Treasurer Ben Wyatt has emerged disappointed from a meeting with federal counterpart Scott Morrison after failing to secure measures to prevent a shortfall of almost $2 billion in the state budget.
Malcolm Turnbull is promising to more than double the amount of funding for indigenous students in Western Australia over the next decade as he drums up support in the west.
Darren Foster has been formally confirmed as director general of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, making him arguably the state's most powerful public servant, in a move forshadowed by Business News in March.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has rejected warnings the Liberals would face an electoral wipeout in Western Australia if the federal government doesn't give the state more GST money.
The McGowan government's shake-up of public sector agencies has triggered unexpected departures from key agencies, with road safety commissioner Kim Papalia resigning and three Tourism WA board members following chairman Peter Prendiville out the door.
The state government has slashed the number of occupations on the skilled migration list from 178 to just 18 in a bid to promote more local jobs and prevent an oversupply of overseas workers.
OPINION: The formation of the Put Western Australia First Party has raised the stakes over tax reform, with the Liberals and Labor on notice that Senate seats may come under threat unless something tangible is done to resolve the GST impasse.
Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has admitted there are inaccuracies in her statement submitted to the State Administrative Tribunal, which is holding a hearing to determine her penalty for breaching local government laws.
The state government has bowed to public pressure and dumped plans to move Perth's only academically selective school to a high-rise city building in favour of constructing another secondary school on a park in Subiaco.
SPECIAL REPORT: Labor's victory in the March state election heralded a major shift in infrastructure priorities for Western Australia, and even further changes are likely as the McGowan government seeks to balance its promises with fiscal reality.
State premiers have rejected reform measures to the GST carve-up put forward by Mark McGowan, who is lobbying for Western Australia to get a fairer share of the tax's revenue.
OPINION: While good relations between government and the private sector are important, Mark McGowan will be keen to avoid being seen as too close to business.
The premier has committed $35 million towards the next two stages of the Albany Ring Road heavy haulage route, but will call on the federal government for the balance of the project's $172 million cost.
Premier Mark McGowan has refused to reiterate his election promise made three months ago of no new taxes or tax increases, instead deflecting the issue by saying the state is in a "catastrophic" financial mess.
Plastic bags are being shunned by councils in Western Australia, which are making the most of Premier Mark McGowan's support for local governments to ban the bag.
Long-serving Labor MP Kate Doust has become Western Australia's first female president of the Legislative Council, while Sue Ellery will lead the government in the upper house.
Premier Mark McGowan says he would like the resources companies that make large profits out of the state's resources to do more when it comes to paying tax and fulfilling other corporate responsibilities, such as providing local jobs and content.
Perth businessman John Langoulant has been appointed to lead the state government's commission of inquiry into the Barnett government's spending on 26 projects over the past eight years.
Premier Mark McGowan will seek to freeze the wages of all politicians, public service heads, judges, magistrates, the WA governor, and local council chief executives for the next four years, while offering a $1,000 increase to all public sector employees.
Iron ore miners Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group have announced initiatives designed to assist local suppliers, with Rio establishing a dedicated procurement team and FMG shortening payment terms.
A former New Zealand bureaucrat has been appointed to lead a three-person panel that will conduct a review into the state's public service, where Premier Mark McGowan is targeting $750 million in savings.
The head of Western Australia's public sector union has defended what is being viewed as a muted response to the biggest slashing of the public service in decades and job losses that might be in the thousands.
The state government has frozen Tafe fees for all courses over the next four years in the hopes of giving more people an opportunity to have an affordable education.
The state government has cut the number of its departments from 41 to 25, with a fifth of jobs in the Senior Executive Service – Western Australia's highest-paid bureaucrats – to go.
Premier Mark McGowan has gently chided the mining and energy sector, saying it needs to lift support for local manufacturing, apprentice training and local employment.
OPINION: During the state election campaign, Mark McGowan said his government would repay the state's debt as though it were a home mortgage; now, unfortunately, he is experiencing the equivalent of mortgage stress, which comes with taking on too much debt without enough income to service it.
A wage freeze could be on the agenda for public sector staff in the upcoming state budget, according to new Treasurer Ben Wyatt, as Treasury officials warn the state will need to pay increasing rates of interest on government bonds.
Premier Mark McGowan has officially marked the beginning of the reversal process for the $440 million Roe 8 highway extension project, with a renegotiation process between Main Roads and the project's proponents set to begin.
Investment plans for BHP Billiton's South Flank project can proceed with greater certainty following the defeat of the Nationals WA's proposed iron ore levy hike at the ballot box earlier this month, according to the company's asset president of WA iron ore, Edgar Basto.
