❓ Opposition questions the government's handling of the cost-of-living crisis and requests a freeze on fees and charges, as well as increased funding for the not-for-profit sector. The Premier defends the government's record, highlighting past initiatives and criticising the opposition's performance when in power.
AnsweredQoN 218Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COST OF LIVING —
FEES AND CHARGES
218. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to the cost-of-living crisis
impacting households and families across Western Australia and the failure of
the McGowan Labor government to soften the blow.
(1) Will the
Premier freeze fees and charges in the upcoming budget to alleviate his
government's cost burden on households?
(2) Will the
Premier bolster the not-for-profit sector through increased funding, noting the
growing pressure on that sector to support Western Australian families?
FEES AND CHARGES
218. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I refer to the cost-of-living crisis
impacting households and families across Western Australia and the failure of
the McGowan Labor government to soften the blow.
(1) Will the
Premier freeze fees and charges in the upcoming budget to alleviate his
government's cost burden on households?
(2) Will the
Premier bolster the not-for-profit sector through increased funding, noting the
growing pressure on that sector to support Western Australian families?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Obviously,
the budget will come down on 11 May and will reveal the situation at that point
in time. The premise of the Leader of the Opposition's question is
incorrect. He said that we had not done anything in this regard. Last year's
budget, in overall terms, actually put the basket of household goods and
services provided by the state government down; this was the only government in
Australia that did that. We put it down,
from memory, around 3.8 per cent. The cost of goods and services provided by
the state went down . At the same
time, the inflation rate was significant. It was a remarkable thing that no
other government in Australia has been able to do. When members opposite were
in power for eight years, they put up electricity by 80 per cent and water by
around 80 per cent as well. That is what they did. It was 10 per cent per annum .
I remember in the early years, 2009 and 2010, power prices were going up 25 per
cent a year under the Leader of the
Opposition's government. That is what they did. It is a bit rich to
come in here now and start saying things like this as though they do not
have a history. They do have a history; that was their record. There were
record increases in the cost of living, record increases in debt, record
increases in deficits and record increases in taxes. Land tax went up three
times; remember that? Members opposite cancelled tax cuts that were legislated
when they arrived in office. That is what they did in office.
A few of the other things we have
done over the last two years or so includes two household electricity credits, worth $1 000, to families around the
state. We put up electricity fees by less than the rate of inflation , so
there is actually a net decrease in people's cost of living in overall
terms. We capped public transport fares at two zones, which is a huge
improvement for people around Western Australia all the way down to Dawesville.
We capped regional airfares, something that had never been done before. We
capped the cost of regional airfares for
people living in the regions. It is receding into history now, but we also
provided free RATs. Remember the
massive campaigns in the eastern states? They were very expensive in the
eastern states, and we made them
available to everyone in Western Australia because we kept our society open and we achieved the best COVID outcomes anywhere in the world with what we did.
We will hand down the budget in May
and everything will be plain then.
the budget will come down on 11 May and will reveal the situation at that point
in time. The premise of the Leader of the Opposition's question is
incorrect. He said that we had not done anything in this regard. Last year's
budget, in overall terms, actually put the basket of household goods and
services provided by the state government down; this was the only government in
Australia that did that. We put it down,
from memory, around 3.8 per cent. The cost of goods and services provided by
the state went down . At the same
time, the inflation rate was significant. It was a remarkable thing that no
other government in Australia has been able to do. When members opposite were
in power for eight years, they put up electricity by 80 per cent and water by
around 80 per cent as well. That is what they did. It was 10 per cent per annum .
I remember in the early years, 2009 and 2010, power prices were going up 25 per
cent a year under the Leader of the
Opposition's government. That is what they did. It is a bit rich to
come in here now and start saying things like this as though they do not
have a history. They do have a history; that was their record. There were
record increases in the cost of living, record increases in debt, record
increases in deficits and record increases in taxes. Land tax went up three
times; remember that? Members opposite cancelled tax cuts that were legislated
when they arrived in office. That is what they did in office.
A few of the other things we have
done over the last two years or so includes two household electricity credits, worth $1 000, to families around the
state. We put up electricity fees by less than the rate of inflation , so
there is actually a net decrease in people's cost of living in overall
terms. We capped public transport fares at two zones, which is a huge
improvement for people around Western Australia all the way down to Dawesville.
We capped regional airfares, something that had never been done before. We
capped the cost of regional airfares for
people living in the regions. It is receding into history now, but we also
provided free RATs. Remember the
massive campaigns in the eastern states? They were very expensive in the
eastern states, and we made them
available to everyone in Western Australia because we kept our society open and we achieved the best COVID outcomes anywhere in the world with what we did.
We will hand down the budget in May
and everything will be plain then.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.