‘Things are getting worse, but they’re not that bad’: Local economists share optimism on Bunbury’s future

The region’s business leaders have been told that while there is a downturn, they are faring better than many other communities across Australia. Members of the Bunbury Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry met on Friday to hear the projected outlook for the South West’s business environment from two professionals. Chamber of Commerce & Industry WA’s Chief Economist Aaron Morey, and Minister for Agriculture and Food; Forestry; Small Business Jackie Jarvis were invited to host a chat about Bunbury’s business economy, with local business owners invited for questions. Mr Morey’s presentation detailed what areas of Bunbury’s economy were working and where more work needed to be done, stressing that Bunbury is faring well when compared to the rest of the nation. “Things are getting worse, but they’re not that bad,” he said. Highlights included that regional tourism had soared since pre-COVID, with regional WA taking far more nights out on average than the rest of regional Australia. Where WA fell behind however was the amount spent on regional holidays, well behind the rest of the nation, prompting businesses to rethink how they can get people spending more on longer trips in the South West, not just individual nights out. The housing sector was of most concern with the Minister claiming “every region I visit is having a housing issue”. Mr Morey said that even though the current surge in the cost of housing is creating a strong economy for sellers, renters at the bottom of the market were the ones missing out. “Not good for renters, not good for people at the bottom of the economic spectrum, but it’s good for housing market,” he said. “Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be helping those at the bottom of it all, it’s terrible for socio-economic issues, but it’s a cold economic fact.” The presentation also detailed that the future of the South West’s economy will be impacted by the changing population getting older as the nation sees a decline in birth rates. Mrs Jarvis said more needs to be done to support women in work to allow them to feel like they don’t have to sacrifice their career to have children. “We need to have our employers become more supportive of women having babies in their careers,” she said. “I know it may be frustrating for bosses when someone takes maternity leave, but it’s more frustrating for mothers trying to balance both work-life and families.”