Business News has expanded its political coverage with the appointment of experienced journalist Adrian Rollins as its first reporter based at Parliament House in Canberra.
Rollins started with Business News today and will cover federal politics with a particular focus on decisions in Canberra that affect Western Australian businesses and the state’s economy.
He will also play a key role in expanding Business News’ coverage of defence, an industry expected to become increasingly important to WA as spending associated with AUKUS and the federal government’s broader defence strategy flows through the economy.
That coverage will extend beyond defence policy to the companies, contracts, investment, infrastructure and supply chains associated with the sector, as well as the opportunities for WA businesses seeking to participate in it.
Rollins brings extensive experience covering federal politics and economics, including two stints at The Canberra Times and six years as economics correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. At the AFR he covered federal politics, Treasury, the Reserve Bank, federal budgets and the economic and political response to the Global Financial Crisis.
Earlier in his career, Rollins spent several years in The Age’s Canberra bureau, including as a federal political reporter and later chief of staff, where he managed the newspaper’s 11-person federal politics bureau.
More recently, he returned to The Canberra Times as economics correspondent, covering economics, politics, monetary and fiscal policy, Treasury, the Reserve Bank and federal budgets.
His experience outside journalism includes a stint last year as a speechwriter in government. He has also worked on Australian government programs in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Business News executive editor Sean Cowan said establishing a permanent reporting presence in Canberra was a significant step in the publication’s continued growth.
“Western Australia is enormously exposed to decisions made in Canberra, whether they relate to resources, tax, energy, infrastructure, trade or defence,” he said.
“We want to be much closer to those decisions and the people making them, rather than looking at federal politics solely through a Perth lens.
“Adrian has spent much of his career covering politics and economics in Canberra and understands how government policy translates into consequences for businesses and the economy.
“Defence will be a particularly important part of his brief. The scale of investment planned through AUKUS and the broader build-up of Australia’s defence capability has the potential to create substantial opportunities for WA businesses.
“We will be following that investment closely; who is winning the contracts, where the money is being spent, what infrastructure is being built and which Australian businesses are positioning themselves to participate.”
Rollins holds a PhD in politics, trade and public policy from the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, as well as a Master of International Business from the University of Melbourne.
His appointment continues a period of significant investment in Business News’ journalism, data and intelligence capabilities.
Veteran journalists Gary Adshead and Neale Prior joined the newsroom last year, adding to a reporting team that includes former editors Mark Beyer and Mark Pownall, deputy editor Jack McGinn and senior journalists Claire Tyrrell and Tom Zaunmayr.
The expansion has occurred at a time when many commercial media organisations have reduced editorial staffing, with Business News continuing to invest in journalism and data as its subscription business has grown.
The publication has also increasingly expanded its coverage beyond traditional WA business sectors, including greater reporting on defence, technology, local government, property and federal policy.
Business News was this year recognised with three Alliance of Area Business Publishers awards in the United States, including being named the best website among more than 60 business publishers across Australia, Canada and the US.
