The Nationals WA have called on the Cook Labor Government to deliver immediate cost-of-living relief for regional Western Australians, warning communities cannot afford to wait until the May Budget while fuel costs continue to surge.
In Parliament yesterday, the Member for Geraldton, Kirrilee Warr MLA, asked the Premier to commit to increasing critical regional fuel subsidies, including Patient Assisted Travel Scheme, the Student Conveyance Allowance and the Regional Pensioner Travel Card.
“Instead of answering a straightforward question about cost-of-living relief, the Premier started talking about longer road trains on the Great Northern Highway,” Ms Warr said.
“It was one of the most bizarre responses I’ve heard, and it shows just how out of touch this Government is with the realities facing regional communities.”
The Premier refused to commit to the immediate, temporary increases The Nationals WA are calling for, including:
• Lifting the Patient Assisted Travel Scheme (PATS) fuel rebate from 40 cents to $1 per kilometre.
• Increasing the Regional Pensioner Travel Card from $775 to $1000.
• Raising the Student Conveyance Allowance from 55.6 cents per kilometre to 88 cents per kilometre.
“Regional families are being priced out of essential travel for medical appointments, education and day-to-day living, and the Government’s response is to talk about bigger trucks,” Ms Warr said.
“That is not cost-of-living relief, it is a complete failure to grasp the urgency of this situation.”
Leader of The Nationals WA and Member for Mid-West, Shane Love MLA, said it was extraordinary the Premier would attempt to frame longer road trains as cost-of-living relief.
“There is nothing about putting 53.5-metre triple road trains on an already dangerous highway that delivers cost-of-living relief,” Mr Love said.
“If anything, it is putting Western Australian lives at risk, particularly on the stretch between Pithara and Dalwallinu, which is nowhere near fit for purpose.”
“I tabled a petition in Parliament on this very stretch of road, which topped the RAC’s riskiest regional road survey, and still the Government is pushing ahead.”
Mr Love said the divide between metropolitan and regional cost-of-living support continues to widen.
“The fuel crisis is not easing, it is intensifying, and the Cook Labor Government cannot keep pretending otherwise,” he said.
“Regional Western Australians cannot wait until the May Budget for relief. The pain is being felt right now.”
