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Building approvals in Western Australia have jumped more than 21 per cent in June as the nation posts its biggest surge in four years thanks to a flurry of new apartment projects, official data shows.

Premier Colin Barnett has vowed to block any move to pipe gas from the Browse Basin to existing LNG facilities on Burrup Peninsula, in a bid to shore up support for his preferred Kimberley LNG hub at James Price Point near Broome.

House prices in Perth have bucked the national trend, dipping nearly 1 per cent in the second quarter this year, a national survey shows.

Treasurer Troy Buswell has flagged a possible overhaul of an act governing the public sector as the state government starts a reorganisation of its administration.

While the state's budding uranium industry grabbed local headlines last week, two Perth companies quietly confirmed the potential of southern WA as a new source of transport fuels.

Karratha should be an obligatory destination for Western Australians who want to understand their state.

WHEN energy giant BP and miner Rio Tinto quietly shelved a joint $2 billion 'clean coal' power initiative at Kwinana in May last year, many pundits considered it the death knell for the state's nascent coal-gasification sector.

While well placed to ride out the downturn, Australia still has work to do.

Barnett seeks more foreign workers

Job security is key, as employees worry about economic uncertainty, according to this year's Best Employers survey.

In any democracy, ideas have, in the first instance, to deliver what the people want

A PILOT pay dispute at regional air carrier Skywest has turned a corner after prolonged discussions, with negotiators confident a deal will be worked out soon.

INNOVATION is a difficult-to-define and frequently illusive factor hotly pursued by most businesses.

The defection of Vince Catania is a sign of the Nationals' growing stature in WA politics.

THE cost of land in Perth is creeping higher, with the median price at $225,000 in the March quarter, but prices are more than 10 per cent lower compared to the same period last year.

IT'S a good thing Perth consultancy Modal fared well in the Best Employer Awards, considering the small business makes its money from advising other companies on how to improve their practices.

MIRABELA Nickel plans to tap the equity market again to help pay for cost overruns at its Santa Rita nickel project in Brazil.

EMPLOYEES at mid-size companies are neither the most content nor the most frustrated.

THE state government is to conduct a review of the plan to privatise GESB, which manages as much as $9 billion in superannuation funds.

LET'S start with the bad news, delicately described as "improvement opportunities" by the collators of the Best Employer survey.

MODERN medicine undoubtedly has many benefits and has saved many lives, but despite what some medical practitioners might tell you there are many ailments and diseases that they do not know the cau

THE diverse nationalities of foreign students in Perth has become one of the international education sector's major strengths in recent years, and a potential barrier to market downturn.

The Western Australian Trade Opportunities Service is operated by the International Trade Centre of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia.

THE redevelopment of Subi Centro is entering a new phase, with three mixed-use projects in the northern part of the suburb moving closer to construction.

THE Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia has joined fellow resources industry bodies across the country in affirming expected strong demand for labour in the sector in the coming decades.

THE tough conditions experienced by developers during the past six months have been reflected in half-yearly results, with major property developers Australand and Port Bouvard announcing significant losses.

Liquor storeowners believe their nemisis, the supermarkets, have been handed a big victory.

THE owners of Kingsway City shopping centre in Madeley are "reasonably confident" of gaining the necessary approvals to redevelop the site, after the Supreme Court ruled the State Administrative Tribunal would have to re-examine the proposal.

IN a packed room at Fremantle Sailing Club last week, 200 people with a stake in the future of Western Australia's rock lobster industry all agreed further catch restrictions would cause considerable pain.

SINO Gas & Energy will be the latest Perth-based company to test investor appetite for initial public offerings as the number of companies with listing aspirations starts to increase.

PREMIER Colin Barnett was understandably chuffed to announce this week that Chinese steel giant AnSteel would spend the next 18 months studying the viability of a potential steel mill, at Oakajee.

THE fate of federal government grants conduit, Perth Area Consultative Committee, is in limbo after a planned transition to the Regional Development Australia network on July 1 failed to materialise.