin Barnett has derided Labor's lack of vision for the city ahead of tonight's televised election debate, saying the $440 million Elizabeth Quay development would become an inner-city "po

Australian businesses need to loosen the purse strings and start spending again, a prominent bank economist says.

The Australian Greens have accused Labor of putting the interests of big miners ahead of the national interest and the environment.

The Liberal Party has pledged $30 million over four years for health and medical research in their latest state election announcement.

Reserve Bank of Australia board member Heather Ridout says a federal government plan to fund a work-boosting program for manufacturers by scrapping business tax concessions could hurt foreign inves

The Reserve Bank of Australia is waiting to see how recent interest rate cuts flow through the economy before deciding if it needs to cut the cash rate further in 2013.

The Australian Greens will push for another inquiry into the mining tax to try to work out why the big resource giants aren't paying as much as expected.

Mark McGowan has committed to expand Henderson's Australian Marine Complex into one of the nation's largest technology parks if Labor is successful in next month's state election.

Western Australia's financial ratings outlook remains negative, because of the boom state's mounting debt, as it spends big on infrastructure for a growing population and resources sector.

Australian small businesses face tough conditions and finished 2012 on a pessimistic note despite a series of interest rate cuts.

Union boss Paul Howes says Australia does not have a carbon tax - it has a fixed price on carbon.

The number of bureaucrats in Australia has dropped for the first time in more than a decade, a new analysis of jobs data shows.

One of the problems with labour productivity is that a fair proportion of the population just doesn't seem to understand what it is.

West Australian Labor has shifted its election campaign focus to the state's urban planning system, promising to ease bottlenecks and advance progress at stalled local developments.

Australia's peak industry lobby group says more than one third of businesses plan to cut jobs in 2013.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has laid out the coalition's broad economic strategy, saying his government would inject an "instantaneous adrenalin charge" into the economy through scrapping taxes a

Australia's population is set to hit 23 million by early May.

Shadow assistant treasurer Mathias Cormann says the prime minister and treasurer agreed to the mining tax without understanding its finer detail.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan is urging the Group of 20 major economies to close tax loopholes that allow profitable multinational companies to exploit differences in taxation regimes to avoid tax.

Labor's $3.4 billion Metronet rail project will be funded by relocating Perth's major stadium to Subiaco and scrapping state government funding earmarked for the mothballed Oakajee port projec

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says banks shouldn't be penalised for their enormous profits by paying more tax.

Treasurer Wayne Swan says speculation the government may put up income tax is "ridiculous and absurd".