Government

Darrel Jarvis remains a believer in the Palandri wine business which he has sought to resuscitate with Chinese backing, blaming the high gearing levels created by the group’s finance division for its collapse.

Increasing production and staff costs have been significant players in the current rising food prices, and local producers such as meat processor V&V Walsh have had to develop new strategies to keep their business afloat.

The Howard government was repeatedly attacked for undermining workers’ rights, so it is ironic that one of its creations, the Workplace Ombudsman, has become a forceful protector of workers.

Five years of solid growth has enabled Clayton Utz to become the second largest law firm in Perth, behind only long-time market leader Freehills.

More than two years after the site was bought by a private developer, debate over the future of the old Swanbourne Hospital grounds in Mt Claremont is continuing, with the City of Nedlands likely to reject the $50 million residential development proposed

Former University of Western Australia academic Dr Bruce Gray had a big win over his erstwhile employer in a landmark Federal Court ruling handed down last week but faces the prospect of further legal action from the company he founded, Sirtex Medical Ltd

Building heights, view corridors and the placement of buildings were the key issues raised by the City of Perth’s planning committee in its report to council on the foreshore development.

The biggest talking point in Australia during the past week has, not surprisingly, been Kevin Rudd’s talkfest, the Australia 2020 summit in Canberra.

The state government's plan for the Perth foreshore is expected to receive general support from the City of Perth at tonight's council meeting, despite a report from its planning committee criticising elements of the project.

Treasurer Eric Ripper today announced that former Alcoa Australia managing director Wayne Osborn would be the inaugural chair of GESB Mutual Ltd, which will be the largest financial services company based in Western Australia when launched on 1 July.

Spotless Group Ltd expects to despatch a bidder's statement tommorow, and formally present its takeover offer to Programmed Maintenance Services Ltd shareholders.

A new lobby group, which comprises five small mining companies in the Pilbara, is putting pressure on the Western Australian government to provide better infrastructure for smaller miners in the Pilbara region.

Balcatta-based ticketing company ERG Ltd plans to sell half of its business to its major shareholder and lender after reporting a $104.7 million loss for the half year to December 2007.

A total of $21 million will be spent on a broadband development project to facilitate health and emergency services for people living in remote and regional areas of Australia as part of a state and federal government joint initiative.

Wesfarmers Ltd shares remained in trading halt today after it confirmed it was considering an equity raising - expected to be a rights issue - to refinance $4 billion in bridging finance used to fund its $20 billion takeover of the Coles last year.

Shares in West Perth-based resources company Straits Resources Ltd have jumped more than six per cent after the company unveiled a plan to restructure the business and demerge from its coal-focused Asian subsidiary.

The salaries of Western Australia’s academic leaders continue to move around, often appearing to have little to link them to the past year’s financial performance of their organisation.

Readers with long memories may recall that one of Bob Hawke’s major initiatives upon being elected prime minister in 1983 was to convene a national economic summit.

Rising interest rates and global financial uncertainty are having a tangible impact on Western Australia’s housing industry, with two sets of economic data indicating a downward trend in the local market.

Recent construction projects at Western Australia’s public universities have focused heavily on research, teaching and student facilities, but a new development at Curtin University of Technology will be radically different.

Bunbury has become the new battleground in the push for deregulated retail trading hours, with the city council planning change despite the objections of most local shopkeepers.

The Western Australian Trade Enquiry Service is operated by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia (CCI) with the support of the WA Government’s Department of I

The steady stream of partnerships between major companies and universities may have the latter downplaying competition for private sector cash, but the overall goal of international excellence has built a healthy rivalry.

RECESSION or not, during these volatile economic times it’s worth taking a look at the playbook of turnaround specialists.

The Film Financing Corporation (FFC) has approved financing for three Western Australian productions, with a total investment of nearly $1.6 million.

As the federal government’s external reference group prepares to hand over its findings on a review of the 457 visa scheme, Western Australia’s Technology and Industry Advisory Council (TIAC) is preparing its own all-encompassing review of migration issue

Overcoming negative perceptions has proved a major hurdle for Mullaloo-based Utopian Resources, distributor of the EcoSuper X range of environmentally friendly cleaner/degreasers.

Workers at Newcrest Mining’s Telfer gold and copper mine now have 24-hour access to the internet as part of the company’s worker retention strategy.

Are the energy market issues of Western Australia about to be solved by the market?

West Perth-based developer Cedar Woods Properties Ltd has won a state government tender to develop the Harrisdale Village estate in Forrestdale, through a joint venture with the Department of Housing and Works.

Advertising and marketing expenditure by Western Australia’s public universities jumped 45 per cent in the past year, as the institutions competed with the business sector for the hearts and minds of the state’s youth.

Construction magnate Len Buckeridge has vowed to fight the state government over control of a vital piece of land needed for an access road as part of Bunbury Port’s major restructure plans.