STATE FINANCES —
DEBT REDUCTION ACCOUNT — IRON ORE ROYALTY REVENUE
411. Hon Dr
STEVE THOMAS to the Leader of the House representing the Premier:
I refer to the Labor Party's
commitment under the Premier's leadership as opposition leader,
detailed in a media release from the then Labor opposition of 11 February 2017,
to introduce new laws to see 50 per cent of iron ore royalty revenue directed
into the new debt reduction account when WA's GST relativity returned
to above 0.65 and the iron ore price was more than $85 a tonne.
(1) What was the
iron ore royalty revenue in 2019–20 and 2020–21, and what is
the estimate for 2021–22?
(2) What was the
average iron ore price in 2019–20 and 2020–21, and what is the
estimate for 2021–22?
(3) Did Western Australia
receive GST top-up payments to ensure a floor relativity of 0.70 in 2019–20,
2020–21 and 2021–22?
(4) What total of
iron ore royalties would have been credited to the debt reduction account from
2019–20 to 2021–22 inclusive if the government had actually
kept its 2017 promise?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Iron ore
royalty revenue was $7.6 billion in 2019–20 and $11.4 billion in 2020–21,
and is projected to be $10.3 billion in 2021–22.
(2) The average
iron ore price was $US92.9 a tonne in 2019–20 and $US154.5 a tonne in
2020–21, and is projected to be $US139.5 a tonne in 2021–22.
(3) Yes. The
McGowan Labor government's efforts to campaign constructively to the
commonwealth won a fairer share of the GST
for Western Australia, including calling for a review by the Productivity
Commission. This is unlike the previous Liberal–National
government, which failed for years to achieve a better GST deal for Western Australia
but spent billions on the state's credit card, as if a deal had been
done. Even with the reforms to the GST distribution, Western Australia will
continue to receive far less GST than its population share.
(4) The
government has delivered on its promise to reduce debt. Net debt under the Liberal
and National government was $43.7 billion. Under this government, net debt is
projected to fall below $30 billion, which will be the first time since 2015.