The WA government is boasting it’s the envy of the nation after the mid-year budget update revealed a higher forecast surplus, lower projected debt, and stronger economic growth. Despite a $400 million announcement to boost housing construction, the community sector and the opposition have panned the government for not providing any new targeted cost of living relief.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00A deep dive into the state's finances two days before Christmas.
00:06Welcome to the 24-25 mid-year review.
00:10A set of updated figures the government hopes will set it up for the March election.
00:14The state economy growing at more than double the national rate, the forecast budget surplus
00:19this financial year up by $500 million, largely due to higher iron ore royalties, and net
00:26debt almost $300 million lower than predicted in the May budget.
00:31This mid-year review shows the strength of the WA economy.
00:35It delivers finances that are the envy of the nation.
00:38One of the few new announcements was $400 million for government agencies to build water
00:44and electricity infrastructure to fast-track housing developments.
00:47So you don't have a situation where you may have the water connected and then wait for
00:51the power.
00:52It's an excellent policy by the way because it looks exactly like ours.
00:55Despite the increase in the forecast surplus, there are no new cost of living relief measures
01:00in this budget update.
01:01The government instead pointing to the $350 electricity bill credit being rolled out to
01:07households at the moment.
01:08There were also other previously announced measures, but WA's Council of Social Service
01:13says it's disappointed in the lack of new initiatives, with Foodbank saying demand has
01:18never been so high.
01:19We live in a dual-speed economy and there is no doubt a whole heap of people in this
01:22economy that are not coping.
01:25While community legal centres were hoping for a doubling of core funding.
01:28We are turning away almost 800 people from community legal services every week.
01:34These are people in family violence situations, struggling to pay their rent and struggling
01:39to pay their bills.
01:40Western Australians are not being heard by a mean-spirited Labor government.
01:46The government says it's provided more than $1 billion in cost of living relief this year.