Treasurer Ben Wyatt today released the 2016-17 Annual Report on State Finances.
The Annual Report on State Finances is a statutory reporting requirement of the Government Financial Responsibility Act 2000 and details the audited financial outcomes for 2016-17.
The Annual Report on State Finances shows that for 2016-17:
- The general government sector recorded an operating deficit of $2.5 billion, $565 million lower than the $3 billion deficit estimated in the 2017-18 Budget;
- General government revenue grew by a modest 1.6 per cent, following two consecutive years of declining revenue;
- General government recurrent expenditure increased by 3.1 per cent, with salaries expenditure increasing by just two per cent;
- The State’s Asset Investment Program totalled $5.1 billion, consistent with the 2017-18 Budget estimate and the $5.2 billion infrastructure spend in 2015-16; and
- Total public sector net debt stood at $32 billion at June 30, 2017, $536 million lower than the estimated outturn in the 2017-18 Budget. This is an increase of $4.6 billion on the level of net debt at June 30, 2016, with all of this attributable to the general government sector.
The Annual Report on State Finances can be downloaded from the Department of Treasury’s website at http://www.treasury.wa.gov.au