Latest Headlines

SPORTS broadcaster George Grljusich has agreed to write a twice-weekly column for the locally operated AFL site footygoss.com.au

In the first of a series on IT outsourcing, Julie-anne Sprague examines who's bidding for the major contracts. MOST local IT outsourcing companies agree that government contracts account for a large slice of work in Western Australia.

AFTER a torrid two years, signs of a recovery in the information technology sector are starting to appear.

MAJOR advances in computer hardware have enabled relatively old speech recognition software to achieve renewed market acceptance.

SPURRED on by the poor performance of the stock market, low interest rates and government incentives, investors have been spending up big on property.

WA regional ports' executive management and their boards are overseeing major expansions, planning for trade in new commodities, and negotiating rural industry setbacks.

ALL property owners in Western Australia will contribute to funding the State's fire and emergency services from July 1 this year.

TWO years ago there were just two women on WA's port authority boards, but now there is one on each of the eight boards, and 11 in total.

THE housing and renovation industry accounted for over one third of Australia's economic growth in 2002.

WHILE most ports are “steaming along very nicely”, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan acknowledges she and some port authorities have faced several difficult situations in the past two years.

MIRVAC Fini will sponsor an annual art event in order to develop links between its new Quay West Resort Bunker Bay development and the Margaret River art world.

THE Western Australian Wine Industry Association and Anglicare are two of the 21 organisations to receive State Government funding geared towards the promotion of growth and job prospects in regional WA.

THE City of Perth proposal to sink all the railway lines in Northbridge is now available to the public in the recently launched document, Realising a New Vision for Perth.

LEADERSHIP is something we've been banging on about here at WA Business News for years.

MATSURI Restaurant owner Yutaka Takeuchi has reopened his site at 900 Hay Street as a takeaway store and is evaluating other retail sites in the CBD for similar concepts.

SOON after the November 2001 Federal election, State Scene quizzed one of WA's more insightful Federal MPs.

With ideal conditions for the gathering of the white grape, David Pike, on duty for the 2003 vintage, turns his mind to his favourite white grape – the chardonnay.

Too many business operators fail to appreciate the need for tight security with regard to notebook computers, as Julie-anne Sprague reports.

IT research firm META Group envisages good growth for its services in WA and has appointed a full-time regional WA manager, Geoff Large, who is charged with developing the group's presence in WA.

SEVERAL independent supermarkets have launched a campaign to reduce the number of plastic shopping bags their stores use each year in light of the proposed 25-cent plastic bag levy.

PROPERTY owners and tenants are grappling with the costs of implementing increased security amid current global tensions and local crime patterns.

MOST of Perth's top real estate agents held their ground in the WA Business News Book of Lists 2003, with little change recorded among the top 20 agents from the previous year.

EAST Perth Redevelopment Authority has sold three lots in The Village Northbridge precinct for a total of more than $1.45 million.

PERTH hospitality guru David Weinman has been commissioned by The Marketing Pepper Board of Malaysia to promote Sarawak pepper across the globe. And what better place to start than in his home town, Perth?

The dawn is rising on another vintage and, as David Pike discovers, it could be a pretty good one. IT has approached that time of the year when I get to see dawn on a daily basis.

CITY folk could be forgiven for thinking the farm sector is in crisis.

ONE sixth of Western Australian farmers are planning to shift some or all of their business from their main bank over the next 12 months, a new study has found.

MUCKINBUDIN wheat farmer Allan Watson and Morawa wheat farmer Chris Moffet should have a lot in common. But their common interest in the future of WA's grains industry is divided by their off-farm roles.

FARMERS adversely affected by drought conditions will benefit from planned changes to the Farm Management Deposit (FMD) scheme.

ELEVEN years ago, a small group of WA farmers shook up the State's fertiliser market when they started undercutting the big players with cheap imports.

THE middle of a drought may seem a strange time to open a new farm machinery factory, but that is exactly what Jandakot-based Ausplow has done.

DROUGHT conditions throughout much of Australia have not stopped farmers from dipping into their pockets to purchase big-ticket tractors and combine harvesters.