PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian resources sector contributed A$67.1-billion to Australia’s economy in 2018/19, directly creating more than 71 000 jobs, a survey of 53 Western Australian resources sector companies has found.

Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) CEO Paul Everingham said the data provided by 53 member companies for the financial year 2018/19, shows how industry’s spending flows through to every part of Western Australia, by means of wages and salaries, business purchases, government payments and community contributions.

“Considering this survey is just a snapshot of the sector’s direct contribution to the broader economy, the actual figure is likely to be substantially higher than A$67.1-billion.”

Overall these companies contributed A$45.8-billion to the Western Australian economy and a further A$21.2-billion to the Australian economy, made up of A$41.7-billion spent on purchasing goods and services from 14 464 Western Australian businesses, as well as financially supporting 902 community organisations and 77 local governments nationwide.

Furthermore, more than A$8.5-billion in wages and salaries were paid to 71 244 full-time workers, and A$5.7-billion in state government payments and A$11.1-billion in federal government payments were made.

On top of the A$67.1-billion direct contribution to Australia, there is additional $50.3-billion in value created by the Western Australian resources sector through supply-chain purchases and creation of 311 796 full-time jobs in related fields, such as freight and logistics, geologists, laboratory testing of ore samples, and site preparation services. 

Everingham said as the data was collected on a postcode basis, the economic contribution of the resources companies could be narrowed down to every Local, State and Federal electorate in Western Australia.

“This information provides a unique picture of Western Australia’s largest export industry in actual spend,” he said.

“It demonstrates that each and every community in Western Australia has people living there, who work in the resources sector, and local businesses who benefit from supplying goods and services to the sector. From this, there are both direct and indirect benefits spread across these communities flowing from the financial contributions made by the companies.”