Treasurer Rita Saffioti has defended the state’s Metronet investment and gone into bat for business on Nature Positive law reform in her first post-budget breakfast address.
The Liberal Party WA has accused the state government of squandering the “largest fiscal boom in state history”, in response to Rita Saffioti’s first budget as treasurer released today.
Resources royalty reliance and a lack of action on payroll tax were among the key observations from business groups digesting today’s state budget – the first from Treasurer Rita Saffioti.
Ratings agency S&P Global Ratings has expressed surprise that the state budget will dip into a cash deficit this year but otherwise was effusive about the health of WA’s finances.
A record $12.1 billion will be spent through the state’s asset investment program in 2024-25, part of a $42.2 billion outlay forecast over the four years to the end of 2028.
Surging investment in resources projects has bolstered economic growth this year while in future years Treasury expects housing and government investment to be the key drivers.
The state government has forecast continued budget surpluses but behind the headline numbers lie big “cash deficits” and a large increase in state debt.
The state government has made an upward revision to its long-term iron ore price forecast, as lower-than-forecast critical mineral royalties highlight the volatility challenges facing the economy.
The state government has allocated $2.7 billion in the 2024-25 budget to spend on Metronet while the estimated cost for the original commitments has blown out.
The state government has set aside half a billion dollars to fast-track clean energy and major industrial projects around the state and set aside some $36 million to expedite approvals as part of today’s state budget.
The federal government has formalised its view of gas as an energy transition fuel, committing to new projects as a means of maintaining reliable and affordable supply beyond 2050.
ANALYSIS: The cumulative value of the WA government’s pre-budget spending announcements is nearing $3 billion – a day out from Treasurer Rita Saffioti’s first official budget release.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says delays to environmental policy reform show he is listening to WA businesses, but has brushed off questions on whether a draft will be ready before the next election.
Anthony Albanese labelled a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry, in which it said an Australian helicopter was acting “provocatively”, contradictory.
The total investment into the planning phase of the multi-billion-dollar Westport project nears $70 million after the federal government matched its state counterpart's funding.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled millions of dollars of funding for the resources industry including $566 million for an exploration map, at a Business News event this morning.
A plan to deliver transmission infrastructure connecting Woodside’s Pluto LNG plant and Maitland solar farm to the state’s North West Interconnected System will cost $166.3 million.
Payroll tax relief has unsurprisingly topped the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA’s state budget wish-list, ahead of the state’s unveiling of its 2024-25 books on Thursday.
The WA government's move to roll out a second trade commissioner for the South-East Asian region is a concession that its current model is not working, a former commissioner to Indonesia claims.
Premier Roger Cook has defended his government’s decision to give Alcoa the go-ahead to mine in the South West, despite concerns from its own departments around potential environmental impact.
Ousted Town of Cambridge mayor Keri Shannon has been named the next chief executive at the City of Nedlands, bringing an end to the months-long search for the role.
The state government could be dragged to court by Pilbara traditional owners for failing to clean up Wittenoom’s mountains of deadly asbestos tailings.
The treasurer says Australia's foreign investment settings won't discriminate against certain countries, even as his reforms respond to geopolitical threats, the energy transition and shifts in the global economy.
Brittany Higgins' fiancee has bowed out of the looming defamation trial launched by Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds, announcing his decision via social media amid a court hearing today.
The state government says its energy load reduction scheme has had no ramifications for water supply, despite summer supply scalebacks at the Water Corp’s Binningup desalination plant.
Chris Stavrianou has been appointed to the Takeovers Panel, while Sharon Warburton and Tracey Horton step down from the national body after nine years.
Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers' CSBP business will fast-track its pursuit of decarbonisation, after receiving $32.9 million from the federal government.
A recent beaching event near Dunsborough in which 28 pilot whales died had nothing to do with offshore wind farm plans for the area, the state government has confirmed.
