Ratings agency S&P Global has restored Western Australia’s AAA rating for the first time in almost a decade, prompting the state’s Treasurer and Premier Mark McGowan to claim it has “the best set of books in the world”.
WA was stripped of its AAA rating in 2013, but strong commodity prices, a rebounding economy, “robust” cost control and a flow of federal grants and seen the status return.
The credit rating agency this week released a report of Western Australia’s finances in its bi-annual update for the state.
S&P Global affirmed its ‘positive outlook’ on WA’s AA+ rating long-term issuer credit rating, a reflection of WA’s budgetary “outperformance” of domestic and global peers.
The ratings agency expects WA’s debt-to-revenue ratio to continue to decline over the next few years.
Mr McGowan said Western Australia was “delivering one of the best set of books in the world”.
“A strong set of books gives us the fiscal capacity to fund important initiatives such as our free RAT program for households, $1.7 billion in COVID-19 business support and important infrastructure projects to set up WA’s long term future.
“In the lead up to the State Budget, we’ll continue to keep our finances strong while helping Western Australians by keeping cost of living pressures as low as possible and the economy firing to support local jobs.”
