Cashed-up state to spend ‘like we’ve never seen before’

Aaron Bunch | June 19, 2025

Another big budget surplus in Australia’s richest state will fund infrastructure spending “like we’ve never seen before” in a bid to boost jobs and combat global instability.

Western Australian Treasurer Rita Saffioti will deliver her second budget on Thursday, with the 2024/25 surplus projected to be $3.1 billion, dropping to $2.5 billion for 2025/26.

Ms Saffioti on Wednesday flagged “major spending on economic infrastructure”, saying “it’s not sexy” but it is essential.

“In a time of global instability, and we’ve seen the incredible shocks that are happening around the world over the past months and even this past week, we need to double down on our efforts to support new jobs and make sure we invest in … industry,” she said.

“This is very much a focus on economic infrastructure to the like we’ve never seen before.”

Ms Saffioti said water and energy supply and developing ports would be “a big focus”.

Economist Alan Duncan said WA’s resource-rich economy was among the strongest in the nation and “that creates opportunities”, but stronger-than-anticipated “headwinds” had taken a toll on the overall growth.

These include falling commodity prices, uncertainty among international trading partners, a lack of housing, and workforce constraints.

“Growth in gross state product, including exports and imports, that’s going to be a notch down,” the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre director said

“But from a domestic point of view, it looks like we’ll be posting some pretty strong growth figures.”

Professor Duncan said affordable housing initiatives to boost supply were also likely to be a key feature in the budget.

This will help solve the problem of accommodating workers moving to the state and assist in “unlocking the full potential of the WA economy”.

“It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation,” he said.

The government has already announced millions of dollars in budget measures, including cash to improve the health system and transport routes.

It’s also promised to spend money to boost the workforce, increase housing supply and bolster local manufacturing.

The state’s peak business group, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, urged the government to boost funding for local manufacturing and cost relief for small and family businesses.

Master Builders said the construction industry needed at least another 40,000 workers over the coming years to deliver the housing needed in WA.

WA Council of Social Service said the Cook government had made some promising cost-of-living relief and affordable housing announcements in recent months but more were needed.

“We’re still looking for more targeted relief measures for those in our community who are doing it toughest,” acting chief executive Rachel Siewert said.

Shelter WA said the state needed action, not tinkering at the edges, to combat the housing emergency.

“This means serious investment to scale up social and affordable housing supply and more support for the community housing sector to deliver solutions,” Chair Kieran Wong said.

“The government leads a prosperous state with a strong mandate and the community is desperately crying out for action.”

The WA Greens expected record funding to be budgeted for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and environmental protection measures.