Opinion

The resignation from state cabinet of Bob Kucera may well provide a boost for young Liberal leader Matt Birney, but it signals just how difficult we make it for our politicians to be normal these days.

Last week’s bagging of junior minister Bob Kucera’s scalp wasn’t a day too soon for Liberal leader Matt Birney, since a consensus was emerging within party ranks that, while he’d made a fairly good start in February, little had happened since to cheer up

Big fish in Perth’s small corporate pond pay a high price when they move to deeper waters.

John Howard is one of the canniest politicians in the business and his proposed reform of industrial relations has his textbook approach written all over it.

Last week, State Scene was fortunate to sneak a look at what could become Western Australia’s non-metropolitan lower house electoral boundaries at the 2009 election.

History, like life in general, can be most unkind to some people. Put otherwise, it can be kinder, much kinder, to some while not so to others.

Every speculator dreams of a 10-bagger, that legendary stock market winner that delivers a profit of 10 times the outlay.

Matt Birney’s Liberal Party manifesto announced at the weekend marks a key point in his fledging leadership.While publicity about his plan was largely overwhelmed by the news of new bombings in Bali, there were several initiatives of interest to business

By now, most politicians will have marked their favourite Mark Latham diary quotation. Mine was his remark about Labor’s Kevin Rudd: “If he grew up in poverty in rural Queensland where did the posh accent come from?”

It's not every day that a new, and successful, investment theory emerges.

I don't normally pick up on issues raised by politicians campaigning for their slice of the funding pie, but I was intrigued by the efforts of Greenough MLA Grant Woodhams who raised the vision of the Indian Ocean Drive in State Parliament last week.

HAD Mark Pownall (WA Business News, September 15, Opinion) contacted me to talk the issue through rather than simply quoting from our brief media release, I would have pointed out just how dirty (i

Hardly a year passes without a new development that focuses on the loss of Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, off Carnarvon, on November 19 1941.

THE experts say that a glass (or two) of wine a day is good for your health.

One thing I am not an expert on is technology. I struggle with any new piece of equipment and probably only ever use 10 per cent of the capabilities of the gizmos that I own.

A funny thing happened on the stock market last week at the height of the confusion about the sale (or not) of the Government’s outstanding 51 per cent stake in Telstra.

The planned visit by the Rainbow Warrior to Fremantle at the weekend did little to stir passions that I could note – having not been in the port city or caught the news – but it did get me thinking about where the environmental debate was heading.

During the past fortnight Australians have again been subjected to what some are calling the Johnny and Pete show.

It's a brave or foolish man prepared to criticise, however mildly, a company that has just reported the biggest profit in Australian business history.

TELSTRA is the classic example of why business and government don’t mix. The current furore over the telco’s new and outspoken leadership team is all politically driven, despite criticism of some management for talking down the price of the stock.

With Labor leader Kim Beazley registering poor polling ratings it’s little wonder discomfort is showing across Labor ranks.

Every John, Liz, David and Janet is getting into the act. All are opposing the best thing that’s to happen to young Australians since Otto Rohwedder developed sliced bread in 1928.

If you are being tempted to play the new investment game sweeping Australia and dabble in a hedge fund investment, think again.

Tension between Canberra and the states has long been a feature of Australia’s federation but the issue has descended to a level that is causing serious concern.

Whenever possible, State Scene highlights the bountiful benefits of democracy over its horrific totalitarian alternatives, most especially European fascism, Russian and Oriental bolshevism, and now Middle Eastern Islamic jihadism.

Given a choice when buying a commodity, such as bread or milk, the overwhelming consideration for most shoppers is price.

South-west Liberal MP Troy Buswell, who some see as a likely future Liberal leader, recently fired a broadside across Labor’s bow by naming several of its MPs with close union links in a press release.

Last week’s Diggers & Dealers bash left the 1,200 delegates and countless hangers-on, including a healthy contingent of media types, in no doubt that this boom has legs to go an awful long way.

The economic boom we are currently enjoying in Western Australia has wise old heads reflecting on the 1960s.

Oil at $US60 a barrel is a pain for motorists, producing petrol prices of $1.20 a litre and more.

Intangible assets they may be, but there’s no doubting the value brands bring to those who operate in the commercial world.

Earlier this year the Liberals launched a national publication called Looking Forward. Since it attracted a degree of publicity in political circles, State Scene resolved to get a copy to assess the standard of its articles