Special Reports

WITNESSING the plethora of electronic products being sent to his local tip inspired the founder of a Western Australian IT recycling firm to try and make a difference.

WITH the global downturn having affected virtually all businesses regardless of sector, size or structure, service-oriented industries reliant on a buoyant marketplace have renewed their focus on key priorities and services to ensure survival.

A CITY-BASED accountant will soon swap his calculator for a steering wheel and launch a four-wheel drive assault on an unsuspecting outback.

REGARDLESS of the sector you're in or the position you hold in the corporate world, high-end fashion is coming back to the office as the downturn signals a return to smart suits and crisp shirts to project commitment and ensure job security.

AS the Kevin07 campaign swept Labor into power almost two years ago, Australia's economy was riding high on a commodities and property boom underpinned by cheap debt.

FOR many wine drinkers, the word chianti conjures up images of red and white checked tablecloths, men (and often women) with an abundance of chest hair, and those squat, cane-wrapped bottles of brick-red wine more suited to stripping paint than accompanyi

Perth Airport CEO Favourite holiday destination? Hat Head, a small coastal town in northern NSW.

GET back to basics, have the right people and advisers around you, and make sure everyone involved shares the values that have made your business a success.

Down south the dogs are howling. It must be truffle time. Russell Quinn reports on an emerging niche industry.

I RECKON New Zealand sauvignon blanc might have shot itself in the foot.

THE Swan Valley Tourism Council has scrapped plans for a levy on bus and coach operators during the Spring in the Valley festival after opposition to the move.

Favourite holiday destination? Paris.

THOSE famous last words, It seemed like a good idea at the time aren't what you'd expect from a man who spends most of his time in the boardrooms of the state's mining companies.

IN 1975, Swedish-born Hakan Friberg opened his Perth fitness equipment store one month after Laurie Potter opened his Hay Street health club.

The name Laurie Potter still casts a shadow over the fitness industry, more than two decades after the chain of health clubs collapsed.

ON October 16 1997, the selling techniques of the fitness industry received unprecedented attention.

IT requires plenty of upfront capital, has high ongoing costs and, if it fails, the owner is almost certain to be forced into exile in a bid to escape out-of-pocket members.

WITH the drums of the global financial crisis still pounding their deep-toned warnings, the shrill sounds of peripheral issues appear to have been drowned out.

WENDY Duncan is a name few Western Australians would be able to place, yet ask political observers who's who in the state's parliamentary jungle and her name comes up time and time again.

THERE is an interesting collection of businesspeople who wield influence in government due to their roles as board members of major corporatised agencies.

PERTH architecture firms have remained resilient in the face of adversity, with many emerging from the early stages of the downturn without significant changes to staffing.

PERTH universities have embarked on major capital works programs, developing award-winning, world-class research and learning facilities without sacrificing design aesthetics.

Has Perth missed its opportunity to deliver bold, city-making projects?

THE more things change, the more they stay the same.

THE experience of working with a heritage building can present architects with both major constraints and a unique opportunity.

IN addition to the vigorous commercial construction activity in the city in recent years, the resources boom and resulting prosperity also ignited discussions around 'place making' and the opportunity to create a liveable, attractive and sustainable city.

INFORMATION technology company Netlink Group shouldn't exist.

THE not-for-profit sector has long been one of the key employers of disabled people in Western Australia.

THERE are all manner of adjectives used to describe the events surrounding the birth of a child; for fertility clinics, the word 'profitable' is one of them.

FIGHTING widespread public perceptions of not-for-profit businesses as philanthropic organisations, while competing commercially against the private sector, is a key challenge facing the sector in Western Australia.

DURING the past four years, Cablelogic has grown from a small installation and service company into a mid-tier electrical, communications and renewable energy company serving commercial and industrial customers across the state.

THE Rising Stars awards program was initiated by WA Business News in 2003 and since then it has identified many of Western Australia's up-and-coming business success stories.