Mark Beyer

Labor's victory in last year's federal election has elevated Western Australians Stephen Smith and Chris Evans to two of the most senior roles in the federal government.

During the past four years, Western Australia has experienced three major power crises, raising serious questions about management of the state's energy infrastructure.

Western Australia's two major industry lobbies, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, have witnessed changes at the top during the past year, with new leadership taking the reins.

Outside of government and business, there is a wide array of people in science, media, the law and other professions who are highly influential in Western Australia.

There are two committees in Perth that can be considered centres of commercial and public influence - the University of Western Australia's Business School board and the Committee for Perth.

More than a dozen people have been removed from WA Business News' Most Influential lists during the past 12 months, and only in some cases by choice.

Alan Carpenter has had a tough run as premier but a close analysis shows he is more powerful than ever. Mark Beyer reports.

The top job at Alcoa Inc in Australia brings with it an instant public role that few other chief executives would have to take on.

If opinion polls are any guide, Labor is set to retain power at the next state election, and if that happens we can expect big changes inside the Carpenter government.

Premier Alan Carpenter has left many people confused and frustrated by his blanket rejection of the ambitious island development proposal announced last week for North Fremantle.

WA Business News invited some of Western Australia's top architects and planners to discuss Perth's development in a boardroom forum last month.

Perth-based petroleum executive Bret Mattes has broken new ground in Indonesia by becoming what is believed to be the first foreigner to be appointed chief executive of a national energy company.

Mineral sands miner Bemax Resources Ltd, which has extensive operations in Western Australia's South West, has recommended that shareholders accept a $301 million takeover offer.

Iron ore developers Murchison Metals Ltd and Midwest Corporation Ltd are likely to merge after Midwest's directors unanimously endorsed a proposed scheme of arrangement that values their stock at $7.17 per share.

Investment manager Great Southern Ltd has commenced a strategic review of its business after reporting a worse than expected loss of $49.1 million for the half-year to 31 March 2008.

The building industry has welcomed a federal government review of the sector's industrial relations watchdog, saying it is "a positive sign that the government is committed to maintaining a tough cop on the beat".

Four years ago, WA Business News started writing about the shortages of skilled labour that had emerged in economic hot spots such as engineering and mineral exploration.

I WAS in Houston last week at the annual Offshore Technology Conference, touted as the world’s largest gathering of oil and gas professionals.

I’ve been on the road this week but still managed to keep up with the news.

Graphic design is not an industry normally associated with exports, yet West Perth firm BKAY Design generates a big chunk of its revenue from sales to international clients.

The ructions that have stirred up international financial markets this year and cast a pall over the global economic outlook would, you might think, make investors and business operators cautious.

The fallout from the failure of Lift Capital Partners and Opes Prime Group is spreading, with at least four Perth company directors having a big parcel of shares sold as a result of their involvement with the east coast margin lenders.

Struggling biofuels company Australian Renewable Fuels Ltd is planning to raise $3.1 milion through a rights issue pitched at the deeply discounted price of 2.5 cents per share.

Equinox Minerals Ltd chief executive Craig Williams has become the third Perth company director to have a big parcel of shares sold by Merrill Lynch as a result of links to failed margin lender Lift Capital Partners.

The biggest talking point in Australia during the past week has, not surprisingly, been Kevin Rudd’s talkfest, the Australia 2020 summit in Canberra.

A new phrase entered the Australian business lexicon when Perth company directors Rick Crabb and Gillian Swaby lodged substantial shareholder notices with the Australian Securities Exchange this month.

While some big players vacate their city offices for the suburbs, they are making room for those who prefer to stay in the CBD.

Five years of solid growth has enabled Clayton Utz to become the second largest law firm in Perth, behind only long-time market leader Freehills.

Former University of Western Australia academic Dr Bruce Gray had a big win over his erstwhile employer in a landmark Federal Court ruling handed down last week but faces the prospect of further legal action from the company he founded, Sirtex Medical Ltd

The Howard government was repeatedly attacked for undermining workers’ rights, so it is ironic that one of its creations, the Workplace Ombudsman, has become a forceful protector of workers.

If recent trends in London and New York are any guide, more Australian lawyers could be following the likes of Tim Lester and Heath Lewis back to Perth.

Spending time away from Perth is a good way to get perspective on the changes taking place in the city.