Dutch Disease driving Aussie mining hub slump, political rout

Sydney

MINING booms often turn to busts. Most Australians know this, except it seems, the outgoing administration of the nation's resource-rich west.

Western Australia's (WA) now former premier Colin Barnett bungled the bonanza - splurging windfall cash during the good times only to find the cupboard bare in the bad ones. The upshot is the state's budget deficit and debt have spiralled, the AAA rating is gone and people are fleeing - the latter at least has the advantage of containing an unemployment rate that's already the nation's highest.