Treasurer Rita Saffioti says budget will help ‘those in need’ but bill credits for rich looks set to get chop

A new plea from welfare advocates for power prices to be frozen — to soften the impact of no more bill credits — appears unlikely to sway Rita Saffioti as she puts the finishing touches on her second State budget. So far, the Government has only committed to keeping any price rate below inflation, which fell to 2.8 per cent in the March quarter. The Treasurer has vowed the budget will look after “those in need” but is resisting pressure to lock-in cost of living relief for everyone, despite another surplus that is tipped to be around $3.5 billion. “We continue to manage the finances to support those in need,” she told reporters on Friday. “We have an economy and a set of finances that are the envy of the nation. We’ve seen in other states, significant deficits. We’ve seen increases in taxes. That’s something we don’t want to follow. “We will continue to manage the budget conservatively to ensure we deliver jobs and also help those in need.” Premier Roger Cook this week suggested future cost of living relief that will be “targeted”, instead of more power bill credits that went to both rich and poor. But Anglicare WA has warned the number of households needing emergency relief from charities is still growing. “Given the financial pressure that families are under, a freeze on government fees and charges would be really valuable,” Anglicare WA chief executive Mark Glasson said. “We’re seeing more people struggling to pay their bills. We know that electricity charges are causing anxiety in families, and so it’s really important that while we’re in a strong financial position that we pay a dividend by freezing fees and charges at the current levels.” State Government data shows the number of customers applying for $1000 hardship utility grants has fallen, while power bill credits softened the impact of inflation. “So far this financial year, grants have been provided to 9270 Horizon Power and Synergy customers, which represents a 12 per cent reduction on the previous year,” a Government spokesman said. “The Government has a strong track record of keeping the cost of utilities low, and any price rise to below inflation. That will be maintained in the upcoming State Budget.” The West Australian revealed this week that a price hike of 2.8 per cent, in line with inflation, would result in the average family paying $1805 this year — an effective 50 per cent increase — if the State Government’s power bill credits are discontinued. “With the Cook Labor Government rolling in cash, Western Australians shouldn’t have to be paying even more for power,” Shadow Treasurer Sandra Brewer said. “Our revenue might be the envy of the nation . . . yet this government has the wrong spending priorities.” An iron price that has averaged $101, above Treasury’s $98 forecast, has ensured another budget windfall. But the Treasurer wouldn’t be drawn on the size of the surplus and maintained it’s best to be conservative. “We saw that when the previous government wasn’t conservative, and they basically took the daily price and wrote that in across the forward estimates, it saw very, very damaging budgets,” she said. “We’ve always budgeted in a conservative way and, as a result, we’ve been able to both manage the economy and manage the finances in a way that is leading the nation.”

Treasurer Rita Saffioti says budget will help ‘those in need’ but bill credits for rich looks set to get chop

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