Speaker 1: We spoke to Rita Safiotti, the States Treasurer, an hour ago.
Speaker 1: Now spooking today's budget a surplus of two point four
Speaker 1: billion dollars, no more electricity credits though that is done.
Speaker 1: Is there enough cost of living relief in today's budget?
Speaker 1: Sandra Brewer is the Shadow State Treasurer and joins me
Speaker 1: live on six PR other stafftern High.
Speaker 2: Sandra, Good afternoon, Oli.
Speaker 1: What do you think of the budget?
Speaker 2: Well, there's aspects of the budget that are very surprising
Speaker 2: and there's aspects that are hard to be believed. The
Speaker 2: Premier stood in front of every West Australian during the
Speaker 2: election campaign and said cost of living was his number
Speaker 2: one priority. But today's budget unfortunately shows that's nothing more
Speaker 2: than political spin. The government is crowing about its achievements
Speaker 2: in a reporting a budget surplus, but family have every
Speaker 2: right to feel aggrieved because there isn't a saving for them,
Speaker 2: And despite a claimed saving of fifty two dollars, what
Speaker 2: families will really be facing is another four hundred dollars
Speaker 2: in costs, ongoing housing supply issues, rising rents and difficulty
Speaker 2: for young people to buy an affordable home.
Speaker 1: So the average increase in electricity prices for example, two
Speaker 1: point five percent water bills. There's the new zone one
Speaker 1: for transport fares. For train fares, depending on where you leave,
Speaker 1: you might save yourself a few dollars. So how do
Speaker 1: we get to an extra three hundred and eighty two
Speaker 1: dollars to cover fees and charge at Sandra.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, what the budget reveals that people who are
Speaker 2: going to have to come up with about that much
Speaker 2: extra money each year, and that's at a time where
Speaker 2: real wages are really struggling for people. So if you're
Speaker 2: living in a house that you're renting, if you're living
Speaker 2: in a country town where it's hard to find a home,
Speaker 2: that means you're going to have the difficulty of coming
Speaker 2: up with that. And everything costs more, water bills, cross more,
Speaker 2: you're licensing your car costs more than ever, probably around
Speaker 2: one thousand dollars a year now for the average person
Speaker 2: to register a vehicle. So really, what the government has
Speaker 2: done is chosen to use this period where it's a
Speaker 2: wash with revenue, not because of sound policy, but because
Speaker 2: of external good fortune, to use those rivers of cash
Speaker 2: flowing into treasury from iron ore royalties and records, stamp
Speaker 2: duty and elevated payroll taxes. They've squandered it. They've decided
Speaker 2: let's not use that to make policy change to benefit
Speaker 2: WA families. Let's just continue to use it on our
Speaker 2: pet projects, on blowouts on metro net that continue and
Speaker 2: also have the added implication of crowding out residential housing construction.
Speaker 1: As you said, cost of living was the catch cry
Speaker 1: all through the election campaign. Would you argue there is
Speaker 1: a broken promise now being revealed in this budget.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, the budget proves one thing when it comes
Speaker 2: to the cost of living. Labour says one thing and
Speaker 2: does another. And I think West Australians deserve better than
Speaker 2: the spin. They're getting, manipulation and this broken promise that
Speaker 2: people should know. While WA Labor is congratulating itself on
Speaker 2: another surplus, families are falling behind. So there really is
Speaker 2: a betrayal of trust. And the Opposition will be going
Speaker 2: through the budget line by line, but it's already very
Speaker 2: obvious that the government has the money but not the
Speaker 2: will to help struggling households.
Speaker 1: Do you think the government should have continued to offer
Speaker 1: electricity credits at Sandra.
Speaker 2: I think they should have put all of their efforts
Speaker 2: into transforming our energy system to make sure that all
Speaker 2: families and businesses are supplied with cheap, affordable, reliable energy,
Speaker 2: and that's what we would expect a focus on. What's
Speaker 2: really hurting the budget is turbocharging of the asset Investment program,
Speaker 2: all of the runaways, spending on Metro net and delivering
Speaker 2: all of those projects all at once has had really
Speaker 2: serious consequences. And the line that stands out is despite
Speaker 2: the government being elected in twenty seventeen on a platform
Speaker 2: of paying down debt, they've done the opposite and they're
Speaker 2: forecasting to grow it by more than ten billion dollars.
