Mark Pownall

I regret I didn’t take advantage of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission’s live streaming of its hearing into the Trades and Labor Council’s application for a 4 per cent wage rise.

Alan Carpenter won a few friends here at WA Business News when he spoke at our Success & Leadership breakfast last week.

Is it just me, or has the budget lost relevance these days? For months we’ve been primed by reports of surpluses, possible tax cuts and how families will be looked after.

United Credit Union Ltd has moved to change its constitution so members have more power to voice their views in the case of any proposed demutualisation – including funding for legal advice and provision of a website.

Claremont-based network marketing group Omegatrend has become one of those rare victims of a boom, appointing voluntary administrators after a slump in sales.

Claremont-based network marketing group Omegatrend has become one of those rare victims of a boom, appointing voluntary administrators after a slump in sales.

The Shovelanna dispute between exploration minnow Cazaly Resources Ltd and mining whale Rio Tinto Ltd will go down in history as a defining moment in Western Australia’s corporate history.

It raises hundreds of millions of dollars a year for new and often-risky ventures but these days the tax-effective investment world only occasionally crosses the boundary to the full public glare of being a listed entity.

Frankland River Olive Company has announced plans to restructure into a single vertically integrated olive business, raise $5.9 million and become the sector's newest listed player.

After a lunchtime debate in the WA Business News office, I thought it was time to wade into the issue of Neale Fong's remuneration which has dominated the news for some time now.

They started life as ‘organisation men’ and have seen incredible change, including the WA Inc era. They are Western Australia’s corporate elders identified in a new book by Professor Leonie Still.

Booms like the one we are experiencing come and go, but they can have a lasting effect. With treasury's coffers overflowing, we thought it was time to explore some new ideas for our great state and remind our government about some old ones.

Not long after I finished reading Corporate Elders: ‘Organisation Men’ Look Back (UWA Press) I had a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with the author, accomplished academic Professor Leonie Still.

There is a lot of conjecture about sport stadia in Perth at the moment as the various codes apply pressure for an outcome that suits them best.

A glance at the whiteboard in Christian Lange’s office indicates a man with a lot on his plate.

The top media watchdog is claiming its first legal victory against spammers under new laws aimed at quelling unsolicited email following a Federal Court decision in Perth.

Caravans. As many of you prepare for the next few days or weeks of holidays, that is one foreboding word that may loom darkly across your plans for a smooth ride.

Indian aluminium and copper giant Hindalco Industries Ltd plans to raise almost $300 million through the Australian Stock Exchange listing of Birla Minerals Ltd, the owner of the Nifty copper mine near Telfer, Western Australia.

As the federal government’s new industrial relations laws come into force it will be interesting to see if they have any impact on the waning influence of the union movement.

HIGH profile accountant Domenic Martino has emerged at the helm of a mystery buyer for Perth-based IT services company ComputerCORP Pty Ltd in a deal worth more than $8 million on paper.

The ousting of Matt Birney was a disappointing moment from my point of view.

Investors in the embattled Preston Vale vineyard project near Donnybrook have been offered a glimmer of hope that the long-running saga may be coming to a close, with the manager proposing a corporate restructure of the MIS scheme.

Calls for the liberalisation of liquor licensing laws have been heeded by the state government which this week announced sweeping changes to way alcohol can be sold in Western Australia.

New WA Liberal leader Paul Omodei plans to take his time in unveiling his new shadow Cabinet, which will be boosted with the addition of two new members to match the 17-member Carpenter front bench.

A handful of the 40 winners were also awarded special prizes by some of the organisations involved at the founding of the WA Business News 40under40 Awards.

Are the owners of the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre finding out something they should have known from the start? That running such a business is little tougher than most other infrastructure markets?

A last-minute change of venue did nothing to quell the anticipation of the 900-strong crowd that turned up in Fremantle earlier this month for Western Australia’s biggest celebration of young business.

If there’s one place the booming resources and property sectors are coinciding it’s in the commercial property sector. And you only have to look at this week’s sale of the Commodore Hotel to prove the point.

One of Perth’s most successful technology businesses, IT infrastructure services group ComputerCORP, is set to change hands with the exit of its founders led by Hugh Smith.

Tributes have flowed in from business and the community leaders following the death earlier this week of 73-year-old Perth property tycoon Bill Wyllie after a long battle with cancer.

Western Australia’s strong property market has boosted developer Port Bouvard Ltd, with its half year result up almost threefold to $18.2 million.

Bill Wyllie is one of Western Aust-ralia’s success stories, perhaps most notably because we got him back.