❓ Mr. Love questions the Treasurer about the $11 million cost of administering the fuel support payment, while the Treasurer defends the cost by highlighting efforts to ensure accessibility for regional and remote Western Australians, drawing parallels to a previous student assistance program.
AnsweredQoN 258Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Fuel support payment
258. Mr Shane Love to
the Treasurer:
I have a
supplementary question.
How can Western
Australians truly trust in the management of the Treasurer's office and in her
budget when it costs $11 million to undertake a simple administrative
task?
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
258. Mr Shane Love to
the Treasurer:
I have a
supplementary question.
How can Western
Australians truly trust in the management of the Treasurer's office and in her
budget when it costs $11 million to undertake a simple administrative
task?
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
AnswerView source ↗
There are
2.1 million people who will have access to the payment. As I said, I
cannot remember the numbers for the student assistance payment, but there was
similar expenditure to make sure that people in regional and remote WA had
access to it. I think the person sitting next to the member said at the time that
we need to spend more to make sure that people in regional and remote Western
Australia—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
Ms Rita Saffioti: The member asked the question. That
was the person sitting next to the member when we rolled out the student
assistance payment. I will say this: the first time take-up rates in parts of
the Kimberley were, I think, somewhere around 70%, which was a lot lower than
the state rate. As a result, the second time round we invested more and we were
far more proactive in having dedicated staff go out to make sure that those in
remote towns and schools were aware of it and had assistance to make sure they
had access. Member, it is what your good friend sitting next to you asked for.
As a result, we are using that model, but we have magnified it by four,
because, in a sense, the task is for 2.1 million driver's licence holders
and the number of children was about 500,000. It is four times the effort for
more people in remote and regional WA who, of course, are actually getting
their driver's licence as a result of the access and equity scheme we are
rolling out. A lot of Western Australians out there have a new driver's licence, and I would say it is going to
be a task to make sure that every Western Australian who is eligible not
only knows about it, but also can have access to it.
2.1 million people who will have access to the payment. As I said, I
cannot remember the numbers for the student assistance payment, but there was
similar expenditure to make sure that people in regional and remote WA had
access to it. I think the person sitting next to the member said at the time that
we need to spend more to make sure that people in regional and remote Western
Australia—
Mr Shane Love interjected.
Ms Rita Saffioti: The member asked the question. That
was the person sitting next to the member when we rolled out the student
assistance payment. I will say this: the first time take-up rates in parts of
the Kimberley were, I think, somewhere around 70%, which was a lot lower than
the state rate. As a result, the second time round we invested more and we were
far more proactive in having dedicated staff go out to make sure that those in
remote towns and schools were aware of it and had assistance to make sure they
had access. Member, it is what your good friend sitting next to you asked for.
As a result, we are using that model, but we have magnified it by four,
because, in a sense, the task is for 2.1 million driver's licence holders
and the number of children was about 500,000. It is four times the effort for
more people in remote and regional WA who, of course, are actually getting
their driver's licence as a result of the access and equity scheme we are
rolling out. A lot of Western Australians out there have a new driver's licence, and I would say it is going to
be a task to make sure that every Western Australian who is eligible not
only knows about it, but also can have access to it.
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.