Peter Kennedy

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA says it will join the campaign to promote the proposed Chinese Free Trade Agreement, because it will provide significant benefits for locally based companies.

Colin Barnett has set the scene for an industrial stoush with his proposed changes to Sunday penalty rates.

Not only did state funding for housing in the Pilbara come too late, when it did flow it was poorly targeted.

The Nationals have gone against the grain to call for more seats in the upper house.

After failing to implement its council amalgamation plan, the government is targeting funding arrangements.

The Canning by-election will test the leadership of both the PM and opposition leader.

Political parties’ focus on the polls, and winning power for its own sake, have led to an absence of mature policy debate in Australia.

It’s clear Labor will target Perth traffic congestion and the disruption caused by major works as an election issue.

The polls suggest Colin Barnett and his government are in some trouble ahead of the next election, but Labor has plenty of work to do.

Big cracks are opening in Australia’s compulsory voting system, and the major parties need to pay attention.

Both major WA parties have new faces directing operations behind the scenes.

Making sure all parties are happy with the allocation of seating at the new sports stadium will require some nimble footwork by the Barnett government.

His light may have only shone briefly, but Alan Bond’s legacy remains etched in WA’s collective political and corporate memory.

John Howard says the Senate’s decision in 1998 to water down aspects of the GST was economic ‘vandalism’.

A top WA economic commentator can’t see a way back to AAA any time soon.

After a horror budget, Colin Barnett is eager to get on the front foot and talk about his positive plans for WA.

While the economic wisdom of the state and federal budgets is still being debated, it’s clear the authors of both documents had one eye on their own political futures.

The hard sell of this year’s federal and state budgets will test the advocacy skills of our leading politicians.

A decision to lift the pay of some public hospital staff above inflation puts further strain on the government’s budget position.

The premier has been slow to act on the anachronism that is the Potato Marketing Corporation, but a bucket load of federal money might force his hand.

The GST formula the states signed up for 15 years ago is having consequences far beyond anything that could have been foreseen.

With their leaders unpopular, and trailing in the polls, the governments in Perth and Canberra are banking on getting it right in their May budgets.

Labor believes the mixed message son transport policy emanating from the government present it with an opportunity.

The economic rationale behind the plan may be sound, but the prime minister and WA premier need to tread carefully when it comes to closing remote communities.

Despite the deteriorating budget position, WA’s Nationals won’t hear of a review of their signature policy.

While acknowledging the issue of patient safety, Labor’s attack on delays at Fiona Stanley Hospital are equally concerned with the privatisation of services.

The treasurer wants to get the government’s costs under control and repair the budget without hurting voters.

Colin Barnett aimed low when Labor questioned Dean Nalder’s fitness for office over conflict of interest claims.

Much has been made of Colin Barnett’s decision to run up the white flag after referendum results in three local government areas, which rejected council amalgamation proposals. It was a humiliating result for a key government reform, strongly promoted by the premier.

Colin Barnett’s decision to run up the white flag after his six-year campaign to rationalise the number of metropolitan local councils is effectively an admission that his strategy was flawed. It is also a triumph for self-interest.

The Barnett government is in a catch-22 position ahead of the 2017 state election, needing to get the books in order without alienating voters.

Succession remains an issue for the state government, with none of the contenders to take over from Colin Barnett the finished product.