Two new oil and gas research initiatives have received promises of federal funding, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd talking up the future of the sector in Western Australia today.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says plans to introduce tax concessions and incentives in the Northern Territory could be extended to northern Western Australia and Queensland.
The coalition has refused to commit to reducing application fees for 457 visa workers if elected to government, despite flagging plans to make the scheme more “user-friendly”.
Average wage rates across the national economy grew by just 2.9 per cent over the past financial year, and economists tip continued low growth as rising unemployment signals a weakening labour market.
The federal government has promised $22 million for seven new trade training centres at schools in Western Australia, part of Labor's 10-year, $2.5 billion program aimed at boosting trade education.
The federal opposition is refusing to say when it will return the budget to surplus, with Liberal treasury spokesman Joe Hockey claiming the bottom line figures are "almost too unpredictable".
Events of the past week have shown that governments in Perth and Canberra face an enormous task getting their budgets under control, no matter which party is in power.
Who pays? That is a question no-one seems to be asking in the debate over solar-power subsidies, or the bigger question of who pays for the state government's debt binge.
Voters are being prepared for Tony Abbott to emulate Premier Colin Barnett and backflip on numerous election promises, according to high-profile Labor candidate Alannah MacTiernan.
The departments of Treasury and Finance expect the federal budget deficit to be $30.1 billion in 2013/14, unchanged from the government's own forecast.
Australian businesses are taking longer to pay each other in 2013 compared to a year earlier, in an indication that their level of financial health has not improved, according to credit bureau Dun
The state government has gone back on its decision to slash by half the amount paid to households that feed solar power into Western Australia's energy grid.
The deterioration in the economic outlook underpinning the latest interest rate cut was so minor it is barely detectable in new forecasts from the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The Barnett government's cost-cutting measures in the state budget have prompted an industry backlash, with the government accused of adding to the cost of doing business in Western Australia.
The state government will embark on a record infrastructure spend of almost $27 billion over the next four years, despite a deterioration of the state's revenue base and warnings from credit agenci
Increased land tax rates, more rigorous tax compliance, and the introduction of school fees for children of 457 visa holders are among a suite of measures the government has introduced to lift reve
The Barnett government is forecast to deliver a $147 million budget deficit in 2014-15, with a blowout in spending and net debt set to place significant strain on the state's finances.
