Opinion

There are times when I appreciate having been around a bit longer than your average Western Australian business journalist, and the Palandri story that erupted last week is one of those occasions

It’s surprising that the ongoing revelations of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s close contacts with former Premier Brian Burke have sparked so little media attention

The times they are a-changin’

The Stephenson Highway is a name that sends shivers up the spines of many residents in Perth’s western suburbs.

The increased iron ore price is great news for WA exporters but it does have a downside. It will quickly flow back in the form of higher steel prices, which will make future expansion projects more expensive.

Canberra hoteliers and restaurateurs are undoubtedly looking forward to Kevin Rudd’s Australia 2020 Summit in late April, but State Scene certainly isn’t

This week’s big economic and commercial news has highlighted the increasing importance of China to Western Australia’s future prosperity, and the relative decline of the US.

Many readers of State Scene will remember Pete Seeger’s popular and catchy song of the 1960s, ‘Where have all the Flowers Gone’. It’s perhaps because the word, flowers, seems to rhyme with ‘farmers’ that I’ve found myself humming it lately.

In a comment piece last September, I raised the issue of foreign investment in Australian assets.

The state government has delivered an unusual flurry of major social infrastructure announcements over the past week.

State Scene recently met a Western Australian federal MP who gives considerable thought to precisely what’s happening at senior political ranks.

While many think the government of Kevin Rudd won a mandate for a change in industrial relations following its recent election win, there’s a good chance that very little will alter any time soon.

I have spent the past fortnight immersing myself in issues relating to women in business.

Mr McGinty went out on a limb when he recruited Dr Fong to head up the state’s ambitious health reform plans, following the Reid Review

Many readers will know that, when reference is made to the world’s second oldest profession, it’s spying that’s being discussed.

An experiment in public sector reform came to an untimely end last week with the resignation of Health Department director general Neale Fong.

I was interested by a report from a stock market analyst this week that showed directors who bought shares in their own company substantially outperformed the market.

Former state Liberal leader Matt Birney’s recent announcement that he won’t be seeking re-election for the seat of Kalgoorlie means the Liberals, in less than three months, have lost two former leaders from their parliamentary ranks

The Australian cricket team has been a wonderful example of professional sport at its best and worst in recent years.

One of the buzz phrases of the 1980s and 1990s was “the now generation”.

A bit of news late last year aroused my interest – the results of two private companies that had restructured their business with positive outcomes

State Scene hopes opportunities arise during 2008 that will enable a historical assessment of recent contemporary events, making them more meaningful in the wider context.

The holiday season is usually a slow news period, but one very important announcement that came out between Christmas and new year was the state government’s mid-year budget review.

Future generations of Western Australians are likely to recall 2007 because of several significant, indeed unique, political events.

With world leaders gathered in Bali for this week’s climate change summit, it is instructive to look closer to home to see what is happening on the ground.

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.