Opinion

OPINION: Sales activity contracted over the week, with Reiwa members reporting a decrease in weekly sales to 567.

OPINION: The erosion of trust in traditional institutions is changing politics, business and social norms.

OPINION: Objections are part of the sales game, so you need to give your customers good reason to buy from you.

OPINION: The state government's renewed warmth towards tourism is a welcome, if belated, response to the end of the resources boom – but there are some kinks they should iron out.

OPINION: Expect Brendon Grylls to go hard at BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto over his tax plan ahead of the March state election.

OPINION: WA Liberals would prefer Malcolm Turnbull stayed away in the lead-up to the March election, unless he has some good news to share about the GST.

In this Business News podcast, Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss the Builton collapse, CBD vacancy rates, Balla Balla iron ore and land developers.

The second-hand car business was revolutionised 20 years ago with the arrival of the internet, but there is a second revolution under way that promises to be even more disruptive and could have a significant effect on some of Western Australia's best-known car yards.

OPINION: Tech marketability increasingly depends on a back-to-basics approach to usefulness.

OPINION: Checks and balances are vital if artificial intelligence is going to work for us, rather than the other way round.

In this Business News podcast, Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss World Trade Centre, UWA, uranium mining, conventions and conferences.

OPINION: Sales activity experienced an expansion over the week with REIWA members reporting an increase in weekly sales to 535.

OPINION: Salespeople must make sure the hard work is done before they get into the CEO's office.

OPINION: The effects of recent positive export numbers on WA's trade-exposed economy could be a positive for the year ahead.

OPINION: The environmental lobby is no less worthy of scrutiny in terms of foreign influence than big business.

In this Business News podcast, Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss South West water, building subcontractors, WA Business awards and the deals environment.

OPINION: The WA branch of Queenslander Pauline Hanson's protest party appears set to influence the state election.

OPINION: Reiwa members reported an increase in weekly sales to 418 this week. The overall 104 per cent increase in sales is attributed to a 121 per cent increase in sales for houses, 106 per cent for units and 11 per cent for vacant land.

OPINION: Support from state and federal governments last year has engendered a positive mood among local tech players.

OPINION: One month of data and a forecast for strong annual growth in exports is not a trend, but a careful analysis of Australia's latest trade figures appears to confirm that an economic recovery is under way – and that could mean that the currency might be next to move up.

In this Business News podcast, Mark Beyer and Mark Pownall discuss Roe 8, house prices, Libor scandal, Atlas Iron and WA's education market.

OPINION: With the hot days of summer now upon us, many Western Australians might be confused about how safe it is to head to the beach, given the state government's mixed messages on the threat posed by sharks.

The government has kicked a remarkable own goal in its mismanagement of climate debate.

Opinion: A Labor state government will seek to incentivise the public sector to more energetically pursue policies.

No sooner have retailers modified their business model to deal with a new technology than along comes a fresh challenge to the sector.

As we lurch towards the final days of 2016 it is worth considering what awaits us on the other side of New Year's Eve.

In this Business News podcast, Mark Beyer and Dan Wilkie discuss residential property outlook, Monadelphous and Civmec diversify, Nev Power, Adrian Fini and Brendon Grylls are our people of the yea

OPINION: Reiwa members reported a decline in weekly sales to 552. The overall 9 per cent decrease in weekly sales is attributed to a 4 per cent decrease in sales for houses, 23 per cent for units and 27 per cent for vacant land.

OPINION: A less-certain world means more opportunities for Perth's startups.

OPINION: As promising as it sounds, the prospect of non-stop flights from Perth to London might not be the success some people seem to believe.

All bets are off when political upheaval upends conventional wisdom.

In this Business News podcast, Mark Beyer and Mark Pownall discuss Asian property investment, Diploma group's battles, Liberal party moves, John Gillam and who are WA's biggest employers?