Special Reports

There has been an almost unparalleled number of floats and other capital raising in the past six months, with nearly 30 Western Australian companies raising more than $130 million and accumulating a combined market capitalisation of more than $290 million

Despite a 10-year high in business confidence, more than half of businesses in Western Australia believe another interest rate rise will take a toll on the state’s bustling economy, according to the CCI-BankWest survey of business expectations for the Jun

Julie Bishop and Senator Ian Campbell rank as the two most powerful Western Australians in the federal government, and both have the potential to take their careers further.

Critics of the Carpenter government fond of sporting analogies say that his ministerial team doesn’t bat very deep.

The editor of Perth’s only daily newspaper, The West Australian, is one of the most influential people in the state.

What is the common link between metalworkers’ union boss Jock Ferguson, Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive John Langoulant and recent BHP Billiton recruit Ian Fletcher?

The University of Western Australia’s Business School board ranks as the bluest of blue chip boards in Perth.

The big changes at the top of the state government over the past six months have put the new premier, Alan Carpenter, firmly at the head of WA Business News’ fifth annual ‘Most Influential’ survey.

Most company directors would consider joining the board of global mining giant BHP Billiton the peak of their career, but for Michael Chaney it was a mere stepping stone.

Loyal Fremantle Dockers supporters will know that Premier Alan Carpenter is an avid fan but they probably don’t realise he is regularly accompanied to games by his chief of staff, Rita Saffioti, and his principal media adviser, Guy Houston.

Western Australia’s highest paid public servant, health supremo Neale Fong, has suffered the kind of year most people would like to forget.

Two of the most significant figures in Western Australia’s property and construction industry, Multiplex founder John Roberts and Wyllie Group chairman Bill Wyllie, died during the past year.

The momentous changes inside the Labor state government over the past six months have left Premier Alan Carpenter in a stronger position than his predecessor Geoff Gallop ever enjoyed.

It may just be coincidence, but the two men judged to be the most powerful chief executives in Western Australia are from the US.

Winter is a perfect time to visit the Margaret River wine district.

Mining may dominate but there are plenty of other players in West Perth.

Potential tenants may have to look beyond West Perth’s ‘golden mile’ as the dearth of property sales and record low vacancy rates stymie those eager to position themselves in the West Perth market.

West Perth has long had a mining link, but as a hub for junior resources firms worth a collective $16 billion, it really is WA’s other ‘golden mile’.

South African Airways is setting new standards in comfort.

From the bustling sidewalks of Hay Street during lunchtime to the chaotic rush of shoppers eager for a bargain at Harbour Town, West Perth has developed a vibrancy and uniqueness that offers an attractive alternative to Perth’s central business district.

The West Perth of yesteryear, with its avenues of leafy vistas and sprawling mansions housing some of Western Australia’s wealthiest families, was always destined to become the burgeoning business centre of the 21st century.

The Australian mining industry has provided a strong platform for contract drilling and drilling services companies such as Ausdrill, Brandrill and Imdex, but attempts to move into the international market have met with mixed success.

Nick Archibald, the founder of pioneering Western Australian minerals software developer Fractal Graphics, is close to completing his biggest ever deal as chief executive of listed Canadian company Geoinformatics Exploration Inc.

Listed Nedlands company ISS Group Ltd is seeking to build on its strong position in the Australian market to become a global supplier of specialist software for process plants in the oil and gas and mining sectors.

The global mining services industry is a small place, judging by some of the people and companies involved in recent transactions.

Western Australia is one of the world’s great mining provinces but where are the great Perth-based mining services companies?

Barrack Square may get a lifeline within the year as plans to redevelop the city foreshore gain momentum.

Australian Renewable Fuels Ltd is carrying the Western Australian biofuels banner into a rapidly expanding, multi-billion dollar international market.

The move to biofuels may not be the silver bullet resolution to our energy problems, but WA is in the thick of research, development and increasing production of these new greenhouse neutral options.

The growing awareness of the need for alternative fuel sources has focused attention on a wide range of options.

The federal government’s Fuel Tax Bill 2006 provides one of the most pressing issues currently facing the biodiesel industry.

Amidst environmental concerns, increasing petrol prices, and predictions by some industry experts that Australia’s oil reserves will be near exhaustion by 2012, biofuels have emerged from relative obscurity to take centre stage on the renewable energy age