Anne Garnett

Prior to the resources boom of the 2000s, evidence suggests that many regional communities in Australia, including Western Australia, were experiencing lower than average population and employment growth rates, with some towns suffering significant decline. During the 2000s, Australia experienced a rapid and substantial resources boom, fuelled by strong export demand by emerging economies, including China and India. The impacts of this boom were particularly felt in Western Australia, which has the largest share of mining revenue as a proportion of both gross state product and exports. Some states have reported that while mining export earnings have risen due to strong commodity prices, there was less impact on employment and regional development than may have been expected. This paper will investigate the impact of the mining boom on the labour markets and population of Western Australia. Of particular policy relevance are the effects that any changes in population and employment have on the regional and remote communities where much of the mining activities are located.

Throughout the 1990s, there were significant changes in population and employment distribution throughout many regions of Australia. Of notable significance were the high population and employment growth rates in outer-metropolitan areas and also in coastal areas. Growth rates in capital cities and in rural and remote areas of Australia were much lower. A combination of changes in industry mix, together with new technologies, and policy and regulatory changes are likely contributory factors. In some cases, drought, lifestyle choices and welfare-led interregional migration also appear likely to have contributed to population and employment changes. These changes have impacted on the characteristics and composition of the population and labour force in various regions. The purpose of this paper is to examine population and employment changes by region into the 2000s, and to identify any changes from the previous decade. Emerging trends will be identified and the possible causes of any new trends will be examined. This will provide insight into the needs and policy issues facing particular regions in Australia, including issues such as skills shortages and economic and social infrastructure provision.