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THE $437 million railcar contract for the planned Mandurah railway highlights the wide gap between rhetoric and reality that sometimes muddies the local content

A recent tasting has left David Pike in awe of that naughty, unpredictable variety that is pinot noir. This wine has a nasty habit of performing inconsistently. PINOR Noir is a very naughty grape variety because it very rarely behaves on cue.

THE Catalano family know their fish. Indeed, it would be hard not to for a family that has known nothing else since Frank Catalano bought a fish and chip shop more than 30 years ago.

In the third of a six-part series on business lending, Mark Beyer looks at the equipment finance market. THE equipment finance market has witnessed substantial change over the past couple of years, led by the growing popularity of chattel mortgages.

IT’S an old chestnut, a centuries old law that is a key plank in our legal system – the fact that someone acquitted of a charge may not be tried again for that particular offence.

SHOULD I use a lease or hire purchase? This is one of the most common questions asked of business bankers and finance brokers.

SOMETHING resembling a Mexican stand-off appears to have developed between Perth City Council (PCC) and Planning Minister Alannah MacTiernan, just when they should be in close contact. The PCC, for more than a year, has made it clear that it believed M

BUSINESSES have been warned to start preparing for new payment and reporting rules for superannuation.

WA’S sole private electricity retailer says onerous regulations and charges are preventing more players from entering the State’s electricity market.

A decade in the planning and a dozen drafts later, the Contaminated Sites Bill 2002 has put the State’s landowners on notice, as Gary Kleyn reports.

EAST Perth Redevelopment Authority will auction five lots in The Village Northbridge development on February 26.

PROPERTY values and politics won out in a recent Town of Victoria Park decision to block a community service provider’s office development application, according to Outcare chief executive Peter Sirr.

PERTH’S Piccadilly Theatre and Arcade and Rechabites Hall have been permanently listed on the State Government’s Register of Heritage Places.

IF you think individual businesses will find it hard under the new Contaminated Sites legislation, spare a thought for the WA Government.

Jerry Fraser can shuck oysters with the best of them and has built quite a reputation for himself in his short time in Perth, as Julie-anne Sprague reports.

A COUPLE of weeks ago our political columnist Joe Poprzeczny wrote a column for State Scene entitled “That sinking feeling” about the rail line that separates Northbridge and the CBD.

RENOVATIONS to create a new-look cafe section at Simon’s Seafood Restaurant are complete and include a stylish Italian pizza oven.

STATE Scene only rarely considers issues that can be categorised as international affairs.

OH the outdoor life. My day of rest this weekend was spent lending a hand to a couple of aspiring local vignerons that needed to attend to their bird problem.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan responds to Joe Poprzecny’s assertion

FOR most businesses in WA, banking is conducted through the State’s big five – BankWest and the four national banks, ANZ, Commonwealth, National and Westpac.

THE Minim Cove development and the East Perth Gasworks stand out as the State’s highest profile contamination locations of recent times – due to their massive clean-up costs and high level of public awareness.

AUSTRALIAN businesses are renowned for being unhappy with their banks but not doing much about it.

A MALAGA-BASED manufacturer has recently signed a deal with Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki to supply the Japanese market with special beach cleaning technology.

THE opening of a new four-level, 9850 square metre manufacturing plant and imminent appointment of a new chief executive at the Gold Corporation mark an exciting new phase for the Perth Mint.

PROJECT managers could soon be able to lay their hands on a comprehensive list of project services providers. Former project manager Horst Kambeck is putting together the

In the first of a five-part series on the ‘virtual office’ Julie-anne Sprague investigates moves towards mobile technology and a remote workforce.

A FRAMEWORK is being drawn up in Fremantle that could give WA a slice of the multi-billion dollar worldwide animation industry.

A CALCULATED gamble to establish a weekly newspaper for Australian cricket devotees has turned up trumps for niche market publisher International Publishing Group.

PERTH’S major commercial properties have diverted a critical portion of their lease exposure threat by pushing out lease renewal terms to 10 years, further closing the window of opportunity for Perth’s three major commercial development proposals.

In part three in the series on architects and interior designers, Tracey Cook looks at the architectural firms behind the State’s big projects.

PLANNING and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan has released for public comment a public environmental review (PER) of a proposal to develop a 120 hecta