Mark Beyer

Planned reforms to building industry apprenticeships that were hailed as a major breakthrough have become bogged down in a technical dispute between industry groups and the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union.

Embattled former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge announced this week that he is taking leave from three public company boards, and the company that will be most relieved is IBT Education, which has felt heat on this issue from Canberra to Canada.

John Poynton’s Prime Health Group has further expanded its interests in the corporate health sector by acquiring RMS Corporation.

Technology has been driving big changes at Perth-based international printing franchise Snap Printing.

Former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge has responded to mounting pressure by announcing that he would step aside from his public company board positions.

Former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge has responded to mounting pressure by announcing that he would step aside from his public company board positions.

Two new medical research centres, worth a combined $200 million, will be built in Perth in an attempt to make Western Australia a world leader in medical and biotech research.

Premier Alan Carpenter has warned striking workers on the southern suburbs rail project to go back to work or else face "cataclysmic" consequences.

The Commonwealth Grants Commission has recommended that Western Australia's share of GST grants should be cut by $89 million because of increases in the state's revenue raising capacity.

Balcatta is home to two of WA’s best-known technology stocks – ERG and Orbital Corporation – and the little-known SafeEffect Technologies. They all have a troubled past but Mark Beyer finds that recent developments at each company point to a varied future

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has lifted a stop order on float hopeful Eneabba Gas, which says it is back on track with its proposed power station development.

Former Orbital director Ken Johnsen is leading the revival of little-known Balcatta company SafeEffect Technologies, which is aiming to relist on the Australian Stock Exchange this month after a two-and-a-half-year suspension.

Nearly three years ago, automated ticketing company ERG completed a major balance sheet restructuring and installed a new board of directors.

Private engineering consulting firm PCT Engineers has received a boost with diversified Asian industrial company IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group agreeing to acquire a 25 per cent shareholding.

Orbital Corporation’s latest results gave investors a glimpse into its colourful past when it wrote-down the value of a $19 million interest-free loan provided by the state government.

Wesfarmers Ltd subsidiary Energy Generation Pty Ltd, formerly StateWest Power, has been selected as the preferred bidder for five new power stations in Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley region.

Engineering and property company Clough Limited has announced a net loss of $16.7 million for the half-year to December 2005, and is cautiously positive about its future prospects.

IBT Education completed one of Western Australia’s biggest stock market floats in 2004 and now ranks as a successful top-20 WA stock.

IBT Education is hardly a household name, yet the Perth company runs colleges across Australia and internationally that have more than 10,000 students.

New science and innovation minister Francis Logan has moved quickly to put his stamp on state government policy by identifying four industry sectors that he would target for growth.

Barry Gregory’s Alexander Education Group has made a big strategic shift this year by winding down its vocational training programs and establishing closer links with Murdoch University.

Education is one of Western Australia’s top export industries, worth an estimated $1 billion a year, but changes in the market are making it hard for the state to compete.

Premier Alan Carpenter has put some substance to his declared support for the technology sector, announcing today he would travel to the United States to attend Bio 2006, the world's largest biotech industry conference and exhibition.

The long-running takeover battle for Tethyan Copper Company Ltd has produced a surprise outcome, with Tethyan negotiating an agreed $190 million offer from Chilean mining company Antofagasta plc.

The bidding for a $100 million waste processing project in Perth’s northern suburbs has taken a surprise turn after local company GRD decided it would not participate in the tender.

Oroya Mining is a small exploration company and Alcoa is one of the state’s biggest companies, but despite their size difference they have run into a very similar tax problem.

TheChamber of Commerce and Industry has completed a series of changes to its senior management with the recruitment of Diedre Willmott as its inaugural executive director policy.

Private agribusiness manager Rewards Group is budgeting for nearly 50 per cent growth this year, helped by strategic alliances with banking group NM Rothschild & Sons and miner-turned-property investor Chester Mining.

The single desk for Australian wheat exports has long been considered one of the pillars on which the industry has prospered but in the past month the push to free up wheat exports has gained surprising momentum.

Sally Malay Mining has announced that it will not exercise its pre-emptive right to acquire the outstanding 25 per cent shareholding in the Lanfranchi nickel joint venture, now to be controlled by Canadian company Brilliant Mining Corp.

Aspiring iron ore miner Gindalbie Metals Ltd has signed a project alliance agreement with engineering company Thiess Pty Ltd to support development of its Karara project in the mid-west region near Geraldton.

Western Australia’s Economic Regulation Authority has approved a nearly 20 per cent cut in “reserve capacity” prices for the state’s electricity generators, including aspiring producer Eneabba Gas.