Opinion

No wonder people get cynical about politics.

Now that Kevin Rudd’s 42-member ministry is firmly ensconced in Canberra, a few things need clearing up.

When Coogee Chemicals boss Gordon Martin addressed a WA Business News breakfast last month, he said one of his golden rules was that there was no room for politics in running a business.

Is one of the answers to our skills shortage right under out noses?

The government-versus-government blame game, one of the real blots on the Australian political and business landscape, has come to an end. Or has it?

Last weekend’s federal election was a resounding victory for Labor, which has been given a mandate to introduce significant shifts in key policy areas such as industrial relations, climate change, environmental management and education.

“It’s the economy, stupid” was the one liner often repeated by those inside the Bill Clinton camp that so convincingly toppled George H Bush’s Republican administration in 1992.

Now that the federal election is over there’ll be a few former Liberal MPs looking for work.

With election day 2007 just more than a day away, State Scene now offers a last look at what the likely outcome may be.

One of the major roles of newspapers is to shine a light on the communities they serve and highlight some of the important trends and issues.

Last week I outlined where I thought John Howard went wrong 18 months ago, and why I think it has put him in a losing position now.

I may be one week premature on this, but with just more than a week to go before the federal election, I thought it was worth discussing the poll.

Wall-to-wall Labor government in Australia and flat-management theory do not appear to have much in common.

State Environment Minister David Templeman has set tongues wagging after he effectively vetoed one of the final decisions handed down by acting Environmental Protection Authority chairman Barry Carbon.

This column is not about the forthcoming election, but I do have to kick off with a story about voting.

On Monday last week, Ric Stowe’s private Griffin Group released a statement claiming success for an experiment to reduce salinity levels at Wellington Dam.

It’s not often a really fascinating tip-off falls into a journalist’s lap.

Australia’s skills shortage is, for most people, a nuisance rather than a serious problem.

Whether or not Kevin Rudd – Kevin07 during the campaign – takes Labor into power on November 24, nobody will ever be able to take from him that he has managed to make a very average mob look like winners.

There is a lot of debate about whether the state government is doing a good enough job to manage us safely through this current boom.

The word ‘sustainability’, which has entered the business lexicon in recent years, is normally applied in the context of environmental management.

With the federal election campaign officially under way, the business community should start planning for the prospect of a Labor government in Canberra.

State Scene’s $20 Ozcall rechargeable phone card worked overtime last weekend.

The Corruption and Crime Commission released its report on the controversial Canal Rocks development near Yallingup last week.

Business, if opinion polls are a guide, reckons a Rudd win at the November 24 election will be bad for the economy.Rubbish.

Spending on minerals exploration in Western Australia has grown strongly in the past financial year.

With so many of State Scene’s leftie mates looking increasingly dour as election day approaches, I’ve felt compelled to reconsider my long-held view that Labor will form the next government.

The Construction Mining Forestry & Energy Union’s Western Australian boss, Kevin Reynolds, said something the other day that intrigued me.

Several years ago, nearly all of State Scene’s left and right-of-centre political pals and contacts suddenly began using the term ‘urban legend’.

A friend bought a pair of shoes last week.

“A coordinated approach to common-user infrastructure development and stakeholder relations is vital to unlock the full potential of Australia’s fastest growing new iron ore province.”

This month, a page two advertisement in The West Australian, paid for by the WA Labor Party, carried a head and shoulders photograph of Liberal MP Julie Bishop, alongside a headline that read: “Is she staying? Or is she going…”