In WA,mining is the 800-pound gorilla consuming every banana in the jungle,and the state’s COVID response has hampered efforts to diversify the economy.
WA Premier and Treasurer Mark McGowan has given his mid-year budget review address. He said the state could offer the increase because its financial position was stronger than it had been in decades.
The 2020-21 state finances annual report released late Friday reveals that WA’s operating surplus for that year hit $5.8 billion.
The WA Director of Public Prosecutions has given her bleakest outlook yet,explaining the challenges facing her office as the legal system bursts at the seams.
The WA budget reveals the state’s domestic economy grew by 4.3 per cent,driven by business investment and retail spending as well as upticks in home and car purchases.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet labelled WA Premier McGowan the “Gollum of Australian politics” for sitting in his state’s cave with “his little precious” – the GST.
This West Australian state budget resembles the caricature of the state’s most famous stereotype:the cashed-up,FIFO bogan.
Just how much has the booming iron ore price helped? And where is our money being spent?
A collection of state infrastructure projects worth a combined $2.6 billion will be delayed to ease the pressure on Western Australia’s booming construction industry.
The mining state posted a $5.6 billion surplus for the 2020-21 financial year,which was $2.5 billion more than anticipated by Treasury officials in February thanks to $11.3 billion in royalties paid by its iron ore sector.
The current iron ore price average estimate for 2020-21 is US$134 per tonne but with its surge from April to June this will land much higher.