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The federal government has approved a fourth runway at Jandakot Airport and cleared the path for a proposal to develop 148 hectares of surrounding non-aviation land.

Perth's increasingly competitive cafe scene is challenging proprietors to go beyond the call of duty in their efforts to offer the best brews in town; so much so that many are seeking to transform their businesses beyond bare beans.

The WA Fishing Industry Council has joined an initiative with the Kailis Bros Fishing Group and Abacus Fisheries to promote unique Western Australian blue swimmer crabs.

All the talk around the premium olive growing region of Moore River at the moment is of an imminent announcement regarding an exciting new food event – oil related no doubt.

Participation rates for women at work may be at a highest-ever 45 per cent, and 56 per cent of university graduates may be female, but such figures can lead to false assumptions when it comes to women in the corporate world.

Greening Australia is the largest environmental organisation in Australia, but its work is far removed from the confrontational approach associated with some conservation groups.

The female managing director is a rare breed in Perth, particularly in the resources industry, but Eve Howell is perfectly at ease with her role as regional vice-president and MD at Apache Energy Limited, a US-based company with a market capitalisation of

‘Everyone makes money in a boom' and ‘every deal is a winner' are statements that ought to be consigned to that list of other great lies, such as the ‘cheque is in the mail' – a point that close observers of the deals of 2005 will have noted.

Three high-profile transactions launched during 2005 ran into unexpected difficulties, providing telling reminders that even the best-laid plans can run off course.

Western Australian companies raised a record $3 billion in new equity issues in 2005, underpinning a second boom year for local broking firms Patersons Securities and Euroz Securities.

Private equity investors participated in some of the largest and most notable transactions in Western Australia in 2005, including the rescue of biotech company Chemeq and the acquisition of EG Green Group.

The boom conditions in Western Australia's iron ore industry have underpinned a rapid increase in capital raisings by current and aspiring iron ore miners.

With one of Australia's biggest private property portfolios, Cape Bouvard Investments prefers to discretely carry on business in Perth.

With Western Australia entering what promises to be another year of strong economic expansion, the major challenge facing the state continues to be managing its rapid growth.

The ranks of those Liberal MPs who are wondering if their leader, Matt Birney, will still be in his position on April 17, his wedding day, swelled markedly just before Christmas, when the Parliamentary Privileges Committee adjudicated on his secret insert

Seven Seas Bar and Restaurant is the latest player to set sail on Beaufort Street's expanding sea of eateries.

This time of year used to be relatively quiet for winemakers.

Early summer's a great time to get out and enjoy Western Australia's wonderful outdoors, and the growing number concerts and wine and food events are a highlight of the season.

When Cape Bouvard began speculative construction on a $15 million, seven-level office building in early 2004, Perth's office vacancy rate was 12 per cent, the market outlook was dismal and construction costs were spiralling.

After a lengthy period of stagnation, Perth's office sales market last year broke all previous records with unpredicted momentum generated by a shortage of supply and rising rents.

Much of the decline in value of retail and industrial sales last year can be attributed to a lack of stock rather than a slowing of the markets.

Big mining projects, hotly contested takeovers, new floats and trade sales feature in WA Business News' review of the top deals of 2005.

The late Lang Hancock was usually described as a mining magnate but the great frustration in his life was that he never developed his own mine.

Perth-based biotech company Regenera Ltd has changed its name to Advanced Ocular Systems Ltd following its merger with US based refractive devices company Advanced Ocular Systems, Inc. on 30 December 2005.

Demand for land at LandCorp's upmarket Minim Cove development in Mosman Park continues, with buyer interest in an early December release outnumbering available lots by four to one.

There is always a fantastic energy and optimism in Western Australia when the economy is booming and work is plentiful. Few people would dispute that we enjoy one of the best lifestyles in the world. So amid all this confidence and what would seem such a

There are no signs the wave of growth being ridden by the state's information and communication technology sector is going to peak any time soon, but the sector still faces some formidable challenges in the years before 2010.

It has been 200 years since Horatio, Viscount Nelson has lain dead after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. His flagship, HMS Victory, lives on as a shrine at the Royal Navy base at Portsmouth, England; his memory lives on in the hearts of seafarers.

These days we often hear about our ‘ageing population', but this demographic shift is about so much more than simply a baby boom.

One quarter of Australians will be aged 65 years or more by the year 2045, roughly double the present proportion, according to the latest population projections.

Perth is a unique location in the resources world, arguably the only place outside the major financial capital of London that can lay claim to being a global centre that straddles both the mining and oil and gas sectors.

Renowned corporate head kicker and Consolidated Minerals boss Michael Kiernan has positioned ConsMins for some healthy profits over the next few years, but it has been at a cost. Mark Mentiplay reports.