Cost of living, power upgrades and healthcare in Mid West must be addressed in State Budget, says Opposition

Social housing, power reliability and cost of living increases in the Mid West should be key issues addressed in the upcoming State Budget, State Opposition Leader Mia Davies says. To mark 12 months since cyclone Seroja tore through the Mid West, Ms Davies visited the region last week to touch base with locals who are still navigating the rebuild process. Alongside Nationals MLC Martin Aldridge and Member for Moore Shane Love, Ms Davies also met with businesses and community organisations to discuss their recent triumphs and current challenges. She said top of mind in many local government areas across the Mid West was ongoing issues with power reliability, saying the State Government would be well-placed to fund infrastructure upgrades for the region in the upcoming budget. “More needs to be done around power reliability and supply. It is creating safety concerns in the community but it is also inhibiting business,” she said. “There is constant discussion about microgrids, investment in renewable energy, removing people off the end of long stringy lines and building resilience into the network. But Western Power will say that within their funding and regulatory regime, they cant deliver that without investment from external government sources. “There is infrastructure in the current network that needs to be upgraded. The report (into widespread power outages over the Christmas season) that was brought down by Michelle Shepherd indicated that there was aging infrastructure in the network that was causing it to fail, and there are a range of other recommendations in there that need to be funded and actioned quickly.” Ms Davies said it was clear crisis accommodation and emergency aid providers in Geraldton were under pressure, and urged the State Government to assist those under extreme rental stress. “We visited Foodbank Geraldton and manager Jamie O’Brien told us they have seen a 20 per cent increase in the last two to three months alone. And when we asked him what the major driver was for people turning up he said rent increases and cost of living,” she said. “There is a significant proportion of people turning up who they haven’t seen for over five years, if at all, so they are new clients that haven’t engaged in emergency food relief before. In a State as wealthy as WA, that is not acceptable. “This Government has the capacity to support the people who already have a house by reducing their cost of living pressures in the upcoming Budget, and looking at ways they can put a freeze on electricity and water prices so that we don’t see more people ending up having to make a choice between putting food on the table and having to pay their rent.” She said the State Government was under increasing pressure to address delays to the redevelopment of Geraldton Health Campus, with over-budget tenders threatening to blow out the cost of the project. “This is a key election promise, this local member (Lara Dalton) has made many comments that the Government is getting on with it, and all we have to show for it is a car park and a new front of hospital that leads to nowhere. It is not good enough and the people of the Mid West deserve better,” she said. “What better time to address an increase in the cost of supply and trades than with (an expected) budget surplus of $6-8 billion.”