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The Qantas Wine Show of Western Australia broke with almost three decades of tradition this year when, for the first time, the event was held in Perth.

This week, State Scene brings bad news to those believing Western Australia is justly governed.

Regulatory bodies and gas infrastructure companies need to stop the "throwing of hand grenades" to avoid higher costs and regulatory delays, according to the chair of the Australian Energy Regulator.

Perth-based consortium Hercules Energy Pty Ltd has emerged as a key player in the junior energy sector, selling its Vulcan Geothermal Pty Ltd assets to Green Rock Energy Ltd today and revealed as the power behind new IPO WildHorse Energy Ltd.

Observant readers might have noted that my regular column was absent last week.

WorleyParsons has been one of the big winners from the resources boom, growing to be Australia’s largest engineering firm, and the Perth office under Peter Meurs has played a key part in that success.

As managing director of a big engineering business, you might think Peter Meurs gets his biggest buzz from winning multi-million dollar contracts.

Peter Meurs believes local companies seeking work on big resource and infrastructure projects need to ensure they meet the needs of project developers, rather than relying on work coming to them simply because they are Australian.

Once considered a commercial blind spot in the heart of the city’s west end, Shafto Lane is now sharing in the spoils of a tight office market, boasting almost full occupancy and a growing lunch-time crowd.

Perth Airport lease-holder Westralia Airports Corporation is to face court in December, accused by the state government of damaging an Aboriginal heritage site during land clearing in preparation for the new $100 million Coles Myer Distribution Centre.

It can take time for really big mistakes to be recognised for what they are. Alan Carpenter’s two energy bloopers, in the name of winning votes at the next state election, are classic example of time bomb blunders which will cost Western Australia dearly

A much-maligned foodstuff it may be, but to aid agencies the humble baked bean is a versatile and highly sought-after commodity.

Corey Diamond says there are two standards of coffee in Western Australia – his, and everyone else’s.

Cast your mind back to 2001 - the last time Kim Beazley challenged John Howard for Australia’s top job.

Leederville-based mining company Fox Resources Ltd has acquired a processing plant and tailings project from Sydney-based Swiss company MKS Capital Ltd for $500,000.

The Western Australian economy has gone through an exceptional phase of economic growth and development over the past four years, and has gained further momentum so far in 2006.

When Damien and Dion Trinder swung open the doors to their new restaurant, The Pony Club, just over a week ago, they did more than introduce Perth to its newest restaurant - they further entrenched Mt Lawley as the state’s hottest food venue.

Western Australia has all the ingredients the rest of the world wants and is willing to pay for. This has been the recipe for the success of the state, which is showing up its counterparts in every domestic economic indicator from house prices to state

State Scene first met one-time Labor Goldfields federal MP, Graeme Campbell, back when Bob Hawke was prime minister.

We all know that Australia is benefiting from another resources boom – the latest in a long history of export-orientated, resource-led growth spurts that we have experienced since the gold rush of the 1850s.

PRIVATE developer Pivot Group Pty Ltd has signed a strategic alliance with Axiom Properties Ltd, which will provide Axiom with the first right to acquire each Pivot development project throughout A

All the stars continue to be aligned in favour of the Western Australian economy, on the back of a fourth successive year of above 30-year average real global economic growth.

It has been a year of record-breaking results in the resources sector as economic powerhouses China and India fuel demand and world prices for the majority of commodities continue their upward trajectory.

Western Australia’s burgeoning economy shows no sign of abating, with business investment spurring on record levels of growth for 2006.

The impact of booming economic conditions and high commodity prices led to a stellar year for the state’s finances in 2005-06, with a record $2.26 billion operating surplus.

Western Australia’s strong economy has produced an extraordinary fall in the state’s unemployment rate to less than 4 per cent, a level many economists thought would never be reached.

Overwhelming interest in Western Australian property appears to have pushed the state’s median house price above $400,000 for the first time, and almost doubled the price of land in the year to June 2006.

Western Australia recorded its second highest winter crop in 2005-06 at 14.4 million tonnes (mt), just trailing 2003-04 with 16.7mt.

Significant increases in net interstate and overseas migration have been the main contributors to the 1.9 per cent WA population increase in 2005-06.

Strong wages growth has outpaced the rise in Perth’s Consumer Price Index, which rose by 4.2 per cent through the year to the March quarter 2006, much higher than the national increase of 3 per cent.

Perth architects Sandover Pinder are leaving Subiaco for the city’s East End after buying the historic Cremorne Arcade Buildings on Hay Street for $2.6 million in April, with plans to extensively renovate.

Developer Saville Australia is about to unveil plans for its Emu Brewery site. which is likely to feature a total of 1,000 apartments housed in three of the city’s tallest residential towers.