RURAL West Australians will see few bonuses from last week’s State Budget, noting another heavy infrastructure commitment from the record surplus to benefit city voters.
Pastoralists and Graziers’ Association president Rob Gillam said the Treasurer claimed more support for business and made much about using the $2 billion surplus to develop State infrastructure.
“Apart from a few concessions on stamp, land and payroll tax there are few new incentives for business to grow,” Mr Gillam said.
“Then take out the new stadium, the museum, the city foreshore project and the new South West desalination plant totalling around $3 billion, and there is not much coming the way of our wealth producing regions in the form of new infrastructures.
“Looking ahead to a confirmed State debt that will jump from $3 billion last year to $11.4 billion by June 2014, with mining royalties winding back and infrastructures that are still failing to keep pace, the picture is not really that bright.”
He said expenditure on roads of $810 million was a loss in real terms and did not reflect the $20 billion plus now being collected by the Federal Government in fuel taxes, once earmarked for road repairs and development.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service in Western Australia said it was dismayed by the apparent failure of the government to recognise its ongoing financial plight in the State Budget.
RFDS chief executive officer Tim Shackleton said on the face of it, the RFDS appeared to have been “pretty much left out” of this year’s Budget.
“Demand has increased by more than 50 percent in the past decade without an adequate increase in funding,” he said.
“These are public patients being moved between State Government hospitals for which the government pays the RFDS only 80 percent of the real cost of providing the service.
“The Service will never refuse to assist a patient who needs our help, however if additional funding is not made available by the State there will be many more occasions where we cannot respond quickly or reliably to the demands of the country hospital system.
“This looks like another kick in the guts for people living in the bush and I am sure they will be as disappointed as we are.”
WA National Party Leader Brendon Grylls described the budget as yet another misused opportunity to use the State’s $2.1 billion Budget surplus to help rebuild regional WA and create sustainable communities outside Perth.
“It’s the Treasurer’s four-year plan to ‘transform the city’ by spending $334 million on the new sports stadium, $506 million on the East Perth Museum and $246 million for Perth Arena,” he said.
“It’s a carefully structured four year infrastructure spend with a bias to the narrow coastal strip between Mindarie and Margaret River where 48 of the 59 Lower House seats are concentrated for the upcoming State election.
“People living in the remaining 11 electorates have received a low social benefit from previous Budgets and have every reason to be angry at missing out again. The regions again missed out on health service guarantees and we’ll continue to see the ill and injured forced to travel hours for medical assistance.
“There is still no adequate funding for the Royal Flying Doctor Service or for country-based paramedics, leaving dangerous gaps in country health services.” In short, the State Budget has included $39.9 million to be spent on the construction of passing lanes on the Great Northern Highway from Muchea to Wubin, $35.3 million on a variety of wastewater and water supply projects, $25 million for stage two of the construction of the Cervantes Greenhead Road from Lancelin to Cervantes and $11.9 million for the construction of new buildings at Muchea for the Western Australian Meat Industry Authority.
A further $2.8 million will be spent to install the third electricity transformer at the Muchea Substation.
Treasurer Eric Ripper said regional Western Australia was driving both the State and ultimately national economies and the government was well aware of this phenomenal contribution.
Mr Ripper said the government would spend more than twice as much per capita on regional infrastructure as it did in the metropolitan area in the 2008-09 Budget.
“In 2008-09, capital works spending per capita in the metropolitan region will be $1,459 per person,” he said.
“But across regional WA the government will spend a $3,296 per person, which is 126 percent per person more.”
The Treasurer said the government would commit a record $26.1 billion on capital works throughout the State during the next four years, with $7.6 billion to be spent this financial year.
Overall the government would spend $4.5 billion for health care, with 22.7 percent more for mental health, $3.6 billion for education and training, $2 billion for law and order and community safety, $388 million for disability services, $349 million for child protection and $1.2 billion on tax relief, with a 15 percent cut to stamp duty on the median priced home.
Mr Ripper said capital works in the Wheatbelt region had been allocated nearly $122 million in the Budget.
The region’s water supplies at York, Cunderdin, Dalwallinu, Dowerin, Meckering, Southern Cross and Bruce Rock will benefit from funding. The Muchea Livestock Centre received an allocation of $11.9 million to complete the construction of new buildings and Moora’s Multi Purpose Health Facility was allocated $158,000 to complete the $8.5 million project.