Government

Mortgage aggregator Australian Finance Group has teamed up with Perth-based wealth management adviser Plan B Group Ltd to offer a full range of mortgage products to customers.

The Albany Hospital has become the first battlefield in the state election with both the Labor and Liberal Parties trying to outdo each other with budgets and quicker schedules for a rebuild.

A Queensland-based consortium is pushing ahead with bold plans for a A$14 billion, 3300 kilometre rail line from the Pilbara to Queensland with industrial smelter hubs at each end after gaining support from 19 steel producers.

The ANZ Banking Corporation Ltd and Westpac Banking Corporation said today they cannot guarantee passing on any interest rate cut made by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Perth-based CityView Corporation Ltd has entered into deal with an Angolan firm to form a logistics company to support the country's mining industry.

Opposition leader Colin Barnett is expected to announce his shadow ministry at noon today as the count down to the state election begins.

The transfer of the livestock centre from Midland to Muchea is estimated to deliver a $467 million economic benefit to the state over 20 years as Agriculture and Food Minister Kim Chance calls for tenders.

Premier Alan Carpenter is expected to call an election for September 6, a day after Colin Barnett was elected to lead the state Liberal Party.

West Perth-based Nkwe Platinum has signed exclusive option agreements valued at nearly $A14 million with global mining company Xstrata and Leederville-based International Goldfields Ltd over several African projects.