❓ Mrs. Harvey questions the Premier on whether JobKeeper recipients, ineligible for commonwealth concession cards, will receive government relief on utility charges. The Premier responds by highlighting existing relief measures and the need to balance support with funding essential services and economic recovery.
AnsweredQoN 204Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
UTILITY CHARGES — GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
204. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Can
the Premier clarify if JobKeeper payment recipients will receive no relief from
the government given that they are not eligible for a commonwealth concession
card and, therefore, not eligible for the energy assistance payment?
UTILITY CHARGES — GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
204. Mrs L.M. HARVEY to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Can
the Premier clarify if JobKeeper payment recipients will receive no relief from
the government given that they are not eligible for a commonwealth concession
card and, therefore, not eligible for the energy assistance payment?
AnswerView source ↗
A
few weeks ago we announced a freezing of all fees and charges—the
household basket—for all households across Western Australia.
That was a $400 million package. Over the last few weeks, the stimulus and
relief measures we have put in place are somewhere in the vicinity of $2.5 billion.
Although the commonwealth announcements are gargantuan by comparison, the state
does not have the same financial capacity as the commonwealth. We have tried to
target our relief to ensure the capacity to continue to fund our health,
education and law and order services across the state—we are going to
need them—and to ensure the capacity to get the economy out of where it
is when this crisis lifts. It is important that we conserve some resources to
deal with getting the economy out of the problem that we are currently
confronting. I might add that today we announced an additional $500 million for health services. The costs on health now are
massive. Dealing with people coming home from overseas and interstate ,
the additional personal protective equipment and the winding down of elective
surgery to free up more hospital beds are big costs. Ensuring that we can
afford all that is of benefit to everyone across the community, householders
and businesses alike.
few weeks ago we announced a freezing of all fees and charges—the
household basket—for all households across Western Australia.
That was a $400 million package. Over the last few weeks, the stimulus and
relief measures we have put in place are somewhere in the vicinity of $2.5 billion.
Although the commonwealth announcements are gargantuan by comparison, the state
does not have the same financial capacity as the commonwealth. We have tried to
target our relief to ensure the capacity to continue to fund our health,
education and law and order services across the state—we are going to
need them—and to ensure the capacity to get the economy out of where it
is when this crisis lifts. It is important that we conserve some resources to
deal with getting the economy out of the problem that we are currently
confronting. I might add that today we announced an additional $500 million for health services. The costs on health now are
massive. Dealing with people coming home from overseas and interstate ,
the additional personal protective equipment and the winding down of elective
surgery to free up more hospital beds are big costs. Ensuring that we can
afford all that is of benefit to everyone across the community, householders
and businesses alike.
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