THROUGHOUT his career Wayne Martin has had the knack of being in the right place at the right time, and this year he positioned himself perfectly to win the barristers’ section in the WA Business News Legal Elite.
A RUNNER-UP in last year’s WA Business News Legal Elite survey, Mallesons Stephen Jaques partner John Naughton has gone one better in 2004, ranking as the top banking and finance lawyer in Perth.
IN the early 1980s, when Jon Carson was a young solicitor, he started working on the financing and construction of the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.
SETTING up a new law firm has clearly done nothing to dent the professional standing of Lee Christensen, who has been ranked the State’s top insolvency lawyer for the second year running.
WITH greater demand for broadband and an increasingly technology savvy consumer base, the availability, cost, type and quality of broadband is being brought into question.
WITHOUT world class, affordable telecommunications infrastructure the distance between an already remote Western Australia and the rest of the world is even greater.
A PRODUCTIVITY Commission Report released in 1999 indicated that Australians were paying too much for telecommunications services compared with OECD standards.
Access to telecommunications infrastructure, particularly affordable broadband services, remains a problem for some Western Australian businesses. WA Business News brought together some of the State’s key players to discuss the issue. Alison Birrane repor
TECHNOLOGY and Industry Advisory Council spokesman Rob Meecham told those at the WA Business News luncheon that access to existing telecommunications infrastructure already in the ground remained problematic as it was too costly for businesses to access.
AUSTRALIAN Telecommunications Users Group national director Walter Green said there had been a significant cost reduction in the delivery of fibre to homes in the first half of last year.
STIRLING Products is the latest Perth company to enter the animal health market, but so far it is better known for boardroom turmoil than any scientific and commercial achievements.
The past year has been a tough stretch for Chemeq shareholders, but executive chairman Graham Melrose is adamant the company is on the right track. Mark Beyer reports.
SURPRISINGLY, Perth is home to not one but three Australian Stock Exchange-listed companies developing animal health products to replace the use of antibiotics.
ON the back of major developments in the resources and property sectors, and a surging State economy that’s driving infrastructure projects, community consultants in Western Australia have been enjoying an increased demand for their services.
Western Australia’s olive oil producers have been spending big on harvesting, processing and branding to prepare for WA’s first big olive harvest. Mark Beyer and Julie-anne Sprague report.
MAJOR projects based on heavy industry have always proved a sticking point within local communities, particularly when they are located in a sensitive environment.
WITH many of Western Australia’s olive oil producers expecting yields between three and eight times those of previous harvests, brand building and distribution strategies have assumed even greater importance than usual.
THE growing number of communities forming action groups and taking their anger over coastal development to the streets may cause some to question the value of community consultation.
MODERN building design, landscaped gardens, and a State Swim centre are not features usually associated with an industrial business area, but Canning Vale Business Park has them all.
WESTERN Australia’s hard rock exploration and mining sector has expressed deep disappointment at what some are calling a lack of long-term vision by the Federal Government in its 2004-05 budget.
