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Leading economists believe that without WA’s record iron ore trade the Federal Government would not have had the financial flexibility to support NSW to the tune of $500 million a week during its COVID-19 lockdown. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said without high iron ore prices the Government would not have had the cash to help NSW as much as it had.
“The national income is given a boost by the iron ore boom and that is allowing the Federal Government to provide assistance to NSW, which then means incomes in NSW are protected and can bounce back more quickly,” he said.

Over the past financial year, WA mining and oil and gas companies contributed $83 billion directly to Australia’s economy, roughly one sixth of the entire federal government’s revenue over the period. This is more than the federal government’s budget for Medicare ($29.7 billion) and defence ($44.6 billion) combined. There are more than $140 billion worth of projects in the mining and oil and gas sector across WA, many of which are greenfield developments. The CMEWA said similar contributions from the resources sector would continue over the next decade.

WA mining and resources companies injected almost $122 billion into Australia’s economy in the 2019-20 financial year through direct and flow-on spending, helping create 309,000 full-time jobs during COVID-19.
The figures, from WA’s peak resources industry body, revealed the extent to which the local sector powered economies and communities around the nation as they reeled from the impacts of the pandemic. “That’s why it’s so important that both industry and government continue to tackle key challenges like current and future skills shortages, in order to fully capitalise on the significant opportunities we have in front of us.”