Perth’s council merger triggers conservative revolt

By Julian Bajkowski and Paul Hemsley Attempts in Western Australia to push through reforms that would allow the government to halve the number of metropolitan councils have come conspicuously unstuck after local government reform proposals triggered a fiery backlash inside Premier Colin Barnetts’ own party room. The WA Premier this week ducked putting the issue […]

Rail wins big in WA Budget

By Julian Bajkowski Transport infrastructure and emergency services may have emerged as the primary winners in the Western Australian Budget, however Liberal Premier Colin Barnett will axe at least 1000 jobs from the public sector to try keep the state’s finances on an even keel. Mr Barnet on Thursday forecast a $386 million for this […]

WA corruption and fraud controls in the crosshairs

By Julian Bajkowski A performance probe of how well the Western Australian public sector has instigated measures to prevent fraud and corruption has found all nine of the agencies examined by the state Auditor lack a “coordinated approach” and that none had yet developed “control plan” to nip illegal behaviour in the bud. The report […]

New burial for resurrected Fremantle Line

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian government has laid the first tracks in the Fremantle Line tunnel that will reconnect the Perth’s central business district with the nearby suburb of Northbridge for the first time in more than a century years as the Barnett government rediscovers the expensive romance of rail. Part of the Perth […]

Perth councils demand say on new tram routes

By Paul Hemsley The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) has demanded the state government led by Premier Colin Barnett include councils in the planning process for the rollout of Perth’s inner city tram run, especially over the location of routes, stops and stations. The Western councils’ peak body claims that street knowledge held by […]

Perth’s light rail split four ways

By Paul Hemsley City of Perth Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has proposed four different options for the controversial path of the Western Australian government’s planned light rail route through the centre of the city to keep the new vehicles away from the bustling retail strips of Hay and Murray Street pedestrian malls. Announced in September 2012 […]

Policy wasteland wafts from Perth dump

By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski The president of the Western Australia Local Government Association (WALGA), Troy Pickard, tipped a bucket on both the State Government and Opposition over environmentally harmful waste management policies being touted in vote grabs ahead of the March election. The accusations from the peak body revolve around proposals from both […]

WA crackdown claims second council

By Julian Bajkowski Western Australian Local Government Minister John Castrilli’s crackdown on sloppy management has yielded another casualty after he suspended the Shire of Ashburton in the state’s iron-rich Pilbara region and ordered councillors into governance rehabilitation. The WA government announced last night that the suspension “was effective immediately” and named Ron Yuryevich, Mayor of […]

WA Government cashes in on bike tourism

By Julian Bajkowski The Western Australian capital of Perth has become the latest city to hitch a ride on growing trend of bicycle-based tourism, announcing that the ‘Tour de Perth’ will be pushed up to national completion level and become part of Cycling Australia’s Subaru National Road Series. According to WA Tourism Minister Kim Hames, […]

Sunday trading surge stuns WA government

By Paul Hemsley Western Australian Minister for Commerce Simon O’Brien’s has hailed the introduction of Sunday trading an early success following a push to allow all shops to be open for business on what had traditionally been a day of rest. In a move that brings the West into line with many other states, the […]

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