Almost certainly three years from last, this, or next Saturday, will be next election day, since February Saturdays have become the traditional poll days in Western Australia.
The last State Scene for 2005 highlighted the ways major political parties make it excruciatingly difficult for their candidates to be unseated by Independents.
Australia's great grape glut is causing wine producers no end of pain. But in Western Australia there seems to be a variation emerging on that theme – the great grape shortage.
The wine industry's woes are not self-inflicted and are an important example of what happens when government decisions start distorting business in an unhealthy way.
I have never believed in the regulated monopoly powers of AWB Ltd or its predecessors.So it is perhaps unfair for me to use the appalling news of the Iraqi wheat scandal to add to the call for the archaic wheat export monopoly to be scrapped.
There's little doubt all state MPs learned the obvious lesson from Liberal leader Matt Birney's unpleasant pre-Christmas encounter with the Privileges Committee – don't secretly slip amendments into your Parliamentary Financial Interests Register, or else
Last week, State Scene canvassed some of the underlying reasons for the collapse in Liberal leader Matt Birney's standing among party colleagues during the closing months of 2005, which may well result in the emergence of pressure for his replacement duri
Steel, in case hot-headed speculators playing the Australian stock market had not noticed, is essentially made by blending two materials – iron ore and coal, with a bit of limestone tossed in, plus nickel and other stuff for speciality steels.
It's not often that a political announcement genuinely catches everyone by surprise, but Geoff Gallop's decision this week to step down as premier and retire from politics certainly falls into that category.
The ranks of those Liberal MPs who are wondering if their leader, Matt Birney, will still be in his position on April 17, his wedding day, swelled markedly just before Christmas, when the Parliamentary Privileges Committee adjudicated on his secret insert
With Western Australia entering what promises to be another year of strong economic expansion, the major challenge facing the state continues to be managing its rapid growth.
State Scene wishes to conclude this year's assessment of the local political scene with some observations about the featherbedding and political funding of political parties.
‘Unintended consequences' is one of those marvellous expressions which, when translated, simply means we have no idea what will happen after we change the rules.
Last week's in-camera parliamentary privileges committee hearings on Liberal leader Matt Birney's financial interests statements raised a host of questions that will hopefully be addressed before Christmas.
Was Peter Costello serious when he suggested reportedly he had no responsibility to investigate the background of Reserve Bank of Australia board candidate, Robert Gerard?
Last week, State Scene surveyed the opening moves by key Liberal Party financial boffins to ensure their party will soon tap into what's called state public funding of parties.
In the future, probably closer to the year 2020 than today, there might be an iron ore mine on the Shovelanna tenement co-worked by a small company called Cazaly Resources.
Some Perth investors with an eye on BHP Billiton will be hoping for an insight into the company when they toddle along to its annual meeting in Perth tomorrow (Friday November 25)
I had an interesting experience the other day when I found myself in a room of people who were bitterly opposed to John Howard's proposed industrial relations changes.
