Is our economy working for us? Diversification and a Wellbeing Economy for WA (27 October, 2025)

Описание: Is our economy working for us? Diversification and a Wellbeing Economy for WA

On 27 October 2025, the UWA Public Policy Institute brought together leading thinkers and community voices to ask a vital question: Is our economy really working for us?

Economic diversification is once again at the top of Western Australia’s political agenda - but what does that actually mean, and how can diversification serve the wellbeing of people and planet?

After decades of “mining state” prosperity, the social and environmental costs of WA’s dig-it-and-ship-it economy are becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Rising inequality and the surging costs of housing, food, fuel, and power are challenging the notion that our economy delivers for everyone. Meanwhile, global disruptions have revealed deep vulnerabilities in our supply chains and industries.

Together, these pressures point to a clear mandate: to decarbonise, de-risk, and diversify. But how can we move from decades of talk to meaningful, rapid action - and what might a wellbeing economy look like for Western Australia?

In this public lecture and roundtable discussion, Dr Katherine Trebeck, founder of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Economic Change Lead at The Next Economy, shared insights from her latest report, The Economy We Could Have. The paper asks what our economy is really designed to do, who it serves, and how we can reshape it to deliver dignity, fairness, connection, and ecological care.
The report is available at: https://nexteconomy.com.au/work/the-e...

This dynamic discussion explored what an ambitious diversification agenda could look like if its ultimate goal were the wellbeing of people and planet, and how a wellbeing-economy lens can unlock better outcomes for the communities and environments we depend on.

Event partners:
Presented in partnership with The Next Economy and Good Together, and hosted by the UWA Public Policy Institute, which bridges cutting-edge research and real-world impact to inform the policy challenges shaping Western Australia’s future.