Gary Kleyn

EVIDENCE of plantations is growing in the South West as it becomes increasingly difficult to log existing forests.

THE Master Builders Association has expressed disappointment at the way the construction union has responded to the deaths of two workers earlier this year.

BUNBURY’S new CEO Michael Whitaker has put his first major stamp on the Bunbury City Council since taking office by appointing four new managers to replace the positions previously held by directors.

MOVES by the Property Council for the centre of Perth to be recognised as a key economic powerhouse in the State economy have borne fruit.

DOMESTIC sales of wine increased for the seventeenth consecutive month.

THE Kareelya Property Group is capitalising on the growing tourism sector in the South West with a further development in Busselton.

THE WA Government’s budget mid-year review has indicated WA’s financial fortunes have been boosted by a jump in oil royalties.

MORE than 12,000 people embarked on new careers as apprentices in the July-September quarter of 1999, according to figures compiled by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

A PROPOSAL to allow trading in beekeeping sites on conservation lands has been put out for public comment.

FULL-TIME jobs are outstripping the creation of temporary and part-time jobs.

BUILDERS will be restricted to a height of three storeys in Mandurah’s city centre thanks to a new policy.

AN INSTITUTIONAL $208 million buyout of Motherwell Information Systems is being backed by European venture capital company 3i.

THE transformation of the Geraldton foreshore to a multi-million dollar marina has moved up a gear with building starting on the new Mid West Museum.

MARGARET River winery Chateau Xanadu’s export sales are set to quadruple with the recent announcement of an agreement between the company and a UK-based distribution business.

A HEIGHTENED, volatile share market and speculation about higher domestic interest rates has not dented consumer sentiment.

A MASSIVE 84 per cent of female employees believe they bear the brunt of housework at the office according to a Morgan & Banks survey.

THE public can rest assured that only a few finance brokers have been responsible for losses by various investors in mortgages says Mortgage Industry Association of Australia WA president Barry Barr.

TUCKED away on a road leading from the Old Coast Road, the small township of Binningup has been attracting the attention of developers keen to benefit from the South West awakening.

CHALLENGE Bank CEO Tony Howarth is the new chairman of AlintaGas, taking over from Ian Baker who was the inaugural chairman of the utility.

UNFAIR dismissal laws are forcing businesses to change their employment strategy. Other options are often considered that do not have the perceived legal implications attached.

AROUND $3 million will be spent on upgrading the historic Yanchep Inn, situated in the heart of Yanchep National Park.

A STRONG increase in major government-funded infrastructure projects helped stem a decline in private infrastructure spending, according to a recent Australian Bureau of Statistics report.

MANAGEMENT needs to ensure its workforce has a balanced approach to life.

LISTED property trusts are a force to be reckoned with in the WA property market and will continue to inject funds into the State in the year ahead according to real estate agent Colliers Jardine.

LJ HOOKER Commercial has come up trumps in a survey of the real estate industry by National Business Bulletin.

THE South West accounted for 14 per cent of all building approvals during November, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

NATIONAL Australia Bank and the Challenge Bank have increased some deposit and fixed home loan interest rates.

EDUCATION is no preparation for work according to a recent survey.

ANOTHER fifteen Perth suburbs have been given the nod to move to underground power.

TOURISM is set to be high in the minds of Bunbury businesses following a Memorandum of Understanding between the Bunbury Chamber of Commerce and the Bunbury Tourism Board.

THE headline inflation rate is forecast to rise 0.8 per cent in the December quarter, taking the annual rate to 2 per cent.

WA’S unemployment rate hit a 10 year low of 6.1 per cent in December, according to recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.