Government has grown almost twice as fast as WA.
From 2019 to 2025, WA’s public sector grew by 29,707 full-time equivalent staff (26.8%), while the population grew 14.5%.
Of the 22 WA advocacy, peak and service groups we checked, 17 get more than 70% of their revenue from government.
A bigger state isn’t a better one. A better way is for taxpayers to fund essential services, not the growth of bureaucracy.
What we’d do
- Reduce spending before looking for new revenue.
- Freeze back-office headcount growth, and publish staffing numbers by agency every year.
- End government grants to groups that lobby government.