Households grappling with the rising cost of living,the state’s embattled healthcare system and the housing industry emerged as the clear winners.
The McGowan government has posted its sixth budget surplus.Nathan Perri
The predicted $3.3 billion surplus in 2023-24 isn’t quite as impressive as those recorded in previous years,including $5.7 billion in 2021-22 and $5.8 billion in 2020-21 courtesy of sky-high iron ore prices,a payroll tax windfall and a humming property market.
But in delivering his third budget as treasurer,and the sixth consecutive surplus,McGowan said there was more than enough in the coffers to strike the delicate balance between supporting households and investing in the future without burdening future generations.
So,how did you fare?
While the budget was welcomed by most lobby groups,the state’s peak mining and exploration association didn’t feel the industry was adequately compensated for the $11 billion it handed over in royalties.
Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Warren Pearce said he believed the state and federal governments had missed a critical opportunity to reinvest in the resources sector and realise better bang for its buck.
“This was an opportunity for WA to respond to global efforts to attract investment capital away from Australia and into the United States and Europe,” he said.
“We have an amazing opportunity in terms of investment,high-skilled and high-paying jobs and,of course long-term economic benefits,but the lack of reinvestment in the sector is the missing piece.
“And wouldn’t it be fantastic to see the critical minerals we produce in WA further developed here... that opportunity is before us,but we have to seize it.”
Social services providers also took issue with the lack of rent relief given the state of the property market.
Anglicare WA chief executive Mark Glasson said the state’s strong economic position provided an opportunity to invest in long-term strategies to improve support for families in WA,but that had been lost with today’s announcement.
“For those families that are in the midst of a cost of living and housing crisis this state has never seen before,there is very little in the way of long-term benefits for them in today’s budget,” he said.
“We needed a serious commitment to long-term pipelines of housing construction that is social and affordable,but that’s not in there.
“We needed support immediately available for people to secure their rentals now,so they don’t become homeless the next time their lease expires,but that’s not in there either.”
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