Matt Mckenzie

Perth is projected to have seven of the nation’s top 10 most-congested roads by 2031, and despite public displeasure, toll roads could be part of the solution.

The recently renamed Avenira is finally realising its potential to become a supplier of phosphate, ticking off a decision to mine at its project in West Africa.

The state government has opened expressions of interest to amalgamate the state’s data storage needs in the hope it will drastically reduce capital costs, Finance Minister Bill Marmion will announce today.

South 32 chief executive Graham Kerr said the company expected to achieve its targeted operations savings this year, while it announced it would keep South African production at its jointly owned Samancor venture in suspension pending a strategic review.

A parliamentary committee report on fracking in Western Australia has found that there is misinformation in the public debate on the issue and made 12 recommendations to the state government for regulating the industry.

Veteran mining executive Tim Netscher will be hoping his golden run continues when he takes the reins as chairman of uranium play Toro Energy this week.

Personal bankruptcies in Western Australia were almost 23 per cent higher in the September quarter than in the same period last year, while business related personal bankruptcies were up 54.3 per cent.

Tony Galati’s battle with the Potato Marketing Corporation has been dealt a setback, after the regulator won an injunction from the Supreme Court to prevent him producing more than his allocated quota, until at least January 2.

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest has strongly criticised the strategies of the state’s other major iron ore miners at the company’s annual general meeting today, although the board experienced a close shave on its remuneration report.

The resources sector has dramatically increased productivity in the past year, as lower commodity prices drive a wave of cost cutting across the industry, according to the latest national accounts numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

A visiting Canadian economist has warned that Australia requires urgent reform to its labour market laws if the nation is to remain internationally competitive.

Osborne Park-based contractor Otoc has continued its move into defence-related work, winning approval for a $13 million contract on Nauru.

The Australian Submarine Corporation should be privatised, while Australian workers have the capability to produce defence projects locally, Austal chief executive Andrew Bellamy said today.

Cloud-based asset management tracker Trackem has won the overall prize at Department of Commerce’s WA Innovation of the Year awards today.

Retail spending in Western Australia has hit its highest level on record, in seasonally adjusted terms, with September expenditure more than $2.8 billion; yet growth is well down from the heights of the boom.

Australia’s trade deficit improved to $2.3 billion for the month of September, in seasonally adjusted terms, despite Western Australia’s export performance being softer than the same time last year.

A cluster of Western Australia-listed companies has been highlighted in BNiQ research as exhibiting strong revenue growth, appearing to have bucked the economic slowdown with strong gains in operational income.

SPECIAL REPORT: The potential for mass production of electric cars is among a number of high-technology trends sparking interest in Western Australia’s lithium sector, with a series of companies touting projects to meet a forecast surge in demand.

Perth's taxi dispatch market has a new player, with Sydney-based Ingogo recruiting a fleet of drivers and seeking to compete with Swan Taxis, the dominant local force for many years.

Busselton Regional Airport will be renamed Busselton Margaret River Regional Airport in a bid to promote tourism in the South West, following the state government’s decision to expand the facility

Production is a step closer to restart at the Mt Cattlin lithium mine, with General Mining Corporation signing a four-year offtake deal with Mitsubishi Corporation.

Western Australian Legislative Council president Barry House has announced he won’t contest re-election for his seat of South-West Region in 2017, after nearly three decades in parliament.

Western Australian farmers are the most likely in the nation to hire new employees in the year ahead, according to the annual Commonwealth Bank of Australia Agri Insights survey.

Aspiring miner TNG has moved a step closer to its Mount Peake titanium-vanadium-iron project in the Northern Territory, after inking a financing agreement with Caterpillar Financial.

Australia needs to reduce its corporate tax burden to remain competitive, according to a series of submissions to the federal government’s tax reform white paper.

Commodity prices are expected to rebound in the next two years, according to forecasts by the Economist Intelligence Unit, led by a sharp rise in the crude oil price and a lift in base metals.

Australian institutional investors are among the most demanding in the world when it comes to reporting of environmental, social and governance risks, according to a global report released today by EY.

Chinese consumer price inflation was a low 1.6 per cent in the 12 months to September, according to that country’s National Bureau of Statistics, highlighting that steam is coming out of the world’

SPECIAL REPORT: Earnings for the state from the powerhouse minerals and energy industries have softened, but agriculture, among other sectors, will create opportunities. Business News also takes an in depth look at Bunbury port, where a big expansion plan needs community backing and solid regional demand growth.

Two of Australia’s most powerful, and militant, trade unions have flagged a potential merger to create an industrial monolith spanning construction, mining and the wharfside.

Slowing trade with China and Japan has contributed to a10 per cent fall in Western Australian merchandise exports for August, compared with the same period last year.

SPECIAL REPORT: The domgas market is going through a period of structural change, but history has lessons for those businesses that know where to look.