Fraser Beattie

The federal government has responded to Andrew Forrest's Creating Parity review by announcing plans to award 3 per cent of all supply contracts, worth an estimated $135 million per year, to indigenous businesses.

Fiona Stanley Hospital chief executive David Russell-Weisz has been appointed director general of the Western Australian Department of Health.

TNG has signed an agreement with two Northern Territory-based contractors to provide civil engineering and construction work at its flagship Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project.

Shares in Minbos Resources surged on news it has entered into an agreement to sell half of the company to joint venture partner, Petril Projects, in exchange for full ownership of the Cabinda phosphate project in Angola.

Perth-based mineral sands producer Iluka Resources has created a new senior executive role to focus on two growth opportunities involving new technology in the UK and Brazil.

Global Construction Services has won an exclusive equipment and labour hire agreement with Brookfield Multiplex.

James Packer's Crown Resorts is seeking to raise around $400 million through an issue of subordinated notes to help fund developments.

The Richard Johnson-led technology company DTI Group has won contracts to supply its video surveillance systems to new transit buses in the US and France for an undisclosed amount.

The Environmental Protection Authority has recommended that Rutila Resources' proposed 205-kilometre railway and conveyor line in the Pilbara, which will be used to support new iron ore mines, should gain ministerial approval.

Perth-based Matrix Composites and Engineering has secured $41.8 million worth of contracts for the supply of drilling user buoyancy to undisclosed clients.

Nedlands-based pharmaceutical company PharmAust has raised about $3.1 million in an oversubscribed placement to fund clinical trials for its cancer drug.

Gleneagle Gold announced its intention to exit the resources sector through the back door today, with a proposal to buy a Melbourne-based unlisted biotechnology company for a share package worth $2 million.

Austal’s littoral combat ship program with the US Navy has earned the shipbuilder an $8.5 million contract extension to provide studies and review efforts to reduce costs.

Failed property investment company Westpoint Group and its director Norm Carey have been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling $133,000 for making false or misleading representations regarding a residential property development in Rivervale.

Energy giant BP will hold onto its Perth bitumen business but will sell the rest in the country to Puma Energy for an undisclosed amount.

Emeco Holdings has diversified its business outside the mining sector by purchasing truck and trailer rental company Rentco, which was founded in 1994 by Perth brothers Bob and John Shier, in a structured deal worth at least $52 million.

Sydney-based TPG Telecom and its competitor iiNet scored a rare double today after announcing a friendly takeover offer, with shares in both the bidder and its Subiaco-based target rising strongly as investors welcomed the combination as a logical strategic fit.

Malaga-based wireless products manufacturer Acurix Networks provided free WiFi to about 150,000 people on Rottnest Island last year, with the average user spending more than one and a half hours on the service.

From mid-July, China Southern Airlines will fly direct to Perth four times a week as the state government aims to reach 100,000 Chinese visitors to Western Australia by 2020.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has permanently banned former Patersons Securities WA state manager Lewis Fellowes from providing financial services after finding he had transferred about $1.5 million of clients’ funds into his own accounts.

Shares in technology company Avita Medical tumbled today on news it had closed a heavily discounted placement to raise $5 million.

Construction contracts worth $17.2 million have been awarded to four Broome businesses for a West Kimberley housing project that aims to benefit Aboriginal families.

Oil and gas company Neon Energy has reversed its decision to accept Evoworld Corporation’s takeover proposal, after an independent expert's report found the deal to be unfair.

Decmil Group has won about $40 million worth of work at Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill iron ore project in the Pilbara, building on its portfolio of port, rail and fuel infrastructure work already under way at the site.

The jobless rate has eased from its 12 year high but economists expect the recovery will be temporary as the economy continues to struggle.

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies has applauded state government plans to review charges for the Utah Point bulk export facility at Port Hedland but wants the review extended to other ports.

Tech companies Dubber Corporation and xTV Networks have announced major new deals after completing backdoor listings on the ASX, with investors in Dubber sitting on healthy gains today.

Australia ranks eighth on a global scale for digital attractiveness thanks to low market costs and risks, but the country is the second highest illegal downloader, an EY report has found.

The Pilbara Ports Authority has begun clearing large vessels out of the ports of Dampier and Ashburton, ahead of a cyclone which is expected to hit the Pilbara coast by tomorrow morning.

Shares in Gulf Minerals Corporation surged on news it had signed a $26.3 million equity funding deal with Sigur Holdings to cover development costs at its manganese smelting project in Indonesia.

Perth-based Doray Minerals has posted $4 million in net profit for the six months to December, on the back of lower cash costs and solid growth in gold production.

The competition watchdog has proposed to cut prices that other operators pay Telstra to use its copper network to provide telecommunication services to consumers.