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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-03 Daily Xml
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Cost of Living

Mr BROWN (Florey) (17:08): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. How is the government supporting those on low incomes to cope with cost-of-living pressures?

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (17:08): I would like to thank the member for Florey, who is a fierce advocate for his community and really does understand, because he gets out and about, the pressures that the community is under with an increased cost of living, particularly with the current pressures here in South Australia, influenced by local matters but also by global issues.

There really is no hiding that the cost of living has increased on a range of measures. It has a great influence on people's capacity to afford just their weekly groceries and their general costs. The household pressures are enormous. As we emerge from the pandemic, but also are influenced by current global crises such as those in Ukraine, we know that the price of petrol, food and other household items has gone up significantly.

During the COVID pandemic, we know what relief was gained for people by increasing JobKeeper payments into the pockets of South Australians who were really hit hard. We know that that money then translated into the purchasing of groceries and essential items, so that's why the Malinauskas opposition made the commitment to double cost-of-living concessions for this year.

The current pressures that people are facing will be relieved to some degree when they receive an additional $40 million collectively into their pockets across the state. The commitment in the election period was a little bit less than that. I think from memory the calculations were around $37.7 million, but we know from the numbers that there are significantly more people now under stress from cost-of-living pressures from day to day, so there are more people who are going to require and will be applying for concessions, and we estimate that an extra $40 million will go into the pockets of South Australians.

We, the Labor government, are proud to assist all of them, and I would encourage all members to make sure they offer assistance to their constituents in order to be able to apply for these concessions over the next few months before the end of this year. In particular, think about what people on very low incomes will receive, such as those people who are eligible homeowners, for example. Their payments go from $217.20 up to $438.80. That is a significant amount of money for people on very low incomes that they will then translate into purchasing fresh food—fresh vegetables and fruit—and items for their families, including their children. It makes a big difference.

Eligible renters and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders will also see a doubling of their payment in the next financial year, and the payments will be on top of that well-timed $250 payment that people will receive from the commonwealth government, so they are getting some money now and they will get more money later this year.

Our payment will ensure that households get significant relief over the course of this year at a time when they really are experiencing significant pressure with cost of living, particularly around petrol and fresh food and vegetables, so I'm really proud to be able to deliver on this election commitment because it's what good governments do.

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