South West benefits from Federal budget: MP Nola Marino

“Under the Government’s economic plan jobs are being created, investment is rising and the budget is strengthening. This means that we can continue to guarantee the essential services Australians rely on.”

“Our tax relief plan will encourage and reward hard working Australians. South West taxpayers will receive a new offset of up to $530 a year under our plan to reduce cost pressures on household budgets,” Mrs Marino said.

South West MLC Steve Thomas has welcomed the federal government’s tax cuts. “Those workers should know however that the State Labor Government has already grabbed over half of that back with increases in fees and charges averaging $292 per household,” he said.

“In this era of small or no wage increases our families, especially single income families, will spend over half of the tax cut subsidising the State’s budget.”

In the same week, the state government said there would be a 7 per cent increase in electricity bills and 5.5 per cent increase in water bills.

State treasurer Ben Wyatt said the increases were lower than last year.

“The budget shows that annual increases will continue to go down under our plan, helping make things a little easier for everyday Western Australians,” he said.

However Mr Thomas said there were a range of “expensive Labor election promises that could have been deferred or scrapped to save struggling families the hardship of these large cost increases.”