WA Budget Briefing Note 2021-22 has been saved
Analysis
WA Budget Briefing Note 2021-22
Risks abound amid record revenue
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WA Premier Mark McGowan handed down his inaugural Budget as Treasurer today. Key highlights from the 2021-22 State Budget include:
- A record $5.6bn operating surplus for the general government sector in 2020-21 powered by sky-high iron ore prices during the year
- Smaller but consistent surpluses over the forward estimates period, including $2.8bn in 2021-22
- Revenues projected to moderate from 2022-23, with Treasury predicting average prices of US$121.3 a tonne for iron ore in 2021-22 and US$66 a tonne in the remaining forward estimates
- The State’s record capital investment program rolls on even as revenue is forecast to soften, with cumulative cash deficits for the public sector subsequently forecast, totalling more than $3.2bn over the final three outyears
- As a result, public sector net debt is forecast to bottom out at $32.1bn by the end of 2021-22, before climbing to $35.6bn by the end of the forward estimates period
- The State’s Asset Investment Program is forecast to be a record $30.7bn over the forward estimates period. However, timelines for completion of some projects have been stretched over a longer horizon relative to the previous Budget to help ease inflationary pressures
- The State economy is forecast to grow by 3.25 per cent in 2020-21 - the highest since the end of the mining boom. Treasury expects growth to be slightly stronger at 3.5 per cent in 2021-22, before dropping to average just 1.25 per cent through the Budget outyears as international borders re-open.
Download the State Budget Briefing Note for further analysis and assessment.
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Read our previous editions
- WA Budget Briefing Note 2020-21 - Oct 2020
- WA Budget Briefing Note 2019-20 - May 2019
- WA Budget Briefing Note 2018-19 - May 2018
Published: February 2021
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