Mark Beyer

The state government has selected Sodexo as preferred operator of its new women’s prison, adding to a string of big contract wins in Western Australia by the global facilities management company.

Training and Workforce Development Minister Liza Harvey today questioned why university students in subjects like ancient history could get more financial assistance than trainees in industries like building and construction.

Fortescue Metals Group has broken BHP Billiton’s monopoly on tug services at Port Hedland, after being named the successful bidder for a second towage licence at what is the world’s biggest bulk export port.

Premier Colin Barnett has revived long-discussed plans for an indigenous art gallery at Elizbeth Quay, partly inspired by the success of Hobart's MONA gallery, as a key part of his goal to boost boost Perth as a tourist brand.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss CityLink dramas, a new resources project, Perth media, Wesfarmers and wine.

Australia’s national LNG production capacity is nearing 50 million tonnes per annum, as Santos today brought Train 2 online at its Gladstone project.

German company K+S Group is planning to evaluate development of a $350 million salt project south-west of Onslow, six years after another salt project in the area was scrapped after facing widespread opposition.

Lifeline WA is looking forward to a funding boost next month when the State Basketball League holds its third annual All Star Games.

Rio Tinto executive Greg Lilleyman is leaving the company after 25 years, and will be replaced as group executive technology and innovation by the miner’s current head of exploration.

Trucking and logistics company K&S Corporation expects to make little, if any, profit in the second half of the 2015-16 financial year after being hit by difficult conditions across the country.

SPECIAL REPORT: A specialist indigenous publisher in Broome has achieved its most successful fundraising campaign, after Creative Partnerships Australia helped it secure the backing of two philanthropic family foundations in Perth.

Bill Shorten is trying to woo Perth commuters with a $1 billion pledge for the Metronet urban rail project, which WA Labor says will cost $2.5 billion but the WA Liberals have labelled as pork-barrelling.

SPECIAL REPORT: Wealthy Western Australians have made some eye-popping philanthropic pledges over the years but none as large as one of Gina Rinehart’s recent moves.

SPECIAL REPORT: Activ Foundation and the Royal Flying Doctor Service are Western Australia’s two largest not-for-profit charities, yet they have very different approaches to philanthropy and fundraising.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss Bell Group, Tony Galati, Uber, Gina Rinehart and philanthropy.

Social Ventures Australia has secured backing from three philanthropic foundations established by prominent businesspeople in Perth for the first venture in a new innovative local fund.

Two petroleum industry executives with a strong Perth connection have struck a deal that will see Oil Search boost liquefied natural gas development in Papua New Guinea, after negotiating a $US2.2 billion ($A3 billion) deal to buy InterOil.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia has drawn on old supporters led by Wesfarmers and new partners like a robotics startup to help revitalise its activities.

Loss-making engineering services company Ausgroup has breached a key financial covenant after its total equity fell below $160 million.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss state budget, asset sales, Newspoll, the Lord Mayor and hotels and apartments.

Eleven Western Australian arts groups have secured four-year funding deals under a long-awaited announcement from the Australia Council for the Arts, leaving four WA arts groups that have been getting government funding with an uncertain future.

The state government expects lower contracting and construction rates will deliver savings of more than $1 billion on its asset investment program over the next four years, but has not committed to any major new infrastructure projects.

The Barnett government expects to deliver Western Australia’s largest budget deficit of $3.9 billion next financial year as it continues to grapple with shrinking revenue and higher spending.

Sensorium Theatre and Spare Parts Puppet Theatre are among the major Western Australian recipients in the latest round of project grants from the Australia Council for the Arts, which were worth $11.2 million in total.

The cost of hiring tradies in Western Australia has fallen over the past year but continues to be substantially more expensive than other states, an industry survey has found.

In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall and Mark Beyer discuss Interest rates, the dollar, federal and state budgets, listings and capital raisings, and mining projects.

WA business leaders have bemoaned the state government’s failure to plan for life beyond the mining construction boom, but still see opportunities in other sectors.

Mine camp operators Compass Group and Sodexo, and an Adelaide-based print business that supplies Fortescue Metals Group were among the winners in the 2016 Supply Nation supplier diversity awards.

West Perth-based developer Cedar Woods Properties has maintained its profit guidance for the current financial year, with strong performances on the east coast continuing to offset soft conditions in Western Australia.

Small companies hoping to list on the stock market are facing tougher conditions, with more than a dozen announced deals in Western Australia hitting problems this year and the ASX foreshadowing tighter regulation of new deals.

SPECIAL REPORT: The people who lead Western Australia’s universities agree the sector faces enormous change, with emerging technology and potential new entrants among the biggest challenges.

SPECIAL REPORT: The opening last month of a WA-backed college in China, and the visit this week by a high-powered WA delegation to Indonesia, highlight the state’s renewed focus on the multi-billion dollar international education market.