Business News
WA surplus pumped up by iron ore
February 9, 2021
Booming iron ore prices driven by Chinese demand will swell Western Australia’s budget coffers by $2.3 billion over the next four years, pointing to a likely federal government windfall that would speed up budget repair and drive down record debt faster than anticipated. Figures released by WA’s Department of Treasury on Monday show popular state Premier Mark McGowan will head to the polls on March 13 with a budget surplus of $3.1 billion this year, nearly $1 billion more than a forecast made in December. It leaves Mr McGowan as one of few cashed-up leaders on the planet. The windfall …
Joint media statement – Contract awarded for road gateway in Perth’s Eastern Suburbs
February 4, 2021
The Greater Connect consortium comprising Laing O’Rourke, AECOM, and Arcadis has been awarded the contract to deliver the Great Eastern Highway Bypass Interchanges project. The project is expected to bust congestion and improve safety for traffic across the Hazelmere and Forrestfield industrial and freight distribution centres. The Morrison Government is allocating $247.25 million funding from its $110 billion, ten year infrastructure pipeline. Hon Rita Saffioti MLA, said procurement for the upgrades had been streamlined to boost the State’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and would support up to 2,700 jobs. This would also help provide critical new connections for …
Joint media statement – Biggest ever South-West road project now underway, unlocking thousands of local jobs
February 1, 2021
Work on the Bunbury Outer Ring Road has kicked off today, which is expected to provide thousands of local jobs and economic benefits for the Greater Bunbury region. The South West Gateway Alliance, comprising Acciona, NRW Contracting, MACA Civil, AECOM and Aurecon, together with Main Roads, will build the 27-kilometre, four-lane, high-standard road from Forrest Highway near Australind to the Bussell Highway, south of Bunbury. According to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, upon completion the project would improve freight capacity, efficiency and productivity across the region. The project which has gone through planning for several years, recognizes the significance of …
WA jobs market booming as Recovery and Jobs plan delivers
January 25, 2021
Western Australia’s job market is the best performing of all States WA unemployment rate continues to fall, now the lowest of all States at 6.2 per cent 98.8 per cent of jobs lost during COVID-19 pandemic now recovered Latest statistics reflect the McGowan Government’s safe and strong management of COVID-19 and the State’s economy Based on the December 2020 data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it shows that Western Australia has the strongest performing jobs market of all states in the nation. Underemployment has fell to its lowest level since June 2015 down to 7.7 percent with 33,200 …
WA jobs market continues to go from strength to strength
December 17, 2020
Another 11,400 Western Australians gain employment in November, with strong growth in full-time jobs, as the McGowan Labor Government’s Recovery and Jobs Plan continues drive the State’s recovery, revealed by ABS data released today. The increase equates to a further 0.8 per cent rise in employment, the second strongest growth of any State, and only behind Victoria, which continued to recover from a second wave of COVID-19. Significantly, the rise in employment was entirely due to an increase in full-time employment, which rose by 13,400 in November, while the number of people working part-time declined by 2,000. In WA, employment has …
MACA emerges as potential buyer for Downer business
December 8, 2020
MACA has expressed it’s interest in buying Downer EDI’s Western mining services division. The company has reported that discussions with Downer are ongoing and that it would only make a binding offer if it aligned with the company strategy and delivered value for shareholders. This is in line with the statements the company has made at its annual general meeting where it stated that the company will continue to explore and pursue growth opportunities that will deliver value to shareholders on an ongoing basis. Perenti Global was also in line of the potential buyers for Downer’s open cut mining business …
Australia’s economy rebounds sharply in third-quarter from COVID-19 recession
December 3, 2020
Australia’s economy has rebounded sharply in the third quarter from a coronavirus-induced recession as consumer spending surged. Reports showed that the A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy expanded by more than the expected 3.3% raise in September, following a 7% contraction in June, as the country largely got COVID-19 under control. The rebound was led by household spending, which was led by household spending, which rose 7.9%, driven by massive fiscal and monetary stimulus since March. The Australian dollar briefly hit a day’s high of $0.7389. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe believes Economic growth is positive in December …
Australian economy to bounce back ‘faster and stronger’
November 17, 2020
The Australian economic recovery is believed to be going faster and stronger than what most economists have expected, this is the prediction of Commonwealth Bank’s head of Australian economics, Gareth Aird. It is now expected that GDP will contract by 3.3 per cent in 2020 but will have a stronger recovery in 2021. Over the next two years, GDP is predicted to grow by 4.2 per cent in 2021 (previously 2.5 per cent) and another 3.8 per cent in 2022. According to Aird, the similarities between the Great Depression and the Covid-19 pandemic from an economic perspective only pertains to …
Labour Force data shows drop in WA’s unemployment rate as Australia’s rises
October 20, 2020
The new data released by Labour Force, shows that unemployment rate in Western Australia has fallen from 7 percent in August to 6.7 percent. Which means that the state has one of the lowest jobless rates in Australia. According to Premier Mark McGowan, Western Australia has created over 72,000 in the last four months. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to spike to 7.1 percent after the surprise fall to 6.8 percent in August. Based on the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, full-time employment fell by 20,100 while part-time employment decreased by 9400. Below is a report …
Commonwealth Pours $680 million Into Housing Construction
June 16, 2020
The housing construction industry in Australia has received a massive boost after the Federal Government announced a $680 million stimulus package to help boost the sector in troubled times. The Federal Government would provide grants of $25,000 to build new homes or renovate existing homes under a new HomeBuilder package. To qualify for the grant, households need to have an income of less than $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples. Homes should also be worth $750,000 for new houses and $1.5 million for renovated homes. For renovations, homeowners will only receive the grant if the cost of renovations fall …
