Mark Beyer

The cleaning contract for Perth’s largest office building, Central Park, has changed hands amid competing claims about the role of the union in the sector.

The amalgamation of local councils is a topic of debate that generates a lot of heat, but outside of Geraldton and Northam there is no immediate prospect of real change.

With local government coming under close scrutiny, WA Business News invited some of the leading figures in the sector to discuss key challenges and propose solutions.

New Iluka Resources Ltd managing director David Robb has quickly made his mark at the mineral sands producer by instituting a new management structure and recruiting a new chief financial officer from his old employer.

Alinta has released a detailed update on its financial and strategic outlook, disclosing that its net profit in the year to December 2006 is expected to be substantially lower than its previous guidance.

The extraordinary saga surrounding Christmas Island mining company Phosphate Resources Ltd has taken a surprising new twist, with Perth mining executive Mark Caruso failing to secure a board seat.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA has estimated that government regulation costs the state’s business sector a total of $2.1 billion, or $26,582 per business.

The state government’s energy reforms have failed to deliver the expected returns, after the government declined to accept any of the tenders for its own electricity purchases.

The sharp rise in land values in Western Australia in the past year has been tipped to produce a bigger than estimated increase in land tax collections.

An unlikely alliance of conservation and fishing groups has vowed to oppose plans by mining company Straits Resources for a giant salt project on the eastern shore of Exmouth Gulf.

Perth-based energy services company PearlStreet Ltd has bolstered its board and management as it prepares for a likely share market float early next year.

The massive cost-blow out at BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel project adds to the long run of technical and financial problems at laterite nickel projects around the world.

The average age of the residents in standard retirement villages in Australia is 79 years, but at National Lifestyle Villages the residents’ average age is 59 years.

This year’s Rising Stars awards attracted 52 entries from a wide range of business sectors, all committed to innovation and growth.

Employment Protection Minister John Bowler has criticised the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA for its stance on a planned review of workers’ compensation reforms, but has also acknowledged that frequent changes have contributed to the current “unwield

Australian Mine Services managing director Ian Massara has clear memories of winning his first job with BHP Billiton.

Brisbane company Super Cheap Auto is facing an estimated $490,000 stamp duty bill on its purchase of car parts retailer Marlows after the State Administrative Tribunal ruled on its dispute with the Commissioner of State Revenue.

Mount Gibson Iron managing director Luke Tonkin, fresh from effectively completing the acquisition of Aztec Resources, has played down the immediate prospect of more takeovers in the junior iron ore sector.

Gold miner Resolute Limited has announced that cash costs at its Golden Pride mine in Tanzania will increase by US$10-15 per ounce after it agreed to modify tax concessions and spend more on community development programs.

Consulting engineers Connell Wagner have lost their contract on Fortescue Metals Group's $3.7 billion Pilbara iron ore project after a dispute over fees.

Western Australia’s biggest industrial company, Wesfarmers, has become the place to work for ambitious young executives hoping to earn more than $1 million.

Wesfarmers chairman Trevor Eastwood sits at the blue chip end of the business spectrum, while Reg Gillard is a veteran mining promoter at the more speculative end of the market. What they have in common, however, is a big income from their directors’ fees

Million dollar salary packages are becoming increasingly common in Western Australia, WA Business News's fourth annual remuneration survey has found.

Subiaco company Natural Fuel has launched Australia’s biggest biofuels float at a time when other companies in the sector have either scrapped capital raising plans or suffered a hammering by investors.

Health supremo Neale Fong has retained his status as Western Australia’s highest-paid public sector employee, followed by the chief executives from a clutch of public trading enterprises.

Perth companies Monadelphous and Macmahon have a lot in common. They both service the booming resources sector, have about 3,000 staff, reported similar profits in 2006, achieved strong shareholder returns over the past three years, and have a similar mar

Aquila Resources and Paladin Resources provide stunning examples of the huge value that can flow from share options when companies achieve large and sustained increases in their share price.

After spending eight years and $33 million developing its pearl farming business in the Northern Territory, Perth company Arafura Pearls is hoping it is finally ready to deliver profitable returns.

Rio Tinto has used the official opening of its HImselt pig iron plant at Kwinana to predict that five commercial HIsmelt plants could be in operation within the next decade.

Iconic smallgoods producer D'Orsogna typifies the challenges facing food manufacturers in WA, which are refining their strategies in response to an increasingly competitive market.

The past year has been a tough period for some of Western Australia’s best-known food manufacturers.

The founder of transportable housing manufacturer Blue Ridge, Alan Mackenzie, is planning rapid expansion of the business after buying it back from short-lived owner Cool or Cosy.