Special Reports

PROMINENT Western Australian jewellery designer Katherine Kalaf has closed the doors to her retail gallery in Cottesloe after five years.

ASK almost anyone in industry or government about the key bottlenecks hampering Western Australia’s ability to make the most of the growth opportunities presented by the resurgent resources sector and the answer invariably includes energy.

INVESTMENT in new port capacity is a top priority for private industry and government if Western Australia is to avoid the bottlenecks restricting east coast exporters.

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.

Perron Group chairman Stan Perron is a survivor, having ridden out the tough times and prospered in the good over several decades. Examining his business philosophy reveals the art of wealth preservation ... starting with an early shift into property.

Big private businesses have generally withstood the shock of the GFC.

THE destruction of wealth wrought by the global financial crisis has focused many private business people back to their core operation, and given them cause to think about strategies for preserving what they have in case of another big bust.

ASKING guests to enter a black-tie dinner function through the loading dock was a sure sign the 2010 WA Business News 40under40 awards would continue a tradition of innovation.

Political reality has put an end to a brief period of cooperation between Colin Barnett and Kevin Rudd.

A flurry of high level moves in the Perth legal market leaves the profession asking what the future holds.

THE hive of recent activity in the Western Australian legal market has been added to by the arrival of Norton Rose and Allen & Overy.

THE devil is in the detail of Kerry Stokes’ shock plan to turn a conventional media business into a diversified media and mining services group.

LAST month, my column focused on some of the old-world grape varieties starting to gain favour with Australian winemakers and consumers.

AN influx of new feature film and television productions in Western Australia has prompted one local producer to claim that Perth could become the next Hollywood.

WHEN the global financial crisis hit less than a year after listed property developer Peet had paid $300 million for a 243-hectare land parcel at the northern fringe of Perth, many questioned the wisdom of that purchase.

Property developers are doing it tough as banks keep the sector on their watch lists.

WITH talk of a national economic recovery thanks largely to Western Australia's resources industry, it is perhaps to be expected that those in the state's fashion business are seeing the benefits on their own spreadsheets.

Kerry Stokes’ planned merger of the Seven Network with his giant WesTrac mining services arm is designed to make it the first choice of investors wanting low-risk direct exposure to the China story.

India holds a special attraction for Reg Howard-Smith.

Increased corporate confidence has brought a resurgence in business travel.

APPROVALS for property developments remain a major issue to the sector, which believes the delays caused by bureaucracy and regulatory hurdles are a huge financial burden.

The 2010 1st Amongst Equals winner has built a successful brand by taking a different approach than her competitors.

40 Under 40 winners

ANYONE who has started a business knows how tough it can be, even when the product sells itself and people are queuing around the block to become clients.

WHEN I first chaired the judging for the WA Business News 40under40 Awards in its inaugural year, 2002, the prevailing view was that we would struggle to find a constant supply of talent to match the nominees and winners of that first year.

IN 2005, recognising a gap in the worldwide market for safety gloves, 1st Amongst Equals finalist Damione Wright established Ironclad gloves through his Carlisle-based business, Wrights HardWear.

A TWENTY year old with no formal qualifications and only a handful of low-level administrative-type roles might not sound like a pedigree for business success, but for Rory Vassallo, short-listed for the 1st Amongst Equals award, it was more than enough t

THE global financial crisis was a tough time for most businesses, none more so than sporting clubs that discovered the risks of choosing the wrong sponsor.

“THE dream begins in Perth” is the in-house motto for organisers of the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, with 1,500 competitors expected for the Olympic qualifying event.

WA’s major sporting franchises remain bullish about the year ahead after mixed performances in 2009.

It’s not just the collapse of agribusiness schemes in the southern tip of WA that is affecting the region.