Resources sector worth $33b

The resources sector in Western Australia has continued its strong performance with new figures showing the industry was worth $33.2 billion in 2004-05, an increase of over 25 per cent on the previous financial year.

Statistics from the Department of Industry and Resources show the total value of the state’s mineral and petroleum sales increased by $6.8 billion in 2004-05.

Major contributors to the increase were the iron ore and oil and gas industries, with surging demand in China resulting in increased exports. With growth in value of 56 per cent for iron ore and 32 per cent for petroleum, these two commodities contributed more than $5.9 billion to the growth in value of the resources sector during the year.

Other commodities to show strong growth included alumina (12.1 per cent), nickel (15.5 per cent) and manganese (40.8 per cent).

Chamber of Minerals Energy chief executive Tim Shanahan said the new figures emphasised the contribution of the resources sector as the cornerstone of the WA economy.

“The success of the resources sector is directly linked to trends such as Western Australia’s $27.2 billion trade surplus and our enviable position as a high growth economy,” he said.

The results also reveal the resources sector is strongly contributing to the financial position of the state government, with royalty receipts totalling more than $1.25 billion in 2004-05, up by $222 million in the 12-month period.

Mr Shanahan said the figures were in line with CME projections that the resources sector was likely to grow by between 50 and 75 per cent to 2015, ensuring that the industry remained the key driver of the WA economy and community into the future.

The boom in the resources sector has rubbed off on the engineering sector, with latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing total engineering construction activity was up 20 per cent in the September quarter compared with the June quarter.

Total engineering construction increased approximately $1.5 billion in the June quarter to approximately $1.8 billion during the September quarter.

The September quarter highlights the trend in work done in WA has increased for six consecutive quarters, from $554 million in March 2001.

Across Australia, total engineering construction, in seasonally adjusted volume terms, was up 4.3 per cent to $8.6 billion from the June quarter.

In other states, increases in work undertaken were recorded in Queensland (up 11.5 per cent), Tasmania (6.9 per cent), the ACT (5.8 per cent), Victoria (4 per cent) and NSW (3.8 per cent).

Work fell 4.5 per cent in South Australia and 1.4 per cent in the Northern Territory.