Reg Howard-Smith

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion is confident the state is set for further long-term growth as an energy exporter and a hub for industry knowledge.

A Perth researcher has criticised the federal government's hands-off response to a national inquiry into fly-in, fly-out practices, released two years after the House of Representatives standing committee tabled its report and almost four years after an inquiry into FIFO practices was commissioned.

Figures contained in a recent Productivity Commission review show subsidies to the mining industry are much lower than claimed by some critics of the sector.For the 2013-14 financial year, net total federal government assistance came to $285.7 million.

Friction between the resources industry and the mining town of Newman has escalated following the state’s decision to approve an extension for BHP Billiton’s 1,200-bed Kurra camp.

WA chief executives are hoping a federal election year and a new direction from Malcolm Turnbull will ignite reforms needed to get the state moving again, according to the latest CEO survey by Business News.

The state government has officially commissioned the $140 million Eastern Goldfields Pipeline, which will support the ongoing development of mining projects in the region and benefit operators of existing mines due to reduced costs

Prominent Labor MP and former resources minister Gary Gray has dropped another bombshell, announcing last night he will retire at the next federal election, meaning all three of Labor’s sitting members in the House of Representatives from Western Australia plan to quit this year.

Western Australia's peak business group has welcomed the state government's budget, but other business groups believed more could have been done for their respective sectors. 

The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia has partnered with some of the state’s biggest resources players to launch a pilot training framework to improve safety in the workplace.

State National Party MPs met at Parliament House today as former leader Brendon Grylls tried to retake the leadership from Terry Redman, claiming the Liberal/National alliance was not in a winnable position for the upcoming state election due in March.

Brendon Grylls has snatched back leadership of the WA Nationals and will press the Barnett government to support his plan to slug BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto with a $5 per tonne mining tax.

Rio Tinto has announced the 50th anniversary of its first contracted iron ore shipment from the Pilbara, as debate continues around the adequacy of its royalty payments and the legacy for indigenous people in the region.

The mining sector has hit back over claims it doesn’t pay enough royalties, with new figures showing it pays nearly $5 a tonne.

WA Labor plans to ban fracking in the South West, but will not ban the drilling technique in other areas such as the Kimberley and the Mid West where it has been undertaken.

State Treasurer Mike Nahan has put his neck on the line to stop the Nationals WA's proposed mining tax, saying he will resign from the portfolio if a post-election Liberal government does a deal to lift royalties.

Woodside Petroleum executive Jeroen Buren has been named acting president of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, filling the role left vacant by Brian Reilly, who has moved to Canada to take on a new role with Cameco.

SPECIAL REPORT: The value of investment into WA gold projects is about four times as much as this time last year, while growth in spending on lithium has been even more substantial.

About a third of the town of Port Hedland should be blocked from any new residential developments, the state government's dust management taskforce has recommended.

A thousand gold industry members gathered at a rally in Kalgoorlie today to protest the McGowan government’s proposed gold royalty increase.

The premier has dismissed claims that almost 3,000 jobs would be lost under the state government’s planned gold royalty hike, after a report claimed that five existing mines were at risk of closing if the royalty was enacted.

Ten gold sector leaders spoke in unison today about the damage they believe will flow from the state government’s hike in royalties, and also made clear they are targeting the Liberal Party to block the change.

A cooperative research centre focused on minerals extraction has teamed up with mining industry groups and training providers to announce plans for an innovation hub based in Kalgoorlie.

Treasurer Ben Wyatt has announced details of a new gold royalty increase that is budgeted to raise $332 million over four years while seeking to address the industry concerns that killed off his previous proposal, but the new plan has failed to win support.

The state government has signed an agreement with the mining industry to ensure social and economic benefits to the Pilbara community with a focus on pathways to employment.

The state government will draft amendments to the Mining Act that validate granted tenements, in the wake of the High Court’s recent ruling that kept sand mining off Andrew Forrest’s family pastoral station in the Pilbara but cast doubt on the legitimacy of other granted mining leases since 2006.

Treasurer Ben Wyatt says the state government will drop its proposal for a gold royalty hike after a revised plan was blocked in the Legislative Council last night.

Our weekly appointment wrap includes Scott Jones, Terry Waldron, Reg Howard-Smith, David Buckingham, Philip Mirams, Colin Pavlovich, Ken Michael, Lee Broomhall, Kelly Howlett, Tim Youe, Joshua Byrne, David Templeman, Anne Banks-McAllister, Peter Snowsill, Martin Hirsch, Michael Winlo, Charles Fear, Patrick Beilby, Biljana Radulovic, Hector West, Matthew Seabrook, Arash Kalani, Simon Pigliardo, Kathy Reid, Melissa Joyce, Nada Raphael, Fredrick Riebeling, Gina Nofal, and Nicola Jansen.

Our weekly appointments wrap includes Robyn Paice, Robin Belford, Jane Sparkes, Reg Howard-Smith, Barry McGuire, Jo Sadler, Charmaine Tsang, Timothy Kucera, Karen Draper and Peter Allen.