Special Reports

FOR Victorians eyeing Western Australia’s resources boom with envy, oil and gas giant Woodside Petroleum must represent the most frustrating case of the one that got away.

John Akehurst has been at the centre of two momentous takeover battles in WA and says a personal transformation has been instrumental to his success.

THE change management program implemented during John Akehurst’s time as Woodside Petroleum chief executive broke new ground both inside the company and for McKinsey as a consulting firm.

Housing affordability could become the victim of Western Australia’s economic growth.

NDUSTRY has praised the state government for attempting to streamline the planning process, but is concerned reform won’t come in time to avert a land supply shortage.

IT’S fair to say that Western Australians have traditionally been a pretty generous bunch.

Property developers rarely get mentioned in the same breath as the phrase ‘corporate social responsibility’.

REGARDLESS of the rhetoric of corporate responsibility and the greater good, most corporations and business people become involved in arts bodies and foundations due to a personal interest in the arts.

While the arts’ role in shaping society is well understood, the benefits of its partnership with business is growing, but not widely appreciated.

Amid strengthening resources and property sectors, how should Perth manage the prospect of a big population increase?

DID you read the weekend paper a fortnight ago? Page three featured an article quoting Peter Forrestal, who had some derisive things to say about wine labels. He described how the trend away from traditional, conservative labels towards those that were

REGARDED by purists as the true ‘sport of kings’, polo has undergone something of a resurgence in Western Australia in recent years, with five significant events in six months entertaining the sport’s local supporters.

WITH Perth on the cusp of a population boom, the city’s urban planners are mindful it is not just the central business district that is required to grow.

LOOKING at the success of Burswood-based JCS Motorcycles over the past 30 years, it is fitting the family-owned shop is a speci

A move to change the state’s framework for air services is causing concern for some airline operators. Russell Quinn reports.

THE initial public offer market had a good start to the year, but cautious investor sentiment has slowed the run of new floats.

LAST year, the leadership at Aboriginal-owned BYAC Contracting learned a very big business lesson when the global financial crisis hit – the dangers of its over-reliance on a long-term customer.

LISTED companies Western Areas and Coretrack are two businesses that raised capital during the March quarter, both effectively needing the funds to help with long-term growth strategies.

TAPPING the equity market for funds during the March quarter was a more subdued affair compared to the major raisings that took place last year.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to engaging indigenous enterprises.

THROW a dart virtually anywhere at a map of the African continent and the chances are an Australian company will be operating in close proximity.

Australian companies are playing a significant role in Africa.

A FAMILY-OWNED, custom-built caravan manufacturer primarily servicing the resources sector recently secured its first export deal with one of the world’s largest mining outfits.

CHALLENGES abound for any company interested in pursuing opportunities in Africa, and must be clearly recognised, understood and addressed before taking the plunge, according to local business leaders with business dealings on the continent.

MOTORISTS heading south down the Kwinana Freeway would have noticed five cranes looming over a busy construction site. On the corner of Murdoch Drive and South Street, the $1.76 billion Fiona Stanley Hospital (pictured right) is the biggest show in Perth

WORK on the Southern Seawater desalination plant has progressed to stage one of completion after being given the go-ahead last June.

Audi hopes to become the centre of attention for prestige cars.

INCREASED use of public private partnerships has become a defining feature of the state government’s infrastructure program, but behind that label sits a wide range of procurement models.

Caravan holidays are making a comeback. Russell Quinn reports.

WA is on the cusp of another boom, making investment in infrastructure vital if the state is to take full advantage. But with the state’s finances increasingly tight, federal-state cooperation has never been more important.

SPENDING on public venues has been a major issue for the state government in recent months, with cost blowouts and construction delays taking the shine off the new venues being built.

FRESH from the completion of the state’s largest road project last September, the $705 million Perth-Bunbury Highway, the state government is in the early stages of planning another major road project with a similar cost.