Andrew O'Connor has been a journalist for 30 years, most of that time with ABC News and current affairs as reporter and producer.
He currently works as a reporter and video journalist covering stories for ABC News on television, radio and online.
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| UpdatedWhichever party wins government in Western Australia in next year's election will face the state's largest-ever budget deficit of almost $4 billion, today's budget has revealed.
Topics: government-and-politics, budget, wa
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| UpdatedWest Australian Treasurer Mike Nahan promises today's state budget will be a tightly controlled "budget for the times" with no tax increases.
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| UpdatedWest Australian Treasurer Mike Nahan will attempt a delicate balancing act when he delivers the Barnett Government's last budget before the 2017 state election in State Parliament later today.
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| UpdatedPerth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi tries to argue that she should not be disciplined for breaching the Local Government Act because she did not mean to do so and had already suffered for her sins.
Topics: local-government, perth-6000
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Despite extensive cost-cutting, Treasurer Mike Nahan stresses the West Australian Government's budget recovery rests on the economic fortunes of China.
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| UpdatedThe head of Western Australia's Quadriplegic Centre desperately hopes the state budget will deliver much-needed cash to upgrade the ageing and ailing facility in Shenton Park.
Topics: rehabilitation, disabilities, government-and-politics, budget, shenton-park-6008
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| UpdatedA panel of three environmental experts is chosen to reassess the Barnett Government's stalled Roe Highway extension, which is part of the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link project.
Topics: state-parliament, environmental-impact, perth-6000
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| UpdatedPremier Colin Barnett acknowledges it will be a "tough ask" for the Coalition to retain all its West Australian seats at the federal election, after Tony Abbott's punishing 2013 election victory made the state a Liberal stronghold.
Topics: federal-election, federal-elections, elections, government-and-politics, wa
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| UpdatedThe West Australian Government denies its multi-billion-dollar asset sales program is a failure, despite concluding just one major sale of $135 million in two years.
Topics: government-and-politics, wa
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Liberal WA backbencher Murray Cowper takes to social media to criticise his Government's handling of the clean-up at bushfire-ravaged Yarloop, saying it is far too slow for his liking.
Topics: fires, government-and-politics, yarloop-6218
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| UpdatedThe State Government's asset sale program faces fresh uncertainty with the racing industry seeking urgent clarification on its role in the proposed sale of the TAB.
Topics: government-and-politics, horse-racing, wa
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| UpdatedThe Barnett Government promised to reform remote communities in WA, and 12 months on ministers say the depth of disadvantage is making it a difficult task.
Topics: aboriginal, community-development, government-and-politics, states-and-territories, wa, fitzroy-crossing-6765, broome-6725, karratha-6714
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Tension over the proposed sale of the TAB in WA appears to have intensified, with the Premier rejecting a racing industry push to play a central role in the privatisation of the betting agency.
Topics: gambling, horse-racing, states-and-territories, wa
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| UpdatedThe federal election is being fought in a totally different economic and political climate this time, and WA voters are seeking economic security as the FIFO good times wane.
Topics: government-and-politics, political-parties, federal-elections, rockingham-6168, perth-6000
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There are fears the south west coal mining town of Collie could be hard hit by moves to slash electricity generation.
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Treasurer Mike Nahan expresses frustration at continuing problems with reining in the cost of health services across Western Australia.
Topics: health-administration, perth-6000
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| UpdatedThe State Government will slash the capacity of WA's south-west power grid in an effort to drive down the cost of production by $500 million.
Topics: electricity-energy-and-utilities, perth-6000, collie-6225
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Attempts by the cash-strapped Barnett Government to entice the WA Nationals to back the proposed Fremantle Port sale look headed for rough water.
Topics: state-parliament, wa
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| UpdatedPremier Colin Barnett dismisses Labor's call for an immediate internal investigation into whether the name of the bidder for a $2 billion rail project was leaked from within the Transport Minister Dean Nalder's office.
Topics: state-parliament, activism-and-lobbying, regulation, public-sector, wa
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| UpdatedBill Shorten commits to part-funding WA Labor's Metronet rail project, but does not specify how much money a federal Labor government would contribute.
Topics: states-and-territories, federal---state-issues, alp, urban-development-and-planning, perth-6000
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Why have the Nationals abandoned their government partners after months of work on one of the state's most complex privatisation deals - Fremantle Port?
Topics: privatisation-and-deregulation, government-and-politics, wa, fremantle-6160
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| UpdatedThe WA Department for Child Protection (DCP) should have ensured a teenager who killed his newborn baby was only allowed supervised visits, a parliamentary committee finds.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, murder-and-manslaughter, courts-and-trials, mandurah-6210, wa, bunbury-6230
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A Corruption and Crime Commission report which uncovered misconduct by former treasurer Troy Buswell's chief of staff shows the WA Government's own investigation was a whitewash, the State Opposition says.
Topics: road, government-and-politics, subiaco-6008
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| UpdatedWA Labor shadow cabinet member Paul Papalia warns Stephen Smith and his supporters to abandon their leadership campaign against Opposition Leader Mark McGowan.
Topics: political-parties, government-and-politics, elections, wa
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West Australian Premier Colin Barnett faces his own Apollo 13 mission as he attempts to land his cash-strapped Government back into office and defeat Opposition Leader Mark McGowan.
Topics: state-parliament, wa