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THAT there's no shortage of things to do in the Margaret River region is news to no-one. What seems to be in short supply, however, is parking spots for the punters, and staff for the businesses they are visiting.

WARREN Mead is going ahead with plans for his latest restaurant, this one to be located at the ground floor of Exchange Plaza on St Georges Terrace.

MARGARET River's newest boutique brewery, Colonial Brewing Co, has travelled a steep learning curve in recent months.

IAN Mayo has joined Plantagenet Wines as general manager.

“WELL, here we are again” were the words former prime minister Paul Keating uttered when announcing the 1996 Federal election he would lose to John Howard.

THE $1.86 billion sale of the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline has been judged by WA Business News to be the top business deal in Western Australia in 2004.

TWELVE senior artists have been honoured as State Living Treasures for their lifetime contribution to arts and culture.The treasures are:

AN awful lot has happened between editions of our newspaper but one thing has taken the headlines for almost that entire period – Asia's tsunami.

WE support the State Opposition's recent call for the Gallop Government to intervene in the strike by 140 construction workers who are attempting to cajole the employer of other c

THANK you for raising my concerns about mine safety in the article, ‘Boom warning on mine safety', (WA Business News, December 16 2004).

SOME of Western Australia's best-known companies were fundamentally changed as a result of the big corporate deals of 2004.

THE boom conditions on the Australian stock market in 2003 laid a solid foundation for 2004, with most broking firms reporting improved totals in the WA Business News 2004 equity capital raising survey.

FOR the second year running, Alinta was one of the most active companies in Western Australia, completing a series of deals that added to the size and diversity of its operations.

CANADIAN engineering giant Hatch appears to have won the biggest share of major contracting work in Western Australia in a year that was dominated by oil and gas, resources and the Perth to Mandurah railway.

OWNER-OCCUPIERS and inves-tors are increasingly looking to the commercial sector as the capital growth in the residential market begins to plateau.

THE High Court has overturned a decision by Western Australia's Full Supreme Court in relation to statutory compensation for property affected by plann

TIME, it seems, really does heal all wounds, with signs emerging that the investment world is gearing up for a second dose of dot.com mania.

VIRGINIA Willcock's first overseas posting as a wine consultant was a true test of her passion, tenacity and commitment to the job.

BASKERVILLE Wines has been sold and the new owners are looking at expanding the Swan Valley property to include accommodation.

IT has been some time since I've read anything on America's brutal Civil War, a conflict that so horrified Australia's colonial politicians that they responded by enacting the White Australia policy once the colonies had federated.

Neil Hamilton unexpectedly found himself at the centre of two of the biggest business crises of 2004. He spoke to Mark Beyer about the year that was and his plans for the future.

AUTOMOTIVE parts manufacturers Coventry Group has sold its 4.7-hectare Morley site for $16 million to Malaysian-owned SBSK Pty Ltd.

ENERGY reform is likely to be a key issue for Neil Hamilton in 2005, whichever party wins the State election.

DORIC Constructions and LandCorp have entered a joint venture agreement to build a residential complex in LandCorp's Mandurah Ocean Marina development.

SPORT is rarely far from business in the world of Neil Hamilton, who is a huge fan of Australian Rules and Rugby Union football.

MANY of us seem aware of the importance of ‘giving' only when those closest to us are in need, or on special occasions throughout the year, such as Christmas.

OFTEN those who have experienced tragedy first hand are the most passionate and dedicated when it comes to committing their time, energy and money to charitable causes.

MINING and stock broking veteran David Reed has a long track record of giving both time and money to support not-for-profit and charitable causes.

WITH or without her flamboyant hairstyle, Patti Chong still makes an impact. The general counsel for the Corruption and Crime Commission is well known for her colourful clothes and personality, and so it came as no surprise that after hearing a radio

MICHAEL Chaney's philanthropy rated highly in a recent survey undertaken by WA Business News.

WA Business News doesn't consider itself a small business newspaper by any means, but a couple of things have happened this week to make me think it should be.

‘LandCorp and ‘affordability'