Aaron Morey
CCIWA Chief Economist
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA has today released the latest Regional Pulse report. This special report by the State’s peak business group breaks down the results of the WA Super-CCIWA Business Confidence Survey, laying bare the different experiences and conditions impacting business sentiment in WA’s regional centres. Businesses in WA’s regional centres are vital to driving our State’s economic recovery.
Read the full Regional Pulse Report, October 2020
WA’s regional businesses expect to face tougher conditions than their metro peers, with nearly half (45 per cent) expecting economic conditions to worsen in the next 12 months, compared to less than a third (30 per cent) in Perth.
Regional businesses are not helped by ongoing uncertainty and lack of clarity about WA’s approach to borders. With a mixed recovery across our regions, WA needs to outline a sustainable approach to borders, led foremost by health advice. This should include a clear public roadmap to re-join the nation – beginning with States or Territories where COVID-19 is even less present than in WA – and a world-class contact tracing system in which businesses can have full confidence. This imperative has not been addressed since it was identified in the first edition of Regional Pulse.
Our State can also foster better conditions for businesses to recover by supporting tax, regulatory and industrial reforms as outlined in CCIWA’s Pre-Budget Submission.
