Latest Headlines

The Chamber of Minerals & Energy of Western Australia has welcomed a major environmental move by the state government today that will slash approval times for BHP's Pilbara iron ore developments by up to half.

OPINION: Having won an election and passed his tax plan, Scott Morrison must now deliver economic growth, while the Greens have a problem of their own.

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia has announced the appointment of Diane Smith-Gander as its new chairperson, alongside two other board appointments.

Western Australia’s business confidence has fallen for the second quarter in a row, which the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA says indicates the need to reduce WA’s payroll tax.

Office Hours host Damian Stone is joined by one of Perth's foremost retail experts in Lease Equity's Jim Tsagalis, discussing retail challenges in Perth's CBD and high streets, major centre redevelopments and the wider retail environment. Later, Perth MLA John Carey joins Office Hours to talk about what's gone wrong on Beaufort Street, and what can be done to revive the once-popular shopping and hospitality destination.

The company behind a magnesium project proposed for the state’s north is seeking government support

National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking Group have both cut their savings rates again in the wake of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to reduce the interest rate to 1.0 per cent.

The Western Australian government is suing BGC Australia over alleged building defects at the HBF Park stadium.

The Australian share market has opened lower, with only the financial sector able to make any gains.

Now the really big Australian

Oil prices fell overnight as OPEC forecast slower demand for its crude next year, with crude futures easing from their highest in more than a month after US producers cut about half of their output in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of what could be one of the first major storms of the Atlantic hurricane season.

Gold prices slumped one per cent overnight, erasing gains posted earlier in the session after stronger-than-expected consumer inflation in the United States cast doubts whether the US central bank will cut interest rates as aggressively as expected.

Clean technology developer Eden Innovations has dispatched the first order for EdenCrete products from a distributor and announced the same products received government approval in the US.

Michael Hill International says it will spend $10 million to $25 million to compensate employees who were underpaid over a six-year period.

The Australian share market has risen for a second day, with gains across the board after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sent a strong signal overnight that the central bank was ready to cut interest rates.

Shares in VRX Silica have surged to 16 cents today, a rise of 33 per cent, after it entered into a strategic alliance with China Southern Glass related to its Muchea silica sand project.

Genex Power has secured a $610 million federal government loan to help finance its 250-megawatt pumped hydro project in far north Queensland.

Despite Perth’s house prices continuing to fall, confidence in Western Australia’s property industry is now the second highest of any state or territory, according to a new survey.

Vacancies continue to fall in Perth’s CBD office market, pushing rents up for the first time since 2013.

The state government has started the expressions of interest process for the Osborne Park Hospital expansion, which includes a new neonatal nursery, a maternity assessment unit and a 16-bed rehabilitation unit.

WA-based GR Engineering Services and Lycopodium have been selected for definitive feasibility studies at a uranium project and lithium project, respectively.

OPINION: Long-term low interest rates could fundamentally alter the way the economy works, with significant social flow-on effects.

Paul Dalgliesh has been appointed as the chief executive of Tempo Australia, and William Howard will also join the struggling contractor as its chief financial officer.

Research into the role exercise can play in helping cancer patients has Rob Newton in the running for a gong at the 2019 Premier’s Science Awards, the finalists for which were announced last month.

About 2,300 wharfies at Fremantle's container terminal have begun a two-day strike, joining industrial action already under way in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Plan needed to avoid ‘infrastructure chaos’

Oil prices rose 4.5 per cent a barrel overnight to their highest level in more than a month after US crude inventories shrank and as major producers cut nearly a third of offshore Gulf of Mexico production ahead of an expected storm.

Gold prices recouped losses to rise more than one per cent overnight as the US dollar slid after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell fanned expectations of an interest rate cut, citing risks to the US economy.

The Australian share market has closed higher as every sector except for the miners rallied ahead of highly anticipated testimony by the US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

Dexus’ $200 million Carillon City redevelopment is set for Development Assessment Panel approval tomorrow, which will make it the third major retail upgrade in Perth’s CBD in recent years.

WA’s major theatre company has reported a sharp fall in box office sales for the fourth year in succession, along with a small operating surplus, with a big donation from Minderoo Foundation helping to bolster its financial position.

Former Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA chief executive Reg Howard-Smith has been appointed chairperson of the Waste Authority for a three-year term, replacing Marcus Geisler, who had served in the role since 2008.