News Articles for Department of Treasury and Finance

Every Western Australian household will receive a $600 credit towards their electricity bills as part of the upcoming state budget.

A 3.1 per cent contraction of Western Australia's economy is anticipated in the 2021 financial year, following a 5 per cent fall in the current quarter, but Treasurer Ben Wyatt is more optimistic about the pace of recovery than he was two months ago.

The state government's most accomplished minister is planning to retire at next year's state election, dealing a blow to premier Mark McGowan, with a handful of current ministers seen as potential successors should Labor be re-elected.

Asian Engagement Minister Peter Tinley has talked up Western Australia's business opportunities with Indonesia, as federal parliament is set to ratify a significant trade deal with the South-East Asian country.

Western Power chief executive Guy Chalkley has been appointed to the network operator's board, while Kathryn Barrie will wear two hats as a director of the business and continuing in a senior role at the Public Utilities Office.

WA BUDGET: WA Treasury has revised its forecasting methodology for iron ore prices to assume that prices fall away quickly from the current inflated levels, which have provided a large boost to government coffers.

WA BUDGET: Federal infrastructure grants and reform of the GST have helped the state government project a $1.5 billion operating surplus in the upcoming financial year, although funding for the Ellenbrook rail line is largely absent.

Labor leader Bill Shorten says Department of Treasury costings showing his tax plan will cost an extra $38.7 billion a year for the next decade are wrong.

A worsening of the trade war between the US and China could nearly halve Western Australian growth next financial year, according to Treasurer Ben Wyatt, but he believes a worst-case scenario will be avoided.

China's economic slowdown and the lingering threat of a trade war between the world's largest country and the US are the biggest threats to Western Australia, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA.

The state government's trend of appointing female leaders to run key agencies has continued, with Kaylene Gulich appointed chief executive of the Western Australian Treasury Corporation today.

The state's financial outlook has improved since the May budget by about $3 billion across the next four years, with iron ore royalties and federal grants doing the heavy lifting, but the domestic economy will again shrink this year.

Western Australians paid federal taxes of $16.5 billion in the year to June 2017 that were spent outside the state, according to WA Treasury data, with the latest numbers suggesting WA would be the biggest winner from federal moves to cut company and income taxes.

Clamping down on the governance of state-owned enterprises such as Synergy is just one major promise the McGowan government has made in response to the Langoulant special inquiry into government projects in the Barnett era, released yesterday.

Changes to the accounting treatment of leases to be introduced next year could pose problems for the state government's financial boffins, bringing numerous contracts onto agency balance sheets, including potentially $1.3 billion worth in the case of power generator Synergy.

SPECIAL REPORT: Data from the annual BNiQ Search Engine biggest employers list suggests an economic recovery is under way as mining and civil contractors boost their workforce numbers.

Western Australians paid nearly $90 billion more in taxes to the federal government than they received in spending in the four years to June 2016, according to estimates revealed by the Department of Treasury in yesterday's budget.

Water Corporation will no longer hand over Dunsborough water and Busselton drainage assets to Busselton Water after the state government deemed the proposal too costly and without benefit.

The state government has cut the number of its departments from 41 to 25, with a fifth of jobs in the Senior Executive Service – Western Australia's highest-paid bureaucrats – to go.

The dramatic fall in the price of iron ore since the start of March could punch a $1.4 billion hole in the state's finances in the next financial year.

A wage freeze could be on the agenda for public sector staff in the upcoming state budget, according to new Treasurer Ben Wyatt, as Treasury officials warn the state will need to pay increasing rates of interest on government bonds.

The planned first stage of Labor's Metronet package with railway lines to Ellenbrook, Yanchep and Byford, and an additional line linking Cockburn and Thornlie, will have a price tag of $3 billion, according to costings announced today.

The state's five port authorities posted substantially lower net incomes in the 2016 financial year but were still in the black by $223 million, according to annual reports tabled in parliament in recent weeks.

The state government has flagged the possibility of a broad inquiry into the use of imported building materials after confirming today that roofing panels supplied by Chinese company Yuanda to Perth Children's Hospital contained asbestos.

A public sector wage freeze, amalgamations of major departments and a reform of health would be key moves to fix the state government's worsening debt position, according to Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA's pre-budget draft submission.

The state government has begun the tender process to find a lead financial adviser as it plans to move ahead with divesting a portion of Keystart's loan book to the private sector.

Australia needs to reduce its corporate tax burden to remain competitive, according to a series of submissions to the federal government's tax reform white paper.

Local contractors PS Structures, Cockram Construction and Broad have secured a combined $39.3 million worth of work for the state government.

Western Australian government net debt is forecast to peak at $35 billion in 2017-18, but Treasurer Mike Nahan is confident that asset sales and a lagged rebound in GST revenue will help pay it back.

Revenue write downs of more than $10 billion across the forward estimates have taken a sledgehammer to the state's budget position.

WA is poised to double its LNG production, but softer oil prices and global competition for capital mean there is much conjecture about the sector's future. Click through to see more on our major oil and gas projects feature.

Merchandise exports from Western Australia in the 12 months to March were down almost 10 per cent on the previous corresponding period, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

AN iron ore price bounce of almost 30 per cent from 10-year lows earlier this month will no doubt bring some relief to many in the industry and in the Department of Treasury.

Western Australia subsidised federal spending in other states by around $120 billion dollars during the decade to 2012-13, continuing a trend started after Australia abandoned protectionism in the 1980s.

State Treasurer Mike Nahan has blasted the eastern states for their inability to come to what he considers a fair agreement on the distribution of the GST, and defended the state government's record on economic reform, touting independent public schools and the usage of public private partnerships as two key examples.

The state government has outlined a plan to rein in IT spending, which currently exceeds $1 billion, on the back of Treasurer Mike Nahan's pledge to make the public sector leaner.

Mirvac and Singapore's Keppel REIT's $280 million office tower at the Cathedral + Treasury Precinct has hit a key milestone, with the building reaching its highest point at 33 storeys.

The delivery of the state government's budget will be delayed one week to account for uncertainty in the distribution of the GST, Treasurer Mike Nahan announced today.

Developers and builders are offering incentives over and above the state government's first home buyers grant to stoke the market, as the number of grants paid falls to its lowest level in nearly two and a half years.

The WA economy 2015 with Treasurer Mike Nahan.