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Confidence measuredCommentsPremiumBusiness pressures mount as rates rise

The biggest hit to businesses from rapidly rising interest rates will be from a pullback in consumer spending rather the rate hikes themselves, economists say.

Adrian Lowe and Cheyanne Enciso

Market strongPremiumFinbar trumpets best apartment sales since 2015

Finbar has reported its strongest year of apartment sales since 2015 and says higher prices are helping it neutralise the impact of rising materials costs, labour shortages and supply chain disruptions.

Stuart McKinnon

‘failure’CommentsPremiumChronic undertraining blamed for WA’s labour shortage crisis

The State’s labour shortage crisis has been blamed partly on chronic undertraining, with just over 600 people qualifying in construction apprenticeships at the end of last year.

Kim Macdonald

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Hip-pocket painCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
WA builders demanding $10k cash in 10 days from customers

Cash-strapped builders in WA are demanding customers stump up five-figure sums within a ten-day deadline, as global supply chain issues and labour shortages hit the industry.

Kim Macdonald

Construction crunchVideoCommentsPremiumWorker shortage sinks plans for Mandurah pool reopening

A public indoor pool in our southern suburbs will be without swimmers for another 18 months because the council can’t find workers for crucial roof repairs.

The West Australian

Skills crunchPremiumPerfect storm creates bidding war in construction industry

WA’s historic skills crunch shows no sign of abating with new analysis revealing there is more than one job vacancy for every unemployed West Aussie.

Cheyanne Enciso

‘Aware of hazards’PremiumFine for Welshpool company over tragic crushing death

A Welshpool steel fabrication company has got off relatively lightly after a truck driver was crushed to death by a one-tonne pipe, with a forklift used despite multiple heavy-duty cranes nearby.

Rebecca Le May

More workCommentsPremium$98m contract grows Decmil order book to three-year high

Decmil has added another multimillion-dollar contract to its order book, picking up more work on construction of a ring road around Albany in WA’s Great Southern region.

Daniel Newell

‘Vertical neighbourhood’CommentsPremium$400m apartment towers get nod for Perth Girls School site

The green light has been given to plans for a $400 million vertical neighbourhood at the old Perth Girls School site in East Perth, providing a blueprint for future living in the city. SEE ALL THE PICTURES

Kim Macdonald

‘Lacks character, honesty’ PremiumTang Legal boss cops life ban over bribe cover up

The State’s highest court has permanently banned the principal of St Georges Terrace law firm Tang Legal over his attempts to cover up a $12,500 bribe linked to a property job referral.

Neale Prior

Overdue and over budgetCommentsMcGowan government slammed over $600m project cost blowouts

WA’s Auditor General has uncovered nearly $600 million worth of cost blowouts in selected state government projects — with the completion date for nearly half the works pushed back by a year or more.

Josh Zimmerman

Going underCommentsPremiumMajor trench transport plan for congested tourist hotspot

Lowering a section of West Coast Highway that runs through Scarborough into a trench will clear the way for new rapid transit options between the CBD and the popular beachfront destination.

Josh Zimmerman

‘Testing’ periodCommentsPremiumRunning late: Airport link still without an opening date

Just two weeks out from the mid-2022 Forrestfield-Airport Link completion date previously spruiked by the State’s Government, WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti remains tight lipped on an opening.

Caitlyn Rintoul

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
On the marketCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
BGC targets first offers from potential buyers by July

The building products and homebuilding empire founded by the late Len Buckeridge was put back on the market two months ago and could fetch more than $1 billion.

Sean Smith

Pandora’s box closedPremiumMayor’s intervention bid over neighbour’s home knocked back

Nedlands mayor Fiona Argyle has failed in her bid to intervene as a third party in a court battle over a proposed two-storey home next door to her house.

Jake Dietsch

Taking overCommentsVik Bansal to lead new slimmed-down Boral

Boral chairman Ryan Stokes is pushing ahead with the next phase of the group’s transformation, appointing Vik Bansal to the top role to oversee an improvement in its operational performance.

Sarah-Jane Tasker

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
‘maxed out’CommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Why WA homeowners are being forced to wait months for renos

Given up on that home renovation or improvement project after being knocked back by flat-out tradies? You’re not alone. And you might even struggle to get just a few broken roof tiles fixed this winter.

Rebecca Le May

Worksafe interventionPremiumAlbemarle cops safety improvement notice at Kemerton

US chemicals giant Albemarle has copped an improvement notice from Worksafe over safety concerns at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant near Bunbury.

Stuart McKinnon

‘Every worker counts’PremiumBuilding industry prepares to welcome back unjabbed workers

Master Builders Association of WA boss John Gelavis has welcomed eased State vaccination mandates and said he hoped it will attract skilled workers back to the sector. 

Caitlyn Rintoul

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Unjustified increasesCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Home builders caught overcharging unsuspecting WA customers

Some builders are overcharging customers for cost increases for new homes, with complaints of unexpected price hikes of up to 40 per cent.

Kim Macdonald

Spending plansCommentsPremiumWA bucks surprising fall in business investment

More than a third of businesses expect to hike their prices by more than usual over the next three months, while almost one in five plan to invest over the same period amid worsening supply chain disruptions. 

Danielle Le Messurier

OUTSPOKEN CRITICCommentsPremiumThe awkward problem with ScoMo’s Perth election blitz

Scott Morrison’s election eve blitz of Perth has stopped at a new housing estate in the city’s north - but there was a major sticking point with his choice of location.

Peter Law and Kimberley Caines

Adverse impactsPremiumBoral reveals $45m profit hit from heavy rain, inflation

Heavy rain on the east coast and soaring energy prices continue to impact the earnings of building materials supplier Boral, with the company revealing a fresh $45 million hit to its earnings. 

Danielle Le Messurier

Not happyPremiumClough mystified by suggestion of financial difficulties

The Perth-based engineering and construction group has brought in consultants to look over its practices, but says it is debt free and doesn’t have any loss-making projects.

Sean Smith