Resources sector
144. Mr Terry Healy to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's success in growing the economy and ensuring that Western Australia becomes a global resources leader.
(1) Can the Premier advise the house how this focus on supporting WA's resources sector is delivering results for the Western Australian economy?
(2) Can the Premier advise the house how this government is continuing its ambition to diversify the economy and make more things here?
Mr Roger Cook replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the question. Every member in the Parliament today knows that Western Australia powers the national economy. Led by our world-leading resources sector, WA is the strongest economy in the nation. Over the weekend, we saw more evidence of just how important our economy is to the national economy. It showed that employment in the mining industry reached a new record in 2024. Nearly 136,000 people have a job in WA mining and a further 12,000 jobs have been created or exist in petroleum exploration. This marks eight consecutive years of employment growth in the mining sector and there are thousands of jobs that mining supports in other sectors, from IT to hospitality, to construction and manufacturing. The flow-on benefits to the broader economy are enormous.
The WA Labor government recognises that although the outlook for mining is strong, past success is not a guarantee of future success, and the future is what we make of it. To maintain our position as the strongest economy in the nation, the government is diversifying our economy for the future. We are working to make WA the best place in the world to get a job by securing new investment in jobs; becoming a global leader in investment attraction, industry facilitation and regulation; becoming a renewable energy powerhouse to provide local industry and our trading partners with reliable, affordable and low-carbon energy to drive economic activity; delivering sustainable water solutions for industry as well as the community; and boosting our economies, their productivity and resilience through infrastructure, training and by making more things here. Our government is putting manufacturing back into the heart of the state's economy.
Just imagine if our other industries experienced the type of growth that we have we have experienced over the last decades from mining. The government played a pivotal role in realising the potential of the resources industry and we are now playing a role in growing other industries such as tourism, agriculture, life sciences, medical research and space industries. Of course, Mr Speaker, the key to this is making more things here, and that includes restoring pride in the words "Made in WA".
