Gary Kleyn

STRONG public interest in tidal power for Derby has forced the WA Government to set up a committee to compare the recommended gas proposal with the Derby tidal power bid.

WA EMPLOYERS are exuberant, with 42.4 per cent reporting intentions to put on staff, the latest Morgan & Banks Job Index has found.

TO MEET demand stemming from the building industry, Wespine Industries is under-taking a $10 million expansion of its Dardanup Mill.

AUSTRALIA has a terrific future but we need to reawaken our natural optimism, according to International Trade Strategies managing director Alan Oxley.

ST GEORGE Bank is to acquire the Scottish Pacific Business Finance Group for $42 million.

TAX changes and the increase in e-commerce are the two major issues which CPA Australia and its new WA president Colin Murphy will have to deal with in the coming year.

Work will start later this month on transforming the Causeway into a world-class rapid transit route for public transport commuters.

THE coming decade is shaping up as the lifestyle decade with lifestyle housing one of the biggest stories in the residential sector, according to a report by Macquarie Bank.

PERTH’S oldest TAFE college has celebrated its centenary with hi-tech demonstrations, futuristic visions and reminiscences of a century as a leader in vocational education and training.

THE future of the banking industry lies with the lucrative business banking market – not small retail customers – says newly appointed National Australia Bank Australian Financial Services CEO Mike Pratt.

A PRODUCT ruling does not a good investment make. This is the warning from both the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

SMALL business enterprises are facing intimidatory tactics by major companies to whom they supply goods and services according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.

A NEW land syndicate will be formed in the next few weeks by real estate agents and developers Peet & Company Limited that aims to raise about $2.8 million.

WA’S first independent electricity retailer has taken a major step for the newly deregulated power industry.

VANADIUM processing has become the latest industry to arrive in WA with the opening of the Windimurra vanadium project near Mt Magnet which also introduced new process technology to Australia.

A NUMBER of initiatives are outlined in the State budget in relation to the South West Development Commission.

UNIVERSITY of WA spinoff company Advanced Power Technology has signed a $12 million 50:50 joint venture agreement with Samsung Corning.

A FURTHER nine residential lots have been placed on the market at Mt Henry estate, Salter Point as part of Stage 4B.

HOUSE sales appear to be on the decline, falling almost 16 per cent during the March quarter compared to the previous quarter according to the latest housing report by the Real Estate Institute of WA.

Only 19 per cent of rural high school students who complete high school go on to higher education, yet 30 per cent of city students do so.

PERTH-based conference and meeting organisers were offered the choice of a smorgasbord of venues at the inaugural South West Showcase.

WORK on the western end of Victoria Quay in Fremantle will start within weeks following the release of the masterplan recently.

A business loan with twenty-five years to repay is being offered for the first time in Australia.

Email may not be the best way to correspond with other businesses – that, is if you want a quick response.

PERTH-based Talbora, trading as Phone Shop, is offering refunds to customers who bought novelty telephones that do not comply with Australian Communications Authority Standards.

THE South West will receive a major boost under the budget, according to Minister Assisting the Treasurer Graham Kierath.

THE WA Motor industry has called on the Federal Government to pass a Private Member’s Bill which would allow service station operators to buy up to 50 per cent of their fuel from sources other than their oil company supplier.

THE MENTOR Partner Program has been launched by South Central Metropolitan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

MARGARET River Chocolate Company is hoping to emulate its success in the South West when it expands into another wine region – the Swan Valley.

INCREASING tourism numbers attracted to the South West has not made life for many tourism operators any easier with some battling to survive.

PERTH-based Gondwana Resources NL has announced it will form a 50:50 joint venture company with New York Stock Exchange-listed Entrade Inc. to provide business-to-business electronic commerce solutions to companies in the Asia Pacific region.

The popularity of forest investment can be judged by the recent share issue offer by Forest Enter-prises Australia.