And the old MM stutters and mutters trying to change the subject - then he is a Lefty.

Now learn just what a calamitous mess the imposter WA Labor "govt" is really facing - a true poisoned chalice!!!

It is fascinating to see a Labor govt picking up a mess because Labor normally picks up an economy in good shape and then proceeds to reduce it to ruins.

How can Labor reduce ruins to more ruins ? One thing is for sure - Labor can do it!!!

Now here is the interesting bit from this article - read the full basket case in the LINK.




Five sectors that could drive WA's economy after the mining boom
David Allan-Petale March 3 2017

The state election is approaching fast and the future of WA's economy after the mining boom is the big issue.

This week, to spark a conversation about our state's future, WAtoday explored five sectors that could grow and be our new economic drivers if they are given the right backing - tourism, the arts, technology, education and agriculture.

We heard from industry leaders about what they want and need from our state's leaders to thrive, whoever is in charge.


Part one: Life beyond mining




Perth sprawls over hundreds of kilometers, creating its unique set of infrastructure issues. Photo: Stefan Gosatti



Mining boom to bust

Y Research's Damian Stone reckons WA needs to take a deep breath and ask this question - what do we want to be?

"Mining will always be there. But beyond that, are we a tourism hub? The new food bowl of Asia? The boarding school of the region? The new Silicon Valley of technology start ups?

"Once we determine our place in the world, the government and private sector need to work together."

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/wa-election-2017/five-sectors-that-could-drive...




A common sight around poverty stricken Perth - when will the Chinese snap up the bargains ?

Paw old MM just cannot admit the TRUTH - it was the mining downturn that pulled the rug from under WA.

Now MM will probably mutter and stutter that somehow the Libs caused the mining downturn which is what WA Labor is trying to do.

MM now aren't you gunna explain how the NeverBuiltNetwork would have saved WA ?

Now leaving MM's vacuous blabbering copied from some wacko Lefty Propaganda Site.

What has happened to reduce WA to the state of poverty and meth ?




From boom to bust in Western Australia
Australian politics Andrew Martin 05 December 2016


Vroom Vroom no more

The investment phase of one of the biggest mining booms in world history continues to wind down. Tens of thousands of jobs were shed from the industry in the two years after the boom’s peak in 2013. Earlier this year, National Australia Bank predicted 50,000 more would be lost as investment continues to decline over the coming two or three years.

The center of the boom, Western Australia, is now reeling. The state has lost 64,000 jobs, and unemployment is 6.5 percent – a steep rise from a 4.5 percent average over the past decade and now the highest in the country.

A walk through Perth past high rise apartments and imposing city office blocks gives a stark reminder of the many opportunities lost: high rates of homelessness, mental illness and growing listlessness among unemployed youth are immediately apparent. The end of the boom portends a bleak future for workers here.

Regional towns are decaying. Unused railway tracks criss-cross the wheat belt while roads have been left to deteriorate. Increasing rates of suicide, substance abuse and road accidents scar the lives of teenagers in rural areas. With the exception of some select areas frequented by tourists, rural towns increasingly look like places from the rust belt of the US. The Pilbara has been especially hard hit. One shire president told the ABC in March: “We’re pretty much devastated … families are just packed up and gone within a month. Empty houses everywhere”.

Boom times
The boom was largely driven by Chinese demand for iron ore and coal. The scale of the mining expansion was unprecedented. Australia racked up an extra US$1 trillion in exports over a 10-year period; $300 billion was added to government revenues. The price of iron ore reached an astounding $180 per tonne. The dividends to the mining companies were so large that the ALP Rudd-Gillard government called them “super-profits”.

In 2000, the total value of bulk commodity exports (hydrocarbons, minerals and metals) was just under $45 billion, according to BIS Shrapnel figures. By 2012, the figure had more than quadrupled to $188 billion. Huge engineering works dramatically increased the capacity of the mines as companies invested in infrastructure that hadn’t been substantially improved in decades. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics estimates that nearly $360 billion was spent on expansion projects.

This boom fuelled a massive expansion of new housing stock as people migrated to WA in search of work. Perth housing was growing at 70,000 a year by 2012. Median house prices in the hot, dusty and remote town of Port Hedland peaked in 2013 at $925,000. Wages grew at the peak of the boom at almost 5 percent per year.

Grand theft
The development of WA has long been shaped by its vastness, its isolation, its mineral wealth and its integration into the global economy through exports of primary commodities. Larger than Western Europe, it lacks the same integration with the national economy as other states. It is the most parochial state, with sentiments of secession rising during the mining boom. State premiers forever play to feelings of Western Australian exceptionalism.

A handful of plutocratic tycoons such as Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and Gina Reinhart exert considerable influence over state political affairs. Along with Sam Walsh, CEO of Rio Tinto, and Marius Kloppers of BHP, they were instrumental in getting rid of the federal Labor government’s proposed Resource Super-Profit Tax, spending $22 million in six weeks on a PR campaign that toppled the leadership of Kevin Rudd.

With the federal ALP government caving to mining magnates, the rich did very well. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total pre-tax profits earned by mining firms operating in Australia were more than $51 billion in 2009-10. So how much tax did they pay? The Australian Institute estimated that the effective corporate tax rate of mining companies was only 13.9 percent, well below the average of 21 percent.

It’s estimated that total government subsidies to mining corporations reached $10 billion a year – including such things as discounted or free water and electricity and rebates on diesel fuel, all of which they use in colossal quantities. There are lax environmental regulations and very little scrutiny of the impact of mining. The construction of airports, roads and other infrastructure associated with housing the mining workforce is often done at state expense.

The companies also receive direct government investment in research and development and geological mapping. On top of that they claim accelerated depreciation on all their assets and receive tax write-offs for capital works. To say mining companies enjoy generous tax deductions would be a great understatement.

Read the FULL sad story of boom to bust in WA here and BE INFORMED - unlike MM

https://redflag.org.au/node/5618

Buck stops with the incompetent corrupt libtard government

YouLiar does it because it just copies and pastes without understanding.

The libs implemented a scheme where those in cabinet could claim on a personal car as well as getting ferried around in a comcar , mighty Mcgowan put a stop to that blatant libtard waste , well done Mark , doing your best to get the state out of the debt and deficit disaster left by 8 years of corrupt inept rabble

Exactly, WA had a boom but did not profit from it. Now it is in deep chit—but all this was under the incompetent Barnett govt!