Figures show how boom brought wealth to Western Australia – by Shane Wright (Perth Now – April 24, 2017)

http://www.perthnow.com.au/

THE mining boom delivered WA an income boost unlike anything seen across the country since the 19th century, spreading wealth from the suburbs to some of the most isolated communities.

A breakdown of tax figures covering the mining boom from 2003-04 until 2014-15 shows a record number of communities saw their average incomes at least double. The Australian Tax Office tracked the income details of more than 2570 postcodes nationwide.

Just 126 showed average taxable incomes at least doubling over the mining boom period. More than 70 of them were in WA, which accounted for almost one in three of the State’s postcodes. Incomes in the State’s richest postcode, which covers Peppermint Grove and Cottesloe, soared from almost $70,500 at the start of the boom to$144,273 in 2014-15.

But the biggest increase in percentage terms occurred in the area covering Onslow, home to the Wheatstone LNG project. There, average incomes rose by more than 200 per cent, hitting $122,384 after starting the boom at $36,201.

The surge in population associated with the boom meant areas that were small communities a decade ago are now part of Perth’s urban fringe. The average income in Yanchep, to Perth’s north, doubled from just $27,504 in 2003-04 to more than $61,100 in 2014-15.

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