Dutch Disease Drives Aussie Mining Hub Slump, Political Rout
- W.A. didn’t learn lessons from past Australian commodity booms
- Gross state debt to surpass 20% while property prices drop
Colin Barnett.
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Mining booms often turn to busts. Most Australians know this, except it seems, the outgoing administration of the nation’s resource-rich west.
Western Australia’s now former Premier Colin Barnett bungled the bonanza -- splurging windfall cash during the good times only to find the cupboard bare in the bad ones. The upshot is the state’s budget deficit and debt have spiraled, the AAA rating is gone and people are fleeing -- the latter at least has the advantage of containing an unemployment rate that’s already the nation’s highest.