News Articles for John Nicolaou

The price for Andrew and Nicola Forrest to build leaky weirs on a river dissecting Minderoo Station has been revealed as questions about broader industry benefits swirl.

Aged care sector leaders say it is difficult to recruit skilled workers when the award for nurses in the industry is about 30 per cent less than those working in disability or hospital settings.

Visionary infrastructure projects can drive huge advancement in regional communities, but the challenge is investing money wisely.

We will need to look decades ahead to choose between bigger regional cities or a much denser Perth when WA has more than 5 million residents.

OPINION: The government faces a challenge to balance public health concerns with the need to get the WA economy going again.

SPECIAL REPORT: A hiatus in the US-China trade war and an improved economic outlook gives WA leaders an opportunity to look at longer-term challenges such as climate change and technological disruption.

Fresh forecasts have pushed any recovery in Western Australia's embattled home building sector out another year, while concerns have been raised about the capacity of the state's building sector to cope with a predicted increase in activity in civil and engineering construction.

Opinion: Having made solid progress in reducing its budget deficit, the pressure is on the state government to introduce structural economic reform.

BN 25th Anniversary series- WA has been slow to introduce private ownership to some state industries, although a series of moves during the Court era generated benefits, according to one prominent WA economist.

Exports through Port Hedland could reach 700 million tonnes per annum within a decade, contributing an extra $4.8 billion to Australia's GDP, according to a report by ACIL Allen, as debate continues about the impact of iron ore dust on the nearby township.

Tokyo-based Inpex's Ichthys LNG project will provide a $34 billion boost to incomes in Western Australia across the period to 2050, and generate about $73 billion of tax revenue, according to an economic impact report by Acil Allen Consulting released today.

OPINION: The government is finding out the argument that ‘it's the Liberals' fault' will only hold for so long.

SPECIAL REPORT: Big businesses are employing an increasing share of the WA workforce, while the services-oriented economy maintains its growth, the latest BNiQ Biggest Employers survey has uncovered. Click through to see details on Western Australia's 170 largest employers.

Five new appointments to the Committee For Perth board

Iron ore producers have maintained their dominance over the BNiQ Search Engine Biggest Exporters list, as LNG producers are slow to start up. Click through to see the annual list of the state's biggest exporting companies.

The Barnett government is in no position to quell union unrest with generous pay deals.

There's a one in three chance the Commonwealth government's credit rating could be downgraded within the next two years, according to Standard & Poor's, a move which would be expensive for taxpayers and may have flow on effects for other borrowers.

A recent analysis of economic performance across nearly seven decades of Australian prime ministers by the Australia Institute found Malcolm Turnbull to have the poorest track record. But is that fair?

SPECIAL REPORT: Growing infrastructure needs and a diminishing capacity to fund them is a major challenge for WA, according to key players who attended a recent Business News forum.

A top WA economic commentator can't see a way back to AAA any time soon.

The state government has announced its intention to phase out its $500 million-plus annual electricity subsidy within the next four years, paving the way for deregulation allowing households to buy their electricity and gas from competing suppliers.

In the midst of Perth's second major arts event this year, the city and local businesses are set to reap the economic rewards long after box office sales are tallied.

Western Australian businesses are becoming increasingly concerned about the economic outlook over the next 12 months, according to the latest Westpac/Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA report.

The state government will hit the business sector with increased payroll tax bills and make further cuts in public sector spending after confirming that its annual budget will plunge to a $1.29 billion deficit in the current financial year.

WA potatoes grow in a unique regulatory climate.

Our annual Biggest Employers feature has the latest BNiQ data on employment trends in WA, including the companies that are expanding and those that are shrinking, and in-depth analysis of what's happening in mining, construction, health care, accounting, law and other industries.

The Business News annual export review has the latest data on 33 businesses representing $122 billion in outgoing trade. It also shows that while iron ore continues to dominate, the emergence of LNG, agriculture and services will benefit from a lower dollar.

Consumer confidence in Western Australia is well below levels in the European Union, despite leading indicators suggesting there is a positive story in the state's economy, according to Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief economist John Nicolaou.

Consumer confidence among Western Australian shoppers has only marginally improved in the last quarter, a Curtin Business School Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA survey of consumer confidence says.

The Western Australian economy will return to average growth levels over the coming two financial years as the resources investment boom fades, according to Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief economist John Nicolau.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA has called on the government to take action to ease the burden on business, as confidence in the state continues its downward spiral.

More small-to-medium Western Australian business owners are delaying plans to sell as market conditions convince them to hang in longer in the hope they can increase revenue.

Western Australia's peak business group has forecast an easing in economic growth in Western Australia in the current financial year to 4.5 per cent, a decline from five per cent previously tipped.

The Economic Regulation Authority has called for an end to the Royalties for Regions program and the abolishment of domestic gas reservation and the Keystart housing scheme, while also pushing for major payroll tax, land tax and stamp duty reforms.

Business confidence remains weak but more Western Australian companies are looking to lift spending and expand their operations, a new survey has revealed.

Consumer confidence within Western Australia has slumped to near record lows with the closure of high-profile businesses on the east coast and the prospect of higher interest rates rattling households.

Energy Minister Mike Nahan's launch today of the first review of the state electricity market since Western Power was disaggregated in 2006 has drawn a mixed response.

Industry groups have welcomed the federal government's announcement of an independent review into the 457 visa scheme.

The state government is calling for extra private investment at the port of Dampier, following a major new development at the port by QUBE Holdings and a call for private development of new facilities at Fremantle.

After a tough, confidence-sapping year, business is taking a more positive outlook to 2014, according to a Business News subscriber survey.