Leon Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Artikel in vandag se West Australian:WA's economy growing at nearly four times the national rateCLYDE RUSSELLWA's booming economy has recorded spectacular growth of more than 10 per cent in the past year - almost four times the national figure and five times that of NSW.The stunning result came as BankWest, the State's biggest home lender, said yesterday the housing sector would remain strong, with double-digit growth expected in the coming year. But WA has been penalised because of its success, with the Commonwealth Grants Commission slashing $95 million in GST revenue for 2006-07.Nationally, the economy grew at 0.5 per cent in the December quarter, taking the annual rate to 2.7 per cent. This was above the 2.6 per cent for the year to September, but below economists' expectations and well short of the 10-year average of 3.75 per cent.The sluggish Eastern States were blamed for the downturn, with consumer spending and housing investment dragging growth down.In stark contrast, WA's economy grew at its fastest in almost eight years, pushed by business investment in mining.WA grew at 4.5 per cent in the December quarter, taking the annual rate to 10.4 per cent, the highest of any State and more than fives times the 2 per cent of NSW, the weakest State. "The scramble by resource companies to boost capacity to meet world demand and take advantage of record commodity prices is clearly providing a major impetus to State growth," Westpac senior economist Andrew Hanlan said.The strong WA performance was not enough to boost the nation's overall economic performance much, with economists saying a growth rate of 2.7 per cent was markedly below the expected 3.0 per cent.Despite this view, Treasurer Peter Costello described the economy as solid and positioned for a more robust performance."The growth is now being taken up by business investment," he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindylou Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 When I was over in Sept/Oct my brother told me "don't worry about finding a job, in Perth even blind freddie can find a job at the moment" I assume this is an "in joke" us Saffies won't understand! WA is really booming at the moment and you see signs of it all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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