The two main features of the latest labour force figures appear to be telling different stories, with a falling unemployment rate obscuring underlying weakness in job creation.
Consumer confidence has experienced a relatively stable six months, while economists expect the unemployment rate to have remained steady at 5.7 per cent in August.
The federal government has secured opposition support to pass one of the most substantial budget packages since the coalition took office in 2013, making trade-offs on renewable energy funding and welfare payments to pick up about $6 billion in savings.
The builder of the $1.2 billion Perth Children's Hospital has not been blamed for asbestos found in ceiling panels but should have done more to protect the health of workers, an inquiry has found.
Housing investment and construction in Australia are likely to wane in coming years, with an accompanying drop in their contribution to the strength of the economy, the Reserve Bank says.
Shadow minister for consumer affairs Sam Dastyari has announced his resignation from Labor's frontbench after days of criticism for his relationship with Chinese business interests.
Western Australian state final demand has fallen to its lowest level since the June quarter of 2011, measured in seasonally adjusted terms, down 4.6 per cent in the 2016 financial year.
A $400 million lithium processing plant to be built in Kwinana has got the green light, with West Perth company MSP Engineering to act as head contractor.
New research released by the mining sector today suggests the impact of the WA Nationals' proposed $5 per tonne tax on iron ore production could be greater than originally anticipated.
Gold and lithium players were the biggest winners in the quarterly S&P/ASX indices rebalance, with Perth-based companies Galaxy Resources and Resolute Mining leading the shift, while contractors and tech firms lost ground.
Colin Barnett has described moves by prominent Western Australian business figures to commission an opinion poll that reflected poorly on his leadership as being akin to a silent coup.
Premier Colin Barnett has reportedly told Agriculture and Transport Minister Dean Nalder not to attend a regional cabinet meeting because his presence would be a distraction.
A Federal Court ruling that was the first ever assessment of native title compensation in Australia is expected to lead to more claims by Aboriginal groups.
Businessman John Poynton has denied interfering in Premier Colin Barnett's leadership of the state government amid an outcry about a poll commissioned by powerful businessmen showing the Liberal Party on track to lose the March election.
Perth's residential rental vacancy rate has reached a record high of 5.2 per cent with 10,738 homes currently untenanted, according to property group SQM Research.
Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the outlook for Australia's banking system, warning that a challenging environment could hit banks' bottom lines and leave them more at risk to external shocks.
Britain's vote to leave the EU may have caused anxiety for some, but the flurry of trade that followed gave the Australian Securities Exchange a boost to its bottom line.
Former federal ALP Member for Perth Alannah MacTiernan has been backed to return to state politics after veteran Labor MP Ken Travers announced he was quitting parliament.
The state government has appointed Richard Sellers to the role of director general of the Department of Transport, succeeding Reece Waldock who retired last month.
Perth's healthcare system and infrastructure provision, not the climate or beaches, were two winning attributes that lifted the city to seventh place among the world's most liveable, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Commercial property owners seeking to install solar panels under long-term purchase agreements have received a boost, with the state government announcing cuts to licensing red tape for providers.
Resources businesses are developing innovative workplace relations strategies in response to a lack of reform from government, as costs come under continued scrutiny due to low commodity prices.
Western Australia is unlikely to pocket a larger share of the GST pie before its voters go to the polls early in 2017 after Treasurer Scott Morrison warned any change in the distribution formula would be made gradually and was "down the track".
SPECIAL REPORT: Small businesses have taken a hit as confidence drops and the economy slows, but there are a few things governments can do to begin to alleviate the pain.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has made a surprise decision to block two consortiums from bidding on a 99-year lease of New South Wales electricity network operator Ausgrid, in a move that would be a bad omen for a sale of Western Power.
