Government

Fiscal discipline may be Mark McGowan's bread and butter, but today's budget announcement was packed with new spending commitments for the state's health, education and tourism sectors.

The state government has awarded $108 million worth of contracts to provide drug and alcohol support services throughout regional WA.

ANALYSIS: With close to a dozen industrial agreements under negotiation and a forecasted salaries bill of $16.2 billion, the state government is holding firm on its public sector wages policy.

A $5.7 billion surplus, lower net debt than forecast and an unemployment rate six per cent below the national level. It’s enough, said Premier and Treasurer Mark McGowan, to make the other states and territory treasurers “green with envy”.

Western Australia has recorded another 16,670 COVID cases overnight, sending the number of active infections in the state beyond 75,000 for the first time since the pandemic began.

Liberal, Labor and independent candidates fight for the seat of Curtin in a live Business News debate.

Fremantle’s Victoria Quay is set for a transformation with the government investing in other opportunities while flagging the relocation of the livestock and motor vehicle trade.

Minister Simone McGurk has remained tight-lipped about the settlement that ended her lawsuit with psychologist Tracy Westerman, revealing only that the state paid $16,500 in costs.

The opposition has slammed the state government's rush to revive the SDAU, labelling the deferral of its permanent replacement an admission it is flawed.

COVID cases in Western Australia have surged by more than 17,000 overnight, as Premier Mark McGowan warns the pandemic is not over yet.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese effectively put a figure on Labor's position, supporting a wage increase of 5.1 per cent, in line with the highest inflation spike in two decades.

The state government plans to extend its powers to implement COVID measures for six months through a Bill, which the opposition has criticised.

Opposition figureheads have called for a greater focus on servicing debt and funding hospitals in the state’s upcoming budget.

The state government has unveiled plans to push through an extension of its controversial COVID-19 development pathway and defer plans to make it permanent.

The state government will allocate nearly $60 million in the upcoming state budget to prepare for the "rapid uptake" of electric or hydrogen fuel vehicles, including $36.5 million for rebates.

New COVID cases in Western Australia have surged by more than 12,300 overnight, with the state setting a new record for the second consecutive day.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner has announced his decision to resign, almost immediately after he delivered the territory's budget.

Good policy rarely emerges from single-issue parties, and too often these candidates are little more than spoilers.

More than half-a-billion dollars of COVID-related government expenses were incurred in the year to June 2021, according to the state's auditor general.

Three candidates with diverse backgrounds line up to contest three diverse electorates in WA that could be crucial to the outcome of the May poll.

A $12.6 million package will be allocated in the state budget to preserve and enhance one of the state’s “top cultural and tourism assets”.

Anthony Albanese has lashed out at the prime minister's leaders' debate performance as nothing but smirk and smears, as pre-poll voting gets under way across the country.

An influx of approximately 8,000 workers could return to Perth’s CBD as BHP, Chevron and Woodside look to encourage hybrid work models.

The state’s largest timber manufacturer will close its 70-year-old Greenbushes mill and stand down 50 employees after investing $54 million as the state’s native logging ban looms.

The Western Australian government will consider setting a target for the supply of electricity from renewable hydrogen.

Communities Minister Simone McGurk has issued a public apology to psychologist Tracy Westerman over comments she made during a press conference that later prompted defamation action.

Our political leaders need to show a united front on the China-Solomons deal rather that trying to outmuscle each other.

Construction industry groups have called on the state government to scrap new laws forcing thousands of excavator operators to obtain costly new qualifications.

After having two goes at providing evidence in the McGowan versus Palmer defamation case, John Quigley has some clearing up to do closer to home.

The state government will strengthen environmental controls on its Bunbury Outer Ring Road project amid a groundswell of opposition, after a probe found they did not go far enough.

Qantas will resume its Perth-London direct flight earlier than planned as the national carrier also announces new non-stop routes to tourism destinations from Australia.

The Forrest family's philanthropic outfit upped its Facebook and Instagram advertising spend in WA last week as the major parties increasingly lean on memes to make their case on social media.