[5] Western Australia's economy is largely driven by extraction and processing of a diverse range of mineral and petroleum commodities.

[2][8] The state's major export commodities include iron-ore, alumina, crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), nickel, gold, ammonia, wheat, wool, and live sheep and cattle.

[citation needed] In global terms, Western Australia is a significant producer of a wide range of resource commodities.

Although tending to be highly seasonal, 2006-07 wheat production in WA was nearly 10 million tonnes, accounting for almost half the nation's total.

There is a high level of overseas demand for imports of live animals from WA, driven mainly by South East Asia's feedlots and Middle Eastern countries, where cultural and religious traditions and a lack of storage and refrigeration facilities favour live animals over imports of processed meat.

[21] Western Australia has major wine producing regions in the South West located in Margaret River, the Great Southern and the Swan Valley.

Products for local consumption and export include Western Rock Lobsters, prawns, crabs, shark and tuna.

Located here is the nation's largest oil refinery which produces petrol and diesel for local consumption,[23] an iron plant, alumina and nickel processing, port facilities for grain exports, and support industries for mining and petroleum such as heavy and light engineering, and metal fabrication.

In recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with significant numbers of visitors to the state coming from the UK (27.8%), other European countries (13.6%) Singapore (16.5%), Japan (10.1%) and Malaysia (8.3%).

The biggest decreases in visitor numbers to Western Australia by country was Korea (-25.7%), South Africa (-21.1%), Netherlands (-17,9%) and Canada (-14%).

[26] Wartime conditions ensured high prices for agricultural products, but also created inflationary pressures and manpower shortages, while the completion of the transcontinental rail link in 1917 highlighted growing integration into the national economy and a decline in dependence on Britain.

It was only after the Labor government of Philip Collier accepted the Premier's Plan and agricultural prices began to rise that the economy recovered.

[citation needed] To balance these developments the attacks of the Imperial Japanese Forces on the north of Western Australia caused much of the existing economic infrastructure of towns like Wyndham, Derby and Port Hedland to be destroyed.

Successful economic development ultimately culminated in the Australian Grants Commission removing its designation of WA as a "claimant" state in 1971.

By the early 21st century WA was no longer regarded as a "Cinderella State" within the Australian Commonwealth, but the centre of the mining and pastoral industries, and the hub of the export boom.

The establishment of Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), the nationalisation of Qantas, and setting up of a national shipping line ensured that transport links with the other states were greatly strengthened.

[34] Finally the success of the government of Ross McLarty in attracting foreign investment culminated in the signing of an agreement with BP to establish an oil refinery at the new industrial area of Kwinana (south of Fremantle).

A new container port facility was built in North Fremantle, Perth Airport was re-built and progressively the tram-trolley bus network was closed down.

[citation needed] The development of regional centres was also encouraged as government funding was directed towards the upgrading of the port of Cockburn, the Stirling Naval base and the mining communities of Newman and Meekatharra.

State and federal government of major public works continued despite some evidence of local maladministration during the "WA Inc" years of the late 1980s.

Thus the early years of the 21st century saw the completion of the Ord River Project in the north-west and the rapid expansion of the Perth metropolitan rail and freeway networks.