Alan Carpenter

With the shortage of skilled labour arguably the biggest issue facing Western Australian business, WA Business News hosted a forum to seek solutions. Mark Beyer reports.

One of the hottest topics at the skills shortage forum was the negative attitude of students and parents towards traditional trades such as metalwork and mechanics.

Most of the participants in the skills shortage forum agreed that bringing skilled workers into Australia from overseas was an essential part of the solution. 

As many businesses consider new ways of supporting university training in light of Western Australia’s growing skills crisis, the Fogarty Foundation is one organisation already doing something.

Cazaly Resources made a submission to the state government challenging its decision to reject its exploration license application for the Shovelanna Iron Project held by Rio Tinto, Wright Prospecting Pty Ltd and Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.

Wesfarmers' subsidiary Energy Generation Pty Ltd has been named by the state government as the preferred bidder to build, own and operate a new gas fired power station in Carnarvon.

In 1997, gold explorer Westgold Resources bought a parcel of St Barbara shares from Perth investor, Ron Woss.

Woodside Energy Ltd has awarded a construction and project managment contract for its Gap Ridge construction camp in Karratha to the Ngarda Alliance, comprising Ngarda Civil and Mining and Leighton Contractors.

West Australian Newspaper Holdings Ltd has hit back at criticism by Seven Network Ltd chairman Kerry Stokes, calling the move to oust WAN directors an attempt by Seven to wrestle control of the company without paying an appropriate premium for it.

The state government has approved a plan to extend the life of Iluka Resources Ltd's mineral sands processing facility near Geraldton by more than 10 years.

The state Liberal Party will commit $648 million towards Western Australia's health system if elected and said it will retain the Princess Margaret Hospital as a government run entity.

IN a capital-starved world those businesses that continue to invest stand out more than ever before.

THE world of lobbying was turned upside down with the ousting of Alan Carpenter's Labor state government in September last year.

DESPITE a major spat with federal Liberal deputy leader Julie Bishop, political observer Peter van Onselen still puts her in his top 10 most influential Western Australians.

Money and power go hand in hand, especially in a global financial crisis.

The effects of a BHP Billiton-Rio Tinto JV would be felt all around the world.

Wesfarmers has appointed former Premier Alan Carpenter to head up its corporate affairs team, replacing Keith Kessell who had come out of retirement to fill the role on an interim basis following the resignation of Mark Triffitt in late August.

The state’s biggest industries are watching closely as water reform bubbles away below the political surface.

A SERIES of moves by political staffers into roles linked to the resources sector reveals the growing need for corporate players to find their way around bureaucracy and political roadblocks.

Colin Barnett’s Liberal-National team increasingly looks like a government unable to make the big decisions.

Brightwater Care Group is nine months and $3 million away from completing its new brain injury rehabilitation centre in East Victoria Park, one of a handful of state-of-the-art medical facilities cropping up across Perth.

From council amalgamations to Elizabeth Quay, power prices to ballooning debt, Colin Barnett faces criticism whichever way he turns.

Bad economic news and some personnel mismanagement are putting pressure on Colin Barnett’s leadership.

Another former high-profile politician has found employment in the business world.

The future of RPH as a tertiary hospital is as unclear as when the Liberals ‘prioritised’ the issue before the 2008 election.

The state rarely wins in battles with big resources outfits.

Kim Chance has been elected to chair the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC), replacing Arno Verboon.

The state government will be glad to put 2015 behind it, but there will be no let up in the financial and portfolio challenges it will face next year.

Two high-profile reports from the commission have reaffirmed its role in upholding public accountability.

Colin Barnett may be battling the odds to make a third term, but he’s certainly up for the fight.