So why stop at WA?
the dividing line between WA and the rest of the country is just that; an arbitrary line drawn on a map.
Why not have the Pilbarra secede? With a population of only around 50,000, and an export income of about 26 billion in iron ore alone, why do they need the rest of WA, much less Oz? That's an average per capita income of over 500,000, or about $10k a week, compared to $500 in WA, or $466 for the rest of us.
Of course, in 50 or 60 years time when the ore runs out... But hey, it'll be a great 50 or 60 years, right? I mean, no one on these pages would ever suggest there's anything wrong with hitching your star to a centrally planned socialist economy would they? Surely no one around here would ever suggest that such an economy is inevitably doomed to crash and burn, leaving their suppliers high and dry would they?
But why does it have to depend on geography? After all, 90% of the (arbitrarily defined) state's income (about 61 billion) came from just 75,000 workers.
Why should they prop up all the other bludgers in WA?
There's just so very many ways we can divide the pie, aren't there.
And the arguments about who 'deserves' the biggest pieces will never end.

A great idea , in fact why not let regional australia secede from urban australia. I always hear how we are draw on the urban community as we, according to the urban peoples, need many subsidy’s, , phone, agriculture, water, electricity, extra health and welfare.
Have a free trade agreement between the two “states” and a tax system that taxes the wealth where it is consumed. This mean urban living people, that work in the regional areas will have to pay income tax on their income before taking it to the urban areas/city’s.
Along with the royalties the regions get to keep, I think any reasonable govt can invest in the future so that when the mines do get mined out, there is some new wealth source to live on.
Investing in agriculture would be a good start, as many overseas investors are already.(we are selling our food security to them, but that’s another debate)
With this happening, regional australia will have great economic warning that spending all our wealth on subsidised wealth consumption will fail as we watch over that “line” as the urban communities struggle with a no wealth creation economy.
Bring it on!

Because we are AUSTRALIA not the USA that is so buggered up. Their Constitution is fine, but fools treat it with utter contempt.
W A is part of this Nation.Even the rabbit-proof-fence failed so do read some historical fast please author.
The past is just that...PAST...over and done with ok. Fact is the Libs don't care and if they went ti all alone, have no man power to even cover the entire coast-line of W A to protect it. As for China leave well alone and learn.
From the timbers of the South West to the minerala and deserts of WA where on Earth do you think they would do for Health, Legal Systems and Border Protection?.Just what will happen to inter-state freight..flights or rail or road or sea? Who just will lay claim to ownership of air-space or sea space? What a stuipid silly notion.
Please think.

It's sad what dreams of money can do. Self-delusion is the first symptom.

"But worsening economic conditions have in recent years re-ignited the debate over secession."

C'mon, be honest Mr Sabhlok.

It's the thought of all that loot being dug up and exported that gets those secessionist juices running, ain't it? Not "worsening economic conditions", more like the expediency of self-interest. Ugly, but inevitable in a country that has decided that money is the primary determining factor of goodness and virtue.

Personally, I think it would be a great experiment. But I would counsel the sandgropers to find an astute minister of finance, one who understands the impact of mineral wealth on a small population. In particular, one who has taken on board the lessons of the oil-producing countries of the Middle East, who had to cope with the international re-pricing of their raw material. Twice. In the same decade. From $3 a barrel in 1973 to $80 in 1979.

Saudi Arabia is a great example. Of its current labour force of 7.3 million, 80% are non-nationals. Ring any bells, Yabby?

>>Miners don't need to employ lots of people. They employ contractors who employ lots of people and provide lots of services.<<

The UAE is another. Population 5.1 million. Workforce 3.7 million, of which 85% are expatriate. Only half a million locals have a job - how good is that. Dubai would seem to be a useful role-model for Perth too, I reckon.

Yup. Best of luck to youse all in newly-minted Westralia. There will be more economic pitfalls than most people think, especially those who think that turning mines into money-for-all is a doddle. I suspect inflation - the sort caused by too much money chasing too few goods - would be an early challenge. The allocation of capital to new projects might also assume a different profile, given the relative instability of a 2.3 million population in an already over-stretched service infrastructure.

But go for it, I say. Should be fun to watch.

*Saudi Arabia is a great example. Of its current labour force of 7.3 million, 80% are non-nationals. Ring any bells, Yabby?*

Not really Pericles, as the culture is quite different. Many Saudis
see it as below them, to do any kind of menial work. OTOH the last
survey I read, West Australians actually work more then people in
other states.

You probably don't know much about the place, like most Easterners.
All I can tell you is of my experience, given 35 or so years of living
here. WA is very much a can-do State. Because so much of our trade
is focussed on exports, its how people think. Personally I actually
prefer small democracies to large ones. If I have a solid case and
want to see change happen, that means that I can get to talk to the
decision makers and bring about change. Once it becomes federal, its
another whole layer of politics and administration and the East really
does not care what happens in the West, as long as we send you money.

Many West Australians are pissed off right now, at just being treated
as a cash cow. I think the GST division has something to do with it.
In NSW you get back well over 90%. In WA its 70%, heading for 30something %.
Yet being a young state, we have a lot of catching up
to do with infrastructure etc. Also a large State, covering a third
of Australia. That means alot of roads need building etc, to cope with
mining expansion.

So when it comes to the expediency of self interest and rule by
tyranny of the majority, the East is a prime example of it. Eventually people
in the West will get sick of being shafted by the
East. I don't blame them

I'd be interested to see that, Yabby, if you happen to have it handy.

>>OTOH the last survey I read, West Australians actually work more then people in other states.<<

It seems such a... broad claim, really. Do you mean "more hours"? Or "more effectively". Perhaps "more efficiently? Whichever, I'd love to see the metric used.

But this is a poor assumption.

>>You probably don't know much about the place, like most Easterners<<

I have lived and worked in WA, and enjoyed myself there immensely. Perth is a great place to raise kids, and the weather there is just amazing.

I am also very familiar with the über-parochialism that is manifest there, in every aspect of business life. I must confess, I never found it particularly convincing - it seemed more a form of penis-envy than anything substantial.

But, chacun à son goût as they say.

I'm serious about the secession, incidentally. It would be a great exercise in "true" democracy, and an object lesson in what government is like when guided by the uninformed desires of the masses. Above all, it would cause little harm to anyone outside WA.

Enjoy.