Matt Mckenzie

The federal Labor opposition needs to lock down the details of its emissions policy before the impact will be clear, according to Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman, but the ability to buy international offsets will be key to keeping the cost of carbon reduction low.

Liquidators have been appointed to Mad Dogs Jungle Bar five months after the Milligan Street venue shut its doors following a dispute with the landlord, but it is anticipated the decision may be reversed.

Metals X is planning to spend $163 million to sharpen up the performance of the Nifty copper mine, nearly three years after it bought the Pilbara operation from Indian business Aditya Birla Minerals.

PODCAST: Mark Beyer and Matt Mckenzie discuss two major private WA companies – Andrew Forrest’s Harvest Road Group and mining contractor Byrnecut – plus the outlook for the Perth Basin and LNG projects, female directors, China’s Huawei, and our special report on construction companies.

Debate around the selection of Huawei to roll out the communications network for Metronet is just an example close to home of how the western world is grappling with the rise of the Chinese company as a technology powerhouse.

Huawei deputy chair Ken Hu has argued that moves by western countries to stop the Chinese company participating in rollout of next generation telecommunications technology will reduce competitive tension in the sector and hold back innovation.

WA’s business lobby has blasted state government plans to shake up the industrial relations system, and called for residual workplace powers to instead be handed to the Commonwealth.

Toronto-listed Macarthur Minerals is moving forward with a proposed magnetite project in the Yilgarn, after announcing yesterday that it had chosen Aurizon as its rail haulage operator.

Major WA agribusinesses plan new investments to create scale and efficiency, while smaller operators are cooperating to access new markets with niche products.