Joe Hockey

Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s promise to shut down the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has cast doubt on $400 million worth of loans to businesses in Western Australia.

The state government is running the rule over assets for sale early next year.

The business sector got the governments it wanted in 2013 but it’s unclear what policies they will deliver.

Joe Hockey won plaudits this month for providing intellectual backbone to the federal government.

With stock options being taxed immediately, start-ups are being held back.

Western Australian voters will return to the polls tomorrow for a Senate election re-run which could have major consequences for the federal government’s legislative agenda.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Economic Regulation Authority has dismissed calls from several industry bodies for the creation of an independent infrastructure advisory body, saying it is an added cost unlikely to contribute much.

Western Australia’s unemployment rate has remained at 4.9 per cent in April, in line with the national rate which has held steady at 5.8 per cent.

The federal government has allocated Western Australia $55 million so it can trial its own version of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Liberal governments in WA and Canberra are finding few friends in light of recent budget measures.

The Abbott government has put off making the really tough decisions in its first budget.

It's a case of 'where to now?' for the start-up sector after funding cuts in this month's federal budget.

More than 4,100 Western Australians will take part in the federal and state government versions of disability care, which will run in conjunction from next week.

Despite all the huffing and puffing, little really separates Australia’s two main political parties.

A second ratings agency downgrade has prompted Colin Barnett to ratchet up the tough talk on the GST.

Treasurer Joe Hockey has announced Australia will implement a new tax reporting standard from 2017, as part of a global initiative to tackle tax avoidance led by the G20.

The next move in US interest rates will be up, which will have an effect worldwide – including on Australia’s residential property market.

The Business News annual export review has the latest data on 33 businesses representing $122 billion in outgoing trade. It also shows that while iron ore continues to dominate, the emergence of LNG, agriculture and services will benefit from a lower dollar.

In a recent interview, RBA governor Glenn Stevens suggested the Australian dollar might fall to US75 cents in 2015. And he intimated that it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The Productivity Commission has flagged reform of the minimum wage, penalty rates and enterprise agreements in its workplace relations review issues paper, which was accidentally released early today.

Treasurer Mike Nahan has reiterated the state government’s commitment to return to surplus by 2016-17, but has pledged not to do it by hitting families or businesses, at today’s Business News Success and Leadership breakfast.

Treasurer Mike Nahan, who is coming up on a year in the job later this month, spoke to an audience of nearly 500 at a Business News Success & Leadership breakfast last week.

The federal government has watered down planned changes to the research and development tax incentive scheme, which industry players say will improve its impact on productivity.

It may not be popular in political or financial circles, but the treasurer’s call for a debate on the use of superannuation for housing resonates where it counts.

Western Australia subsidised federal spending in other states by around $120 billion dollars during the decade to 2012-13, continuing a trend started after Australia abandoned protectionism in the 1980s.

Leadership is what’s needed in a downturn, not a panicked blame game.

Treasurer Joe Hockey has delayed the federal government's return to surplus by another year, forecasting that the country will be not be in the black until 2019-20 and meaning the Commonwealth will extend its run of seven deficits to 11.

The federal government has adopted a Keynesian-style stimulus policy with its new temporary instant asset write-off, moving cash flows for small businesses forward and recouping the revenue in later budgets.

The ‘iron ore wars’ and budget battles are defining where power and influence lies in business and politics in WA. Read our latest Most Influential feature to see who is on the rise, whose influence is waning and who has dropped off the list.

Two years on from Tony Abbott's decisive win over Labor, voters are puzzled.

SPECIAL REPORT: Business News looks at what needs to be done to energize small business during the state's economic transition, reviews the growth of franchises in WA, and looks at the rise of women owning SMEs.

Australia needs to reduce its corporate tax burden to remain competitive, according to a series of submissions to the federal government’s tax reform white paper.

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon has renewed his call for an inquiry into the cause of the dramatic recent fall in the iron ore price while in Perth today, as shares in the state’s biggest miners continued to fall.

Treasurer Mike Nahan has called on the federal government to test a variation of its state income tax plan in Western Australia, after saying WA was again ripped off in the latest Commonwealth Grants Commission distribution.

Attorney General George Brandis says every decision he made in relation to the Bell Group liquidation protected the interests of taxpayers, as the Insurance Commission of Western Australia estimates the litigation over the matter could take another 15 years to resolve.

The opposition parties in Perth and Canberra are kicking the can down the road on debt, despite the parlous state of their respective budgetary positions.