❓ Mr. Jones asks the Premier about the WA student assistance payment and its impact on families, and whether the Premier is aware of anyone who opposed it. The Premier defends the program, citing its success and criticising the opposition's stance.
AnsweredQoN 875Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STUDENT ASSISTANCE PAYMENT
875. Mr H.T. JONES to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to
supporting Western Australian families with cost-of-living pressures.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how programs such as the WA student assistance
payment has supported WA families?
(2) Can the Premier advise the house whether he is
aware of anyone who did not support this important payment?
875. Mr H.T. JONES to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to
supporting Western Australian families with cost-of-living pressures.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house how programs such as the WA student assistance
payment has supported WA families?
(2) Can the Premier advise the house whether he is
aware of anyone who did not support this important payment?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
I thank the member for the question. It is an important question because when I
was first elected, I said that I would do two key things: keep the economy
strong and help those who are doing it tough. This year, nearly 400 000
students and their families have benefited directly from the financial
assistance that my government provided to make sure that we helped those
families dealing with cost-of-living pressures. The government's WA
student assistance payment provided eligible people with $150 for every child
from kindy to year 6 and $250 for every child in years 7 to 12. It has helped
parents with books, bags, excursions and other expenses that pop up during the
school year. This is an extraordinary outcome: an incredible 80 per cent of
eligible people took up the opportunity to receive this payment. It is an
incredible success. That was all made
possible by our responsible management of the finances. There is only one way that we can give back to Western Australian families, and is that by managing
the state's finances and having the
financial health to do so. Because we have protected the state's
finances, we are in a position to help
those families who are doing it tough. We were surprised, astounded and shocked
when the opposition derided the WA
student assistance payment. It is a fundamental help to all those Western Australian families .
I want to provide a few quotes. The Leader
of the Liberal Party said that it is a lazy approach. She said that to see such
a lacklustre take-up of these payments is simply not good enough. It was a take-up
of over 80 per cent. She also said that questions needed to be asked. She is
criticising, negative and always trying to run down the Western Australian
community and our efforts to look after people. However, the Leader of the
Liberal Party was right in one way. We had to ask questions and the questions
were asked in the form of an Auditor General report. For the record, here is
what the report found. I quote —
Pleasingly, this audit found the
Department —
In this case it was the Department of
Education —
which
is not an entity that specialises in or has existing bulk payment
infrastructure—administered the WASAP scheme effectively in a short
timeframe through good administrative governance �
The report also found that the scheme
had a rapid rollout, with an average of four days from claim to payment made. We know that if it was left to the Liberal
Party, families across Western Australia who are struggling to deal with the cost of living would have got nothing from
the Liberal Party—perish the thought if it were in government! In Baldivis, where I grew up, $1.6 million was
provided to struggling households . In Canning Vale, over $1 million was
provided; in Byford, $840 000 was provided; in Ellenbrook, $780 000 was
provided; and in Margaret River, over $279 000 was provided. We will keep lo oking for ways that we can assist Western Australian
households deal with cost-of-living pressures. So far we have provided
over $1 billion of support, putting that money back into the pockets of Western
Australian households through 20 government initiatives across the length and
breadth of this great state, because our economy is strong. There are those who
are doing it tough, but because we have a WA Labor government, we know that we have the values and the determination to help
those who are struggling the most. Not one of those 20 initiatives and
programs was supported by the Liberal Party. They do not believe in a helping
hand, or helping struggling Western Australian families. Thank goodness that we
have a WA Labor government to look after those people.
I thank the member for the question. It is an important question because when I
was first elected, I said that I would do two key things: keep the economy
strong and help those who are doing it tough. This year, nearly 400 000
students and their families have benefited directly from the financial
assistance that my government provided to make sure that we helped those
families dealing with cost-of-living pressures. The government's WA
student assistance payment provided eligible people with $150 for every child
from kindy to year 6 and $250 for every child in years 7 to 12. It has helped
parents with books, bags, excursions and other expenses that pop up during the
school year. This is an extraordinary outcome: an incredible 80 per cent of
eligible people took up the opportunity to receive this payment. It is an
incredible success. That was all made
possible by our responsible management of the finances. There is only one way that we can give back to Western Australian families, and is that by managing
the state's finances and having the
financial health to do so. Because we have protected the state's
finances, we are in a position to help
those families who are doing it tough. We were surprised, astounded and shocked
when the opposition derided the WA
student assistance payment. It is a fundamental help to all those Western Australian families .
I want to provide a few quotes. The Leader
of the Liberal Party said that it is a lazy approach. She said that to see such
a lacklustre take-up of these payments is simply not good enough. It was a take-up
of over 80 per cent. She also said that questions needed to be asked. She is
criticising, negative and always trying to run down the Western Australian
community and our efforts to look after people. However, the Leader of the
Liberal Party was right in one way. We had to ask questions and the questions
were asked in the form of an Auditor General report. For the record, here is
what the report found. I quote —
Pleasingly, this audit found the
Department —
In this case it was the Department of
Education —
which
is not an entity that specialises in or has existing bulk payment
infrastructure—administered the WASAP scheme effectively in a short
timeframe through good administrative governance �
The report also found that the scheme
had a rapid rollout, with an average of four days from claim to payment made. We know that if it was left to the Liberal
Party, families across Western Australia who are struggling to deal with the cost of living would have got nothing from
the Liberal Party—perish the thought if it were in government! In Baldivis, where I grew up, $1.6 million was
provided to struggling households . In Canning Vale, over $1 million was
provided; in Byford, $840 000 was provided; in Ellenbrook, $780 000 was
provided; and in Margaret River, over $279 000 was provided. We will keep lo oking for ways that we can assist Western Australian
households deal with cost-of-living pressures. So far we have provided
over $1 billion of support, putting that money back into the pockets of Western
Australian households through 20 government initiatives across the length and
breadth of this great state, because our economy is strong. There are those who
are doing it tough, but because we have a WA Labor government, we know that we have the values and the determination to help
those who are struggling the most. Not one of those 20 initiatives and
programs was supported by the Liberal Party. They do not believe in a helping
hand, or helping struggling Western Australian families. Thank goodness that we
have a WA Labor government to look after those people.
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