Speaker 2: So for the very first time, we have the Treasurer saying, well,
Speaker 2: she's comfortable with forty billion of debts. I don't think
Speaker 2: Western Australian should be comfortable with that. And now in
Speaker 2: this term she's forecasting to each forty two and a
Speaker 2: half billion dollars.
Speaker 1: Of debt and on those infrastructure projects because he's still
Speaker 1: quite ambitious. There isbviously a housing package and stimulus program.
Speaker 1: I will call it a stimulus program, and outside the
Speaker 1: last couple of weeks in terms of extra help for
Speaker 1: people with key start rents and the key start loans
Speaker 1: and the like. The Treasurer was also today quick to
Speaker 1: point out the extra money being funded into education and
Speaker 1: health infrastructure. And I know that you made the point yesterday,
Speaker 1: Sandra that we might not have all the tradees available
Speaker 1: on some of the housing projects because of the metro
Speaker 1: net projects. And there's obviously still a lot of public
Speaker 1: infrastructure projects. So where are we going to find the workers?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right, Ollie, and I heard your report yesterday.
Speaker 2: It's definitely the case that Labor is continuing on its
Speaker 2: spending ways. They have no plan to address the fundamental
Speaker 2: problems in our community. We have growing elective surgery, weightless
Speaker 2: record high ambulance ramping. We have more education demand from
Speaker 2: our growing population and crowded classrooms. We know that policing
Speaker 2: needs more attention and to keep the morale of our
Speaker 2: police force. But Labor aren't focused on everyday policy and
Speaker 2: good government to improve those factors. They're focused on big
Speaker 2: spending projects, cutting ribbons on overspent infrastructure, and it all
Speaker 2: does have a consequence. The consequence of all of this
Speaker 2: overblown infrastructure program is they're building fewer homes. They're actually
Speaker 2: producing eight thousand fewer homes a year. Than under Barnett
Speaker 2: Liberal National governments. So they have been a disaster for
Speaker 2: housing and I feel for young people who are really
Speaker 2: being offered no light at the end of the rainbow.
Speaker 1: Before I let you go, Sandra, just before the news
Speaker 1: at four o'clock, i'd revealed the Planning Commission has voted
Speaker 1: in favor for one of giving the green light to
Speaker 1: those twin towers on Station Street in Coddosla, obviously in
Speaker 1: your electorate. So fifteen stories thirteen stories, do you support
Speaker 1: the construction of those towers?
Speaker 2: Well, thanks, Ollie, and I haven't quite been across all
Speaker 2: of the breaking news this afternoon. Did you say fifteen
Speaker 2: and thirteen stories?
Speaker 1: Seventeen and fifteen?
Speaker 3: I should have said, oh sorry, I was going to
Speaker 3: say the project may have changed. Look, I do support
Speaker 3: the need for more high quality housing in Cottislow, and
Speaker 3: the Cotterslow train station presents an outstanding opportunity to invest.
Speaker 2: What I would like to see is for the government
Speaker 2: to use the approval of this project as the catalyst
Speaker 2: for a genuine and sophisticated plan to deliver infrastructure more
Speaker 2: livable and sustainable around Cottislow. So our community has tolerated
Speaker 2: archaic road infrastructure, dangerous level crossings, and with this project,
Speaker 2: it's been independently reviewed and the decisions being made, it
Speaker 2: should proceed. In that case, it's now up to the
Speaker 2: government to make significant increases in the amenity of the area,
Speaker 2: address the train station accessibility and the congested, outdated level
Speaker 2: crossing geting area.
Speaker 1: And when you talk of that, might this even speed
Speaker 1: up the sinking of the railway line through the U
Speaker 1: Western suburbs.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that's the vision that you know I've been
Speaker 2: calling for. Olie and many others agree that that is
Speaker 2: a visionary plan to provide more homes for young people
Speaker 2: and down sizes. I'd like to see a really good,
Speaker 2: integrated strategic plan that possibly sinks the railway and provides
Speaker 2: a beautiful green belt of parks and trees where they'd
Speaker 2: be lovely, medium and low density in some places high
Speaker 2: density apartments around those locations. So if this is the
Speaker 2: start of it, well I call on the government. Now
Speaker 2: is the time to deliver a proper strategic plan, fix
Speaker 2: those intersections and old archaic train stations for the benefit
Speaker 2: of all of the community.
Speaker 1: Santa, Thanks you time, Thank you