Government

Former University of Western Australia academic Dr Bruce Gray had a big win over his erstwhile employer in a landmark Federal Court ruling handed down last week but faces the prospect of further legal action from the company he founded, Sirtex Medical Ltd

Treasurer Eric Ripper today announced that former Alcoa Australia managing director Wayne Osborn would be the inaugural chair of GESB Mutual Ltd, which will be the largest financial services company based in Western Australia when launched on 1 July.

A new lobby group, which comprises five small mining companies in the Pilbara, is putting pressure on the Western Australian government to provide better infrastructure for smaller miners in the Pilbara region.

A total of $21 million will be spent on a broadband development project to facilitate health and emergency services for people living in remote and regional areas of Australia as part of a state and federal government joint initiative.

Shares in West Perth-based resources company Straits Resources Ltd have jumped more than six per cent after the company unveiled a plan to restructure the business and demerge from its coal-focused Asian subsidiary.

Construction magnate Len Buckeridge has vowed to fight the state government over control of a vital piece of land needed for an access road as part of Bunbury Port’s major restructure plans.

Education, housing, business regulation and the skills shortage are just a handful of topics that will be touched on this weekend at the 2020 Summit in Canberra.

Universities are set to benefit from the change in government, offering their services as a solution to growing pains. Mark Pownall reports.

The possibility of Western Australia becoming a major international centre for radio astronomy has prompted the state’s two major universities to recruit some of the world’s top minds in this specialist field