Government

The continued cooling of the mining industry is being blamed for Western Australia's rising unemployment rate, which has jumped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5 per cent.

The certainty and stability that business craves from Canberra may not be delivered.

Economy rides Abbott victory

Premier Colin Barnett says 457 visa holders deserve more information about plans next year to slug them $4,000 a year for their child's education.

An internet petition set up by a Liberal-voting student to save Labor's national broadband network has become Australia's largest ever online petition.

The federal government's leading employment index fell for an eighth consecutive month in September, pointing to below trend jobs growth in coming months.

The governments of Tony Abbott and Colin Barnett face big challenges when it comes to cutting spending.

Business confidence in the Western Australian economy has fallen further this quarter, to levels not seen since the GFC, according to the latest Westpac-CCI Survey of Business Expectations.

One of Western Australia's top judges has expressed anger in open court at the growing workload of the judiciary in the state.

Business confidence has soared to its highest level in more than two years, helped by lower interest rates and more certainty about the outcome of the federal election.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer says his party will block Tony Abbott's policy agenda in the Senate unless there's electoral reform.

The public may claim to dislike ‘personality politics', but evidence of our obsession with image is all around us.

Carbon delay 'to cost billions'

Progress may be slow at first, but federal tax reform will be high on the Abbott government's agenda.

Alannah MacTiernan says she is certain the party would have been wiped off the map in the west if not for Kevin Rudd.

The latest round of vote counting shows the Liberal-National coalition ahead in 87 seats, giving it a big majority, but with maverick billionaire Clive Palmer on track to enter federal parliament

Job advertisements are almost at their lowest point since the global financial crisis, suggesting subdued business confidence and a softening labour market.

The ability of micro parties to harvest preferences to win Senate seats could be investigated by the new federal government, deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop says.

The Abbott government is determined to press ahead with its bid to repeal Labor's carbon tax despite a hostile Senate.

Unless some of the smartest people in the financial world are misreading their tea leaves, Australia's new prime minister, Tony Abbott, has done more than win an election – he's won the keys to a new era of solid economic growth.

Status quo was the election headline in Western Australia - but there will still be several new voices on the state's political stage.

Potential coalition foreign minister Julie Bishop says she'll work to re-establish relationships with Australia's neighbours, especially Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Singapore, if she gets the j

The next federal government will need to legislate to raise the country's $300 billion debt ceiling, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey says.

Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott are blitzing the airways and key marginal seats on the final day of a gruelling five-week election campaign, as Labor continues to dig holes in the coalition's costings.

The coalition's costings are full of holes and dodgy maths, Treasurer Chris Bowen says.Mr Bowen says the coalition's numbers - finally revealed yesterday - are wrong in a number of ways.

Hockey to raise debt ceiling

Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says a coalition government will make about $40 billion of savings if it wins the federal election.

Clive Palmer says he will sue Rupert Murdoch over a report published by News Corp Australia.

Experts hired by the coalition to check its election policy costings say the figures are based on "reasonable assumptions".

Premier Colin Barnett has hit back at critics of his education funding cuts, saying they should check out Tasmania and South Australia to realise Western Australia still has a quality school system

The federal coalition is releasing its final policies today and will reveal its full costings "very, very soon", opposition leader Tony Abbott says.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.6 per cent in the June quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported this morning.From a year earlier, GDP in the quarter was up by 2.5 per cent.