Western Australians will directly benefit from the lowest annual rate of inflation in 20 years, Deputy Premier Ian Taylor said today.
"Today's Consumer Price Index figures are further good news for this State - and they come hard on the heels of the very encouraging car registration figures earlier this week," Mr Taylor said.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released national and state-by-state figures measuring inflation. The ABS reported that in the September quarter inflation nationally increased by 0.1 per cent over the previous quarter, while in Perth the inflation rate actually fell by 0.1 per cent.
"On an annual basis, Perth has recorded a fall of 0.2 per cent - the lowest figure since 1962, when inflation fell 0.7 per cent," Mr Taylor said.
"This is the lowest annual inflation rate for any capital city in the country.
"Today's excellent results mean that Western Australia, which relies heavily on exports, will be more competitive overseas because our costs are rising more slowly than our competitors.
"The figures are also good news for the ordinary man in the street because it ensures that interest rates stay low and people know that the value of their income and savings will not be ravaged by inflation."
Mr Taylor said ABS figures released earlier this week also showed that Western Australians were buying new cars at a rate faster than anywhere else in Australia. New car registrations jumped 26.4 per cent in the year till the end of September - compared with 9.8 per cent nationally.
"The evidence that WA is leading the nation out of recession is emerging more clearly day by day. In the number of new homes and units being financed, in the number of new cars being purchased and in today's excellent inflation figures."
