❓ Question on the WA student assistance payment, with the Minister highlighting its positive reception and refuting criticisms from the opposition regarding the application process and its benefits to families.
AnsweredQoN 233Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STUDENT ASSISTANCE
PAYMENT
233. Ms A.E. KENT to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
WA student assistance payment, which is delivering millions of dollars in cost-of-living support for WA families. Can the
minister advise the house how this payment will support WA families with
school-aged children, and can the minister advise the house how the program has
been received by the Western Australian community?
PAYMENT
233. Ms A.E. KENT to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
WA student assistance payment, which is delivering millions of dollars in cost-of-living support for WA families. Can the
minister advise the house how this payment will support WA families with
school-aged children, and can the minister advise the house how the program has
been received by the Western Australian community?
AnswerView source ↗
Yes, I am very happy to answer that
question, and I thank the member for Kalgoorlie for her continued support for,
and interest in, all matters of education.
The Western Australian student
assistance payment goes towards helping to defray the costs of educating the
students of Western Australia. In yesterday's matter of public
interest, the member for Vasse seemed to be of the view that all education expenses stop on day one, term one; there are no
more expenses, so no more need to get new shoes or winter uniforms, pay
excursion costs or pay for country students to attend Country Week, as the
member should know, as a regional member. It is used to defray the education
costs that happen throughout the year; they do not start and stop on day one.
That is what it is being used for.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members! The question was asked by the member for Kalgoorlie.
Dr
A.D. BUTI : I would like the house
to know that we got away to a flying start. As of 1.00 pm today, 76 093 claims have been received via the ServiceWA app. As
of 4.00 pm yesterday, there were 7 804 claims via alternative options . I
note that these are unique claims from the one household, and a claim might
include two or three students, so obviously that means more than 100 000
students. As of 1.00 pm today, we have had nearly 84 000 unique claims, and we only started on Monday. I should let people
know that they have until the end of term to make an application , but
that is nearly 84 000 claims in a bit over two days. That is phenomenal.
It is also very interesting. The member for Roe is very
negative, because he has no policies. He is just negative, negative. He tends
to tell untruths, so just for his interest, 6 524 of the people who made claims
via the ServiceWA app rated the application process as positive, and only 18
rated it as a negative experience. That is 18 negatives versus 6 524 positives.
That is a 99.72 per cent positive satisfaction rating—basically nearly
a 100 per cent positive rating—so get with the show, mate. Get with the
show. Most people use apps on their phones; that is not unusual nowadays. Get
with the show, mate, and do not tell lies.
The SPEAKER : Minister, you will refer to members of
this house by their seat, please.
Dr A.D. BUTI : The member for Roe.
I am not saying that there have been no difficulties. There
were 18 applicants who said it was a negative experience, and others have made
calls to the Department of Education call centre and the ServiceWA helpline,
but it has overwhelmingly been incredibly positive. By using the ServiceWA app,
their payments should be in their bank accounts within seven days. Hopefully,
people who applied on Monday will receive payments in their accounts within the
next 48 hours.
I want to refute some of the mistruths that the member for
Roe has been peddling. After we had a press conference on Monday with the
Premier and the Treasurer, we made it clear that there were alternative methods
for claiming, although most people used the ServiceWA app. He said that there
had been dozens of families complaining on my Facebook page. I thought, ''Really?''
because I do not go onto my Facebook page and look that often, but I did that
night after the report came out in the paper. There were 13 comments and only
one was negative, but he said that dozens of
families were making complaints on my social media. Where did the member for
Roe get that from? The member for Roe has been caught out a number of
times. Stop it! Stop saying untruths. You are not doing anyone a service by
doing that. He should spend time creating educational policies, and then we can
have a debate about policy, rather than just being negative. He is saying to Western
Australian families, to nearly 84 000 families, that the Western Australian
student assistance payment system is bad.
Is that what he is saying? His silence tells it all. This has
been an amazing initiative by the Cook Labor government that continues our
measures to try to alleviate cost-of-living pressures in Western Australia, and
people are voting with their apps.
question, and I thank the member for Kalgoorlie for her continued support for,
and interest in, all matters of education.
The Western Australian student
assistance payment goes towards helping to defray the costs of educating the
students of Western Australia. In yesterday's matter of public
interest, the member for Vasse seemed to be of the view that all education expenses stop on day one, term one; there are no
more expenses, so no more need to get new shoes or winter uniforms, pay
excursion costs or pay for country students to attend Country Week, as the
member should know, as a regional member. It is used to defray the education
costs that happen throughout the year; they do not start and stop on day one.
That is what it is being used for.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please,
members! The question was asked by the member for Kalgoorlie.
Dr
A.D. BUTI : I would like the house
to know that we got away to a flying start. As of 1.00 pm today, 76 093 claims have been received via the ServiceWA app. As
of 4.00 pm yesterday, there were 7 804 claims via alternative options . I
note that these are unique claims from the one household, and a claim might
include two or three students, so obviously that means more than 100 000
students. As of 1.00 pm today, we have had nearly 84 000 unique claims, and we only started on Monday. I should let people
know that they have until the end of term to make an application , but
that is nearly 84 000 claims in a bit over two days. That is phenomenal.
It is also very interesting. The member for Roe is very
negative, because he has no policies. He is just negative, negative. He tends
to tell untruths, so just for his interest, 6 524 of the people who made claims
via the ServiceWA app rated the application process as positive, and only 18
rated it as a negative experience. That is 18 negatives versus 6 524 positives.
That is a 99.72 per cent positive satisfaction rating—basically nearly
a 100 per cent positive rating—so get with the show, mate. Get with the
show. Most people use apps on their phones; that is not unusual nowadays. Get
with the show, mate, and do not tell lies.
The SPEAKER : Minister, you will refer to members of
this house by their seat, please.
Dr A.D. BUTI : The member for Roe.
I am not saying that there have been no difficulties. There
were 18 applicants who said it was a negative experience, and others have made
calls to the Department of Education call centre and the ServiceWA helpline,
but it has overwhelmingly been incredibly positive. By using the ServiceWA app,
their payments should be in their bank accounts within seven days. Hopefully,
people who applied on Monday will receive payments in their accounts within the
next 48 hours.
I want to refute some of the mistruths that the member for
Roe has been peddling. After we had a press conference on Monday with the
Premier and the Treasurer, we made it clear that there were alternative methods
for claiming, although most people used the ServiceWA app. He said that there
had been dozens of families complaining on my Facebook page. I thought, ''Really?''
because I do not go onto my Facebook page and look that often, but I did that
night after the report came out in the paper. There were 13 comments and only
one was negative, but he said that dozens of
families were making complaints on my social media. Where did the member for
Roe get that from? The member for Roe has been caught out a number of
times. Stop it! Stop saying untruths. You are not doing anyone a service by
doing that. He should spend time creating educational policies, and then we can
have a debate about policy, rather than just being negative. He is saying to Western
Australian families, to nearly 84 000 families, that the Western Australian
student assistance payment system is bad.
Is that what he is saying? His silence tells it all. This has
been an amazing initiative by the Cook Labor government that continues our
measures to try to alleviate cost-of-living pressures in Western Australia, and
people are voting with their apps.
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