10 May 2007 
 
Western Australia is a major player in the booming resources sector, which is generating growth in employment, higher salaries, increasing house prices and boosting retail sales according to Tony Pearson, Head of Australian Economics at ANZ speaking at the Perth Chartered Accountants Business Forum today. 
 
“Everyone wants to live in Western Australia,” Pearson claimed.  
 
Pearson highlighted that Western Australia has the highest population growth in Australia, at 2%. The majority of this growth has predominantly come from offshore migration.  
 
“Everyone wants to live in WA, when I come to WA from NSW it feels like a different county, there is the smell of success in the air,” Pearson said.  
 
WA is the biggest exporter in Australia. The two biggest commodity exports are iron ore and gold. WA is in the ideal position to provide commodities to the strongest growing economy in the world, China.  
 
“The other driver of growth in WA is business investment, if no new projects were to start in WA there is still 3 years worth of engineering work to be done in WA”. 
 
Pearson claims that the issues that WA is facing are the issues that come with success.  
 
“Unemployment has fallen to 2.7%, there aren’t enough people to fill jobs, there aren’t enough rental properties to rent, and there aren’t enough homes to buy”. 
 
Businesses across the board in WA are finding that attracting labour is the single largest factor stopping their business from expanding. Wages growth is highest in Western Australia.  
 
The median price of a house in Western Australia is the second highest in Australia after NSW. Households in Western Australia have the highest household debt servicing ratio in the country.  
 
 
“It is raining money from heaven on WA,” Pearson concluded.