The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) welcomes the release of the 2025-26 WA Budget, which confirms the resources sector has provided more than a quarter of government revenue over the past seven years.
The $10.5 billion in royalties and payments expected in FY25 was more than enough to fund the salaries of every police officer and public health worker in the State. It also helped WA deliver an operating surplus of $2.5 billion – the State’s seventh consecutive surplus.
The continued strength in royalty payments – which have totalled $77.8 billion over the past seven years – reflects a resilient iron ore price and record prices for gold, which are masking the very challenging conditions facing nickel and lithium producers.
CME Head of Economics Aaron Walker said the resources sector continued to underpin the high quality of life enjoyed by West Australians.
“No other industry has made a greater contribution to the State’s financial health over such an extended period of time,” Mr Walker said.
“The $77.8 billion in royalty payments over the past seven years is enough to build Optus Stadium 48 times over, with that money enabling the provision of essential services such as roads, rail, schools, hospitals, police and cost of living assistance for struggling families.”
The 2025-26 Budget was headlined by $963 million in cost-of-living measures for West Australians, including rebates for residential batteries, the second round of the WA Student Assistance Payment and the introduction of one-zone flat fares across the public transport system.
It also included a focus on economic infrastructure and utilities, with $15 billion allocated over the next four years to poles wires, pipes and ports.
Of that money, an additional $584 million is being invested in Clean Energy Link North, the first of a number of major new transmission lines that will be critical to decarbonising WA’s power grids.
The WA Government’s election commitment to double the Strategic Industries Fund to $1 billion has been funded, while $543 million will be spent upgrading the Goldfields pipeline to meet growing industrial and agricultural demand for water.
Mr Walker welcomed the investment in infrastructure designed to enhance the productive capacity of WA’s resources sector.
“Royalties are now firmly entrenched as a critical revenue stream for the WA Government,” Mr Walker said.
“Ensuring that stream continues to flow strongly throughout the clean energy transition will require a sustained focus on ensuring we have the right fundamentals in place to attract global investment.”
CME’s Pre-Budget Submission focused on three key themes: accelerating the energy transition, streamlining project approvals and delivering turnkey industrial land.
“Industry is concerned about the rising cost of electricity on the South West Interconnected System (SWIS),” Mr Walker said.
“Access to affordable and reliable energy was a key issue raised at the Premier’s recent Economic Resilience Forum.
“Competitive electricity prices are essential not just for the development of new industries, but for the ongoing viability of the existing operations that have helped fund this budget.”
Earlier this week the WA Government announced a period of rapid industry consultation ahead of finalising plans for the State’s transmission rollout by the end of the year.
“It is important the WA Government prioritises releasing a master transmission plan as soon as possible because we know transmission lines are critical to unlocking investment in new large-scale renewables,” Mr Walker said.
“On the generation side, the recent release of draft Community Benefits Guidelines for renewable projects is a positive step towards accelerating the build-out required to replace coal-fired power, while ensuring local communities also benefit.”
CME also welcomes confirmation the Strategic Industries Fund will be doubled to $1 billion, as pledged ahead of the recent State election.
“We know that WA’s 13 Strategic Industrial Areas are not currently project-ready, or competitive with those on offer by our South East Asian neighbours, so we appreciate the Government taking action to address this,” Mr Walker said.
Media contacts:
Josh Zimmerman j.zimmerman@cmewa.com / 0404 947 719
Natasha Mutch n.mutch@cmewa.com / 0435 383 382
