The release of the yearly Fraser Institute Survey shows that Western Australia’s stranglehold as one of the most attractive jurisdictions in the world for mining, is not to be taken for granted.

The latest results show a declining trend in Western Australia in recent years, dropping from fourth in 2021, tenth in 2022, to seventeenth in 2023 on the ‘policy perception index’ (PPI).

Overall, Western Australia sits in fourth place out of 86 regions across the world, as the most attractive mining jurisdiction. Utah, followed by Nevada and Saskatchewan are ahead of Western Australia.

Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (Amec) CEO Warren Pearce notes that the Fraser Institute survey was conducted in August last year, at the height of public debate over recently introduced Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws.

“The impact that has had on WA’s PPI is quite clear. To drop from fourth a couple of years ago to seventeenth is a concern.

“Ultimately, Premier Roger Cook heeded the call of industry and community, and repealed those laws. However, it underscores the lasting negative impact that such policies can have on investment attraction.

“Policies that undermine certainty, will deter investment,” says Pearce.

The result in Western Australia was also felt across the country, with Australia slipping from the top spot as the most attractive jurisdiction in the world for mining investment, to second place behind the US.

With the exception of Queensland and Northern Territory, all Australian jurisdictions decreased compared with 2022, with South Australia dropping almost 16 places and Tasmania falling close to 14 places.

Despite an almost three-point decline in its PPI score, Western Australia continues to be Australia’s highest ranked jurisdiction for overall investment attractiveness.

“It will be interesting to see if positive regulatory changes, such as the implementation of the Vogel-McFerran environment regulatory reforms, will have an equally positive impact on WA in next year’s survey,” adds Pearce.

On the issue of ‘timeline certainty’ Queensland was the best performing region in Australia on meeting its timelines, with 80% responding positively. On the flipside, all respondents for Victoria indicated that timelines were only met half of the time, or rarely, by authorities.

Meanwhile, Australia is the worst performer overall in this category, with only 45% of respondents saying that approval decision timelines were met between 60% and 100% of the time.