Speaker 1: State budget time. The surplus looks strong two point four
Speaker 1: billion dollars. But those electricity credits you've gotten used to,
Speaker 1: they're gone. Rita Safiotti is the state's treasurer and she
Speaker 1: joins us live on six PR today from State Parliament.
Speaker 2: Good afternoon, afternoon, Olie, how are you?
Speaker 1: I'm very well. How would you describe your budget?
Speaker 2: Well, it's a budget about jobs, about trying to protect
Speaker 2: Wa from this significant global chaos that is unfolding before us.
Speaker 2: So it's very much about trying to fortify protect our
Speaker 2: state from the economic instability so we can continue to
Speaker 2: grow jobs and support Western Australians to get good, full
Speaker 2: time jobs in Wa.
Speaker 1: Is there enough focus on cost of living treasure of
Speaker 1: those electricity credits we all got used to, they're not
Speaker 1: going to exist anymore.
Speaker 2: Well, in total, we're investing nine hundred and sixty three
Speaker 2: million in cost of living measures. It includes, for example,
Speaker 2: the rebates and no interest loans for the residential battery rebates.
Speaker 2: Of course we're still rolling out even into the first
Speaker 2: into July next year, the WA student assistance payments, where
Speaker 2: we're seeing families being able to recover hundreds of dollars
Speaker 2: in some cases six or seven hundred dollars for per family.
Speaker 2: We've also got the one zone Platfair, we're delivering and
Speaker 2: passing on the Commonwealth Energy Bill relief. Plus we're also
Speaker 2: got a number of targeted measures, including things like supporting kids,
Speaker 2: sport vouchers for families. We're harving trans WA fares, so
Speaker 2: there's a whole range of initiatives across regional WA and
Speaker 2: also metropolitan Politan area. So we are still providing a
Speaker 2: significant cost of relief package, cost of living package, but
Speaker 2: we're also making sure that things like the student assistance
Speaker 2: payments get rolled out over the next month.
Speaker 1: Utilities, what are we going to be paying more for
Speaker 1: our power?
Speaker 2: There'll be a two point five percent increase, which is
Speaker 2: less than the CPI two point seventy five and that's
Speaker 2: what are we committed to at the time of the election.
Speaker 1: Similarly for water, for licensing, for those public transport fairs, well.
Speaker 2: Public transport fares, again it depends on where you live.
Speaker 2: We're reducing the two we're bringing in a one's own
Speaker 2: fair cap, so that means if you live anywhere outside
Speaker 2: that one's own fair fair range, you'll be getting savings.
Speaker 2: And that's for some regional towns and also Metropolitan Perth.
Speaker 2: And of course we're reinter well. We're now committing to
Speaker 2: pre public transport for kids to make sure we can
Speaker 2: continue that and roll that out over this year and
Speaker 2: next year. So these are some of the new initiatives
Speaker 2: that were announced today, and that's pre public transport for
Speaker 2: kids going to school and that is saving families one
Speaker 2: hundreds of dollars a year.
Speaker 1: Is there extra money being allocated towards health and education
Speaker 1: in this year's budget, treasurer.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, so we've got one point eight billion extra in
Speaker 2: education and training, and if it's particular, seven hundred million
Speaker 2: dollars for extra spending in our schools and that includes
Speaker 2: three hundred and ninety five million dollars to support students
Speaker 2: with disability in our schools and extra education assistance. So
Speaker 2: that's been a big ticket item. And also education infrastructure,
Speaker 2: so we're spending a significant amount, the biggest spend on
Speaker 2: education infrastructure since Kevin Rudd's building the education revolution. Now
Speaker 2: the other on health, we've got significant spending. Of course
Speaker 2: we've got the Women's and Babies Hospital, but in particular
Speaker 2: we continue to roll out the new hospital in Gerlton
Speaker 2: very much targeting making sure we can continue to deliver
Speaker 2: the new hospital upgrades in both Bumbery and Peel and
Speaker 2: throughout the state. We're increasing pats and that support for
Speaker 2: regional people need needing to travel to attend their health services.
Speaker 2: We're also increasing the amount of.
Speaker 3: Funding into our hospitals over eight hundred million and continuing
Speaker 3: to roll out other initiatives to support our hospitals, things like,
Speaker 3: for example, more beds to support transitional care people moving
Speaker 3: out of the hospital setting to the aged care setting, and.
Speaker 2: Also supporting other reforms to try and support the emergency
Speaker 2: departments and then include using technology but also creating some
Speaker 2: care hubs for older Western Australians too to try and
Speaker 2: keep them out of hospitals where we can.
Speaker 1: I know a number of announcements have been made over
Speaker 1: the last week about the congestion busting projects in both
Speaker 1: the Northern and the Southern suburbs or of housing announcements.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of work obviously going on. A
Speaker 1: lot of money is being channeled into public infrastructure projects.
Speaker 1: Have we got the workers able to complete this work
Speaker 1: while we still are trying to balance that mix and
Speaker 1: fix the housing crisis one.
