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Inquirer Business

Business investment fell by 4.0 per cent in the September quarter to be down by 13.7 per cent from a 12 months before. Western Australians have dominated the Master Builders Association’s national awards, with the top prize of residential builder of the 12 months going to local Adrian Zorzi, and Built Holdings and Doric. The state government has locked in a location for Western Australia’s first open-range zoo, which is anticipated to price up to $a hundred million to develop.\n\nI say this not as a socialist, but as a capitalist who, as a resident of Western Australia, is an indirect part owner of the state’s iron ore reserves. Long-working homebuilding brand Collier Properties will continue to operate in Western Australia, after the business was offered to local entrepreneur Dario Amara.\n\nChina-backed developer Zone Q Investments’ plans for a South Perth condo tower on MIll Point Highway have been rejected for a second time by planning authorities, as uncertainty over the suburb’s town planning scheme puts a cloud over future growth. Western Australian girls have gone backwards by way of the gender pay gap, with full-time employees earning on average 30.9 per cent – or $43,000 a 12 months – less than men.\n\nColin Barnett says he wish to see penalty rates minimize for casual small business workers on Sundays and public holidays, but carry the base fee for traditional hours. The Barnett government is hoping to lift $3 billion by selling 51 per cent of Western Power to Australian traders, and will also use the privatisation deal to remove about $8 billion of debt off the state’s books.\n\nThe state government has allocated $2 million for a new co-working house in Karratha to promote small business and startups in the area. Unions have been put on notice with the revival of the Australian Building and Building Commission, as the building sector celebrates the what it says is the return of legislation to the trade.