Mark Pownall

Just as one battle ends, it may well be that another is beginning. Last week, Australian Tax Commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo made a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into tax issues, stating that 98 per cent of some 42,000 cases involving tax-

Perth-based stockbroker Patersons Securities Ltd has brought in former Western Australian broker Andrew Coppin to drive its national growth plans.

Perth debt collection specialist Keith John has sold his Pioneer Credit Management Services business into a listed national enterprise for the second time in the past six years.

A few months ago I found myself disagreeing with a move to gag barristers discussing their clients' cases.

Multiplex's construction arm may be saddled with the weight of troubles in the UK, but its fund management arm is not pausing for breath - lodging a prospectus for a $170 million fund raising for its new fund to buy the American Express site in Sydney.

iiNet founder and managing director Michael Malone has increased is stake in the company to almost 20 per cent, shelling out $4.3 million.

Our Most Influential survey enters its fifth year this week – the first time Geoff Gallop is not heading the list.

Michael Malone has emerged from a month-long trading halt still in charge of Australia's third-ranked ISP. But in many ways it's a substantially changed business.

West Perth has intrigued me for several years. It is everything that governments try to do when they create business parks or clusters to help foster the development of an industry.

The appointment of Chris Sutherland as chief executive of Perth-based labour hire company Integrated Group appears to have restored the market's faith in the company.

WA Business News has again won key awards for business newspaper publishing, taking out the bronze for Best Newspaper – small tabloids, and a bronze for Best Scoop.

A few years back we ran a piece on Western Australia becoming a branch economy, reflecting on the loss of major businesses and brands in sell-outs to national firms.

Subiaco-based winemaker Evans & Tate has claimed a big win in its legal tussle with distributor Australian Beverage Distributors Pty Ltd, announcing that the NSW Supreme Court has dismissed ABD's winding up application.

Shares in Perth-based Amcom Telecommunications Ltd surged 28 per cent after it emerged as a big buyer of iiNet Ltd stock, taking 19.97 per cent of the ISP with funding from Futuris Corp Ltd.

Ending its five-week trading halt at the beginning of this week, iiNet shares plunged as expected to levels around 85 cents per share, the mark struck as a placement deal with white knight PowerTel Ltd.

Biofuesls are not going to save rural Western Australia or deliver fuel users from the tyranny of high petrol prices.

I regret I didn't take advantage of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission's live streaming of its hearing into the Trades and Labor Council's application for a 4 per cent wage rise.

The spin-off of New Zealand ISP ihug is being viewed as a strong possibility for its Perth-based owner iiNet, which has laboured under a five-week trading halt following discrepancies in its financial reporting.

Alan Carpenter won a few friends here at WA Business News when he spoke at our Success & Leadership breakfast last week.

United Credit Union Ltd has moved to change its constitution so members have more power to voice their views in the case of any proposed demutualisation – including funding for legal advice and provision of a website.

Is it just me, or has the budget lost relevance these days? For months we've been primed by reports of surpluses, possible tax cuts and how families will be looked after.

Claremont-based network marketing group Omegatrend has become one of those rare victims of a boom, appointing voluntary administrators after a slump in sales.

Claremont-based network marketing group Omegatrend has become one of those rare victims of a boom, appointing voluntary administrators after a slump in sales.

It raises hundreds of millions of dollars a year for new and often-risky ventures but these days the tax-effective investment world only occasionally crosses the boundary to the full public glare of being a listed entity.

The Shovelanna dispute between exploration minnow Cazaly Resources Ltd and mining whale Rio Tinto Ltd will go down in history as a defining moment in Western Australia's corporate history.

Frankland River Olive Company has announced plans to restructure into a single vertically integrated olive business, raise $5.9 million and become the sector's newest listed player.

After a lunchtime debate in the WA Business News office, I thought it was time to wade into the issue of Neale Fong's remuneration which has dominated the news for some time now.

Booms like the one we are experiencing come and go, but they can have a lasting effect. With treasury's coffers overflowing, we thought it was time to explore some new ideas for our great state and remind our government about some old ones.

Not long after I finished reading Corporate Elders: ‘Organisation Men' Look Back (UWA Press) I had a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with the author, accomplished academic Professor Leonie Still.

They started life as ‘organisation men' and have seen incredible change, including the WA Inc era. They are Western Australia's corporate elders identified in a new book by Professor Leonie Still.

The top media watchdog is claiming its first legal victory against spammers under new laws aimed at quelling unsolicited email following a Federal Court decision in Perth.

There is a lot of conjecture about sport stadia in Perth at the moment as the various codes apply pressure for an outcome that suits them best.