Speaker 2: Of the good the one of the good initiatives or
Speaker 2: some of the good initiatives in today's budget continue to
Speaker 2: be how we support Western Australians get access to feed
Speaker 2: pre taped. So we've seen tens of thousands of Western
Speaker 2: Australians getting access to free taste and that means more
Speaker 2: Western Australians training, and we're extending some of that fee
Speaker 2: free tape to the construction trades plasterers, carpenter's, bricklayers. Another
Speaker 2: initiative where I worked with the private sector with the
Speaker 2: training organizations is to actually pay the wage of the
Speaker 2: apprentices and so we're seen over one thousand new apprentices
Speaker 2: under this g It's called a Group Training Organization wage
Speaker 2: subsidy program and we've seen as significant boost in our
Speaker 2: construction workforce. Will continue to work on this in particular,
Speaker 2: and that's why we're continuing to pour more money into
Speaker 2: our tape system. We've also got the Builder Life Package
Speaker 2: which is supporting some Eastern state trades come to WA.
Speaker 2: That's working too, and will continue to try and improve
Speaker 2: our training effort to get as many young Western Australians
Speaker 2: involved in trades as possible.
Speaker 1: Two more from me I know your time is limited today,
Speaker 1: but any commitments on those major projects like Westport or
Speaker 1: the Perth Entertainment and Sporting precincts.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, we've got money dedicated to those projects, in
Speaker 2: particular in relation to Westport. For example, the freeway widening
Speaker 2: program along Kanana Freeway well support Westport, but we're also
Speaker 2: putting further funding into planning and also support for some
Speaker 2: environmental outcomes in that area. And we can continue to
Speaker 2: acquire land in the entire Westport area to support the
Speaker 2: Western Trade Coast and some of the new businesses that
Speaker 2: will be operating in that area. And in relation to
Speaker 2: the pres Entertainment Precinct yet, we've got funding for that
Speaker 2: to deliver that project as well.
Speaker 1: Just go back to some of your earlier comments on
Speaker 1: I'm paraphrasing here, but the turbulent times of the world economy,
Speaker 1: what are you forecasting or what is Treasury forecasting for
Speaker 1: economic growth? And how's that eye on all price is
Speaker 1: going to stack over the next year or so?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, the iron ore price we have always budgeted conservatively,
Speaker 2: which you know, will I think be very very good
Speaker 2: for our state because what we're seeing is these commodity
Speaker 2: prices bouncing around as a result of what's happening in
Speaker 2: the world. So we continue to budget conservatively on the
Speaker 2: iron ore price, noting and that I think today the
Speaker 2: iron ore price is just over ninety dollars, and you
Speaker 2: know it was peaking at one hundred and forty about
Speaker 2: a year ago. In relation to our economy, like I said,
Speaker 2: there's significant economic headwinds, and that's why this budget's about
Speaker 2: investing in things like making more things here, more manufacturing
Speaker 2: in wa and also trying to attract new projects. Our
Speaker 2: forecasts are very very strong still in relation to economic growth.
Speaker 2: We expect our state economy to grow between two point
Speaker 2: five and three percent over the next two or three years.
Speaker 2: But that's why we've invested. We're investing so much into
Speaker 2: trying to attract as much private sector investment in the
Speaker 2: state to continue to drive new jobs. And we've got
Speaker 2: a big program thirteen billion dollars in energy and water
Speaker 2: infrastructure to roll that out support new jobs and new investment,
Speaker 2: because we need to do that given what's happening around
Speaker 2: the world. We need to basically reinforce in a sense
Speaker 2: portress WI. We need to keep working to make sure
Speaker 2: we can protect ourselves from some of these terrible global
Speaker 2: issues that are impacting everybody.
Speaker 1: And what about those other envious treasures in other states
Speaker 1: in Australia. We'll be looking at your books today and
Speaker 1: maybe they'll start to yell across a nuther more, refire
Speaker 1: that TST again.
Speaker 2: Yeah. No, they have been yelling already a bit, and
Speaker 2: we've got some big commentators over there who keep yelling
Speaker 2: at us. But look, if we didn't have this GST deal,
Speaker 2: we couldn't invest in the economic infrastructure that supports new projects.
Speaker 2: And this other figure which we use to and which
Speaker 2: is in the budget is that Wa as a state
Speaker 2: receives thirty nine billion dollars less than we pay to
Speaker 2: Canbra and that means all these companies in Wa who
Speaker 2: are working hard, a lot of those profits go over
Speaker 2: to Canberra. Now, if we didn't have the finances to
Speaker 2: build these new projects, to get these new projects underway,
Speaker 2: that would be a negative impact not only to Wa
Speaker 2: but Australia. So we say supporting Wa supports national economic
Speaker 2: growth and the national finances and will continue to prosecute
Speaker 2: that case against all other Eastern state commentators who try
Speaker 2: and tear away our GST deal treasures.
Speaker 1: Thanksy time, thank you,