Issues Monitor March 2014: Western Australia
Despite the Coalition Government’s looming first budget, the economy is not a pressing issue for Western Australians.
Top Issues Facing Western Australia
At a national level, however, the economy emerges as the most pressing issue, perhaps reinforcing the notion that us Western Australians still feel insulated against economic fluctuations by the resources sector.
Crime continues to be the hot topic in Western Australia with nearly one in two placing it in the top three issues facing the state for the second quarter in a row. Compared to the rest of the nation, crime has consistently been considered a more important issue here in WA.
While healthcare was the most important issue for Western Australians in late 2010, concerns can be seen to have eased over time. What’s more, this decline in the importance of healthcare as an issue is being driven by regional Western Australians who are significantly less likely than their counterparts around regional Australia to consider healthcare an important issue.
The State Government’s Royalties for Regions program may be playing a role in easing concerns with more than $6.5 billion being funneled from resources sector royalties into regional WA.
For those living out of the Perth metro region the greatest concern is housing with nearly two in five putting the issue in the top three compared to less than one in five nationally.
While the Royalties for Regions program has allocated more than $350 million to meet the shortfall in affordable housing options in regional WA, concerns are still high among the population.
