The newest addition to Perth's skyline will feature automatic windows that can read wind conditions and calculate when to close themselves. A three bedroom apartment at The Towers is selling for $2.5m. Developers of the Towers at Elizabeth Quay say it's never-before seen technology. The 275 apartment Towers, which sits next to the Ritz Carlton, are weeks away from opening. "We didn’t want to do external balconies, Perth's a windy city and Elizabeth Quay's a windy location," Dan Sweet, State Manager of Far East Consortium, said. "So we said we wanted to put the balcony behind glass." The windows are motorised and automatically respond to high winds, a feature that is designed and built specifically for the building. A built-in weather station on the roof means that if weather conditions change after residents leave home the windows will automatically close themselves. The windows at The Towers are motorised and automatically...

Here’s hoping third time’s a charm. After royally screwing up the first two modern resources booms — first the one that saw house prices go berserk (2003 to 2008), then the one that made coffee prices go berserk (2010 to 2014), WA has a chance to get this one right. It is going to be a lot easier this time, for a few reasons. First, at $75 billion, the outlay, while huge, is more modest than last time when Chevron single-handedly spent that much on its two money-pit LNG projects. Second, the State’s infrastructure is much better prepared. There’s no chance of three-star hotels commanding $450 a night. Third, a broke WA Government is busy selling copies of Big Issue rather than competing with private industry building a stadium, Elizabeth Quay and several massive hospitals. Fourth, industry has no time for the build-it-at-any-cost mentality that prevailed when execs got drunk...

WA’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year on the back of a surge in full-time employment. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported this morning that the WA jobless rate fell to 5.7 per cent in October, down from 6 per cent in September. It is the lowest unemployment rate for WA since September 2017. The more stable trend measure also fell below 6 per cent, the first time this year it has been that low. The result was driven by full-time employment which jumped by 10,700 through the month to reach its highest number since early 2015. WA has added 44,700 full-time jobs since March. Nationally, the country added 42,300 full-time jobs through October, which was partially offset by a 9500 drop in part-time employment. The jobless rate held steady at 5 per cent after a slight increase in the number of unemployed...