Matt Mckenzie

Local energy producer Empire Oil & Gas has entered voluntary administration today, two weeks after receivers took control of subsidiary Empire Oil, which operates the company’s key Perth Basin assets.

Across the state’s major government-owned utilities, more money goes in through subsidies than out through dividends, according to the latest batch of annual reports.

New ports, better planning and increased use of technology are in the sights of transport industry leaders preparing the state’s freight network for coming decades, according to a panel of experts at a recent Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch.

The state’s newest co-working space has been opened in Yanchep, after a $10 million investment by the area’s main property developer, in a bid to create a knowledge-based economy in the region ahead of an anticipated population influx.

Unions and businesses have welcomed a review of Western Australia’s industrial relations system, the only remaining state-based scheme operating in parallel with federal laws in the country.

Oil and gas software developer Stochastic Simulation has gone into liquidation, about five months after it went into receivership, with secured creditors likely to receive about 4 cents in the dollar in a best-case scenario.

Perth residential property prices fell 0.8 per cent in the June quarter, to be down 3.1 per cent across the financial year, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today.

Six local resources companies have announced capital raisings of around $26 million for projects including in lithium and rare earths, with one of the businesses, Okapi Resources, planning to join the ASX bourse.

Shares in three local energy companies have surged today after hitting hydrocarbons while drilling the Xanadu-1 offshore prospect in the Perth Basin, with Triangle Energy leading the charge, up nearly 60 per cent.

Four local mining hopefuls have raised $13.2 million between them for new projects, with Egan Street Resources and Ardea Resources in the two biggest deals.

State-owned regional power provider Horizon Power has recorded a $35.4 million net profit for the year to June, while hitting its targeted reduction of government subsidies more than a year ahead of time.

State-owned power generator and retailer Synergy has recorded a loss of $12.6 million for the 2017 financial year on the back of lower sales revenue and a large impairment due to the early closure of its generation capacity.

Unemployment jumped 0.5 percentage points in August to a seasonally adjusted 5.9 per cent in Western Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Updated: Empire Oil & Gas has appointed voluntary administrators to its wholly-owned Empire Oil subsidiary, which controls its core Red Gully assets.

Opposition leader Mike Nahan has called for a parliamentary budget office to be established as part of his budget reply speech today, while lashing out at Labor for not funding the Ellenbrook rail line.

The production of crickets for human and animal consumption could be a fresh frontier for Western Australia’s agribusiness industry, if a Pinjarra-based small business fulfils its potential.

About 1,300 jobs will be lost because of the state government’s proposed increases to payroll tax, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA.

West Perth based Sheffield Resources has moved a step forward on its Thunderbird mineral sands project, securing an offtake deal with Indian business Ruby Ceramics to supply 6,000 tonnes of zircon annually for at least three years.

The state government has appointed Infrastructure Australia board member Nicole Lockwood to chair a new taskforce to plan a Kwinana outer harbour development, as Transport Minister Rita Saffioti indicated she would stare down internal party dissent about the project.

Fremantle Octopus hopes a new trap and some extra cash will propel its business into a much broader marketplace.

Kidman Resources has finalised a $110 million joint venture agreement with Chilean company SQM for the Mt Holland lithium project, while Altura Mining has begun extracting ore at its Pilgangoora lithium project.

Contract Power Group has won a contract to build, own and operate a power station at Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora lithium project for at least seven years, while former Fortescue Metals Group delivery manager Dale Henderson has taken over as Pilbara’s project director.

Shares in Brisbane-based Diatreme Resources were up 20 per cent today as the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese company ENFI Engineering Corporation to undertake a bankable feasibility study at the Cyclone mineral sands project.

Mining and civil contractor Maca has raised $60 million to expand its mining fleet, driven by what the company described as an exceptional pipeline of available work.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA will be hunting for a new chief executive after Deidre Willmott signalled she would move on from the role early next year to pursue non executive director opportunities.

Western Australians paid nearly $90 billion more in taxes to the federal government than they received in spending in the four years to June 2016, according to estimates revealed by the Department of Treasury in yesterday’s budget.

Gold miners have warned of devastating consequences from a higher royalty rate, including potential mine closures, while business groups have also taken aim at proposed payroll tax hikes for larger employers, after both were targeted in a $1 billion revenue grab by the state government in today’s budget.

Western Australia’s economy shrunk by 0.3 per cent in the June quarter, excluding international trade, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, while GDP grew 0.8 per cent nationally.

The state government has strengthened its ban on fracking in Perth and the South West, while moving to appoint Environmental Protection Authority chairman Tom Hatton to run a scientific inquiry into the drilling technique.

SPECIAL REPORT: On the runway and in the shopfront, fashion has become an instrument for changemakers who want to make a difference in the community.

SPECIAL REPORT: Whether they’re manufacturing locally or abroad, WA fashion designers and garment makers are still winning contracts and stockists here and overseas.

Perth Basin energy player Empire Oil & Gas has placed its ASX-listed securities into suspension after it was unable to restart production at its Red Gully-1 well.