Latest Headlines

Those looking for more input in the direction of the City of Perth will have to buy or lease a property in the city before October in order to get a chance of securing a vote in its council and mayoral elections.

The Western Australian Cricket Association’s $250 million plan to redevelop its ground into a 30,000-seat stadium alongside two 17-storey residential towers has prompted the WA Trotting Association, which owns the adjacent Gloucester Park, to delay finali

Ramsay Health Care Ltd is gearing up for one of its biggest jobs yet, with the $276 million redevelopment of the Joondalup Health Campus planned for completion by 2010.

East Fremantle’s historic Trade-winds Hotel on Canning Highway is undergoing a $1 million renovation of its restaurant and beer garden.

Retirement village developer National Lifestyle Villages is putting the final touches to the design of its new flagship lifestyle village at 891 Mandurah Road, Rockingham.

Unemployment at 2.7 per cent of the workforce is reason to celebrate; for most of us.

Many businesses recognise the importance of being involved in the local community, creating a sense of good corporate citizenship and fostering brand awareness.

The Western Australian Cricket Association has moved to shore up its financial and sporting future by agreeing to partner in a $250 million redevelopment (see pictures) of the WACA ground with developer Ascot Capital Ltd, the operator of Jandakot Airport.

Westonia Mines Ltd has blamed the rising Australian dollar for its inability to finalise a $65 million-plus loan for its namesake gold project, but insisted the project still has a future.

Wine merchant and Wavenet chairman Mick Stroud plans to have his Big Island Brewery business listed on the Australian Stock Exchange by June 11 following an initial public offering that will value the company at $20.5 million.

The menu at Caves House is the latest element to undergo an overhaul following Seashells Hospitality Group’s renovation to the historic hotel.

Law firm Freehills is looking to expand its intellectual property and technology practice in Perth after recruiting Minter Ellison special counsel David Stewart and his two support staff.

Brett Carboni - Shacho (owner), Tsunami

Western Australia’s largest private parking and security provider, Wilson, is trialling in Cottesloe new technology it hopes will expand its operations as economic conditions create a shortage of parking bays.

Last month’s announcement by former Fremantle Labor MHR, Carmen Lawrence, that she intends to return to academe raises an interesting triple-headed historical question.

Like many other Western Australians, I enjoy wines from the state. Admittedly, my loyalty to WA-only products has waned over the years as I have learned to appreciate that our winemakers have some worthy competition elsewhere around the globe.

The 2007 harvest has been a welcome relief for grape producers in WA, with unexpected sales to east coast operators easing the burden of oversupply. But the glut is yet to be fully overcome.

Western Australia’s early vintage this year is likely to yield some of the best red wine ever produced, according to several winemakers.

Great Southern Ltd has rejected claims from the Wine Grape Growers’ Australia that the grape glut that crippled many players in the industry during 2005 and 2006 would return to haunt the sector within five years.

The grape glut may have created headaches for many players in the WA wine industry, but it has provided enormous opportunity for South West producer Stella Bella Wines Pty Ltd, which has plans to build a cellar door not too far from Leeuwin Estate.

Rob Mann is one of a handful of Western Australian winemakers lucky enough to get his hands on some cuttings of pinot gris – a white wine style growing in popularity with wine drinkers in Europe and the US.

Western Australian wine producers reckon they can’t keep up with growing consumer demand for semillon sauvignon blanc from the state’s South West.

Just about all of Vanya Cullen’s Margaret River neighbours have produced lower-than-average grape crops this year after weather conditions in 2005 and 2006 left vines bearing smaller grapes and smaller bunches.

The US is increasingly seen as a land of immense opportunity for many Western Australian wineries looking to grow exports profitably.

The Town of Vincent plans to seek formal expressions of interest from developers for a proposed $650 million mixed-use redevelopment of two hectares of rare land in Leederville.

Cape Bouvard Developments is confident the continued strength of the local commercial market will vindicate its decision to hold off from chasing an anchor tenant for its proposed $100 million project on Mounts Bay Road.

Reinventing yourself, repeatedly, is not an easy trick.

Face-to-face fundraising, where charity workers wield a clipboard instead of rattling a tin, seeking your credit card number instead of cash, is a rich source of funds for Western Australian not-for-profit groups.

The mining and property booms have created unprecedented wealth in Western Australia. WA Business News looks at the individuals leading the charge.

AUSTRALIA’S first female premier, Carmen Lawrence, last week announced her retirement from political life, effective at the next federal election.

The Western Australian entrepreneurs who have created the most wealth in the non-mining sector are led by people who spent most of their business life running private companies before opting for a sharemarket float.

The iron ore boom has underpinned the enormous wealth of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd managing director Andrew Forrest, and it has also boosted the wealth of some of Western Australia’s most famous families.