THE WA STATE BUDGET AT A GLANCE
KEY FORECASTS
* Budget surplus of $5.6 billion confirmed for 2020/21
* Projected surplus of $2.8 billion for 2021/22
* Economy to grow by 3.5 per cent
* Unemployment to average 4.75 per cent
* Iron ore price to average US$121.3 (A$164.4) per tonne in 2021/22, falling to long-run average of $US66 (A$89) per tonne in outer years
* WA population to grow by just 0.7 per cent in 2021/22
* Net debt to climb by $2.4 billion over four years to $36 billion
KEY PROMISES
* $30.7 billion infrastructure spend over four years, including $9.1 billion in regional WA
* Additional $1.9 billion health spend, delivering 332 new hospital beds and the recruitment of an additional 600 nurses
* $1.4 billion towards Perth's next desalination plant
* $1 billion for WA's management of COVID-19, supporting police and other frontline workers
* $875 million towards the social housing sector, including building 3300 new social homes over the next four years
* $750 million climate action fund, including softwood plantation investment and a promise to stop logging native forests from 2024
* $120 million to streamline regulatory approvals
* Increases to household fees and charges kept below inflation
KEY QUOTES
* "By putting the health of Western Australians first, by keeping the state safe from COVID-19, we have delivered the best economic and social outcomes in Australia and possibly the world." - Premier Mark McGowan
* "It is extraordinary that we are facing a health crisis of such huge proportions and we have $5.6 billion in the back pocket of the premier. It is a failure." - Opposition Leader Mia Davies
* "(The budget) shows an economy firing on all cylinders; however, we consider it is rapidly approaching a peak cycle." - Ratings agency Moody's
* "Opportunities to support stronger business investment and reduce business costs have mostly been overlooked." - Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA
* "We are already seeing significant labour shortages ... finding a safe way to bring interstate and international workers into WA will be the most effective way to relieve these pressures." - Association of Mining and Exploration Companies
* "The collective might of public sector union members has brought an end to five years of the $1000 pay cap." - Community and Public Sector Union.
Australian Associated Press
