The WA Government has identified a range of opportunities – including within manufacturing – to build Western Australia’s economic resilience following the conclusion of its historic Trade and Economic Resilience roundtable.
The meeting – held jointly with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA (CCIWA) – explored opportunities for the State Government to work with the business community to boost productivity and ensure WA’s economy remains the strongest in the nation.
A key focus was supporting the State’s local manufacturing sector to bolster sovereign supply chain capability and facilitating the energy transition consistent with the Government’s job-creating Made in WA agenda.
“True progress happens when business and government are on the same page,” said premier Roger Cook.
“Led by our world-leading resources sector, WA has the strongest economy in the nation and is the best place in Australia to get a quality job.
Key themes discussed at the roundtable were:
- supply-chain infrastructure;
- sovereign capability;
- market diversification;
- energy and resource security; and
- state Government policy.
The summit follows a bumper five years for the WA economy, which has grown in that time by over 25 per cent, well above the national rate of just below 16 per cent.
While the State contributes almost half of the value of the nation’s exports, global pressures and uncertainty means this success cannot be taken for granted into the future.
But while there are risks attached to the current and potential ongoing shifts in the global economy, it also presents opportunities for WA and the State’s business sector.
Following the roundtable, the State Government agreed to work with the CCIWA and CME to develop initiatives based on the following outcomes:
- Energy:
- Develop infrastructure and policy to enable renewable energy uptake at scale to deliver affordable and reliable green energy that is supported by gas.
- Common-use infrastructure:
- Further identification and refinement of the required common-use infrastructure to protect and grow existing industry while attracting new projects to innovate and diversify WA’s economy.
- Approvals and regulation:
- Reform to accelerate and further streamline approvals.
- Consideration of pathway for priority transformative projects in specific locations or industrial zones.
- Workforce planning:
- Ensure WA has the skilled workers needed to deliver on the pipeline of projects in the State, including for housing, hospitals, resources and renewable energy projects.