Media release – Jeremy Rockliff, Premier; Nic Street, Minister for Community Services and Development, 16 August 2022
$5 million cost of living booster package to help those who need it most
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is focused on strengthening the future for all Tasmanians. We know cost of living pressures are impacting Tasmanian families and this Government has a strong track record of providing targeted support to those in need.
Today we are announcing immediate action through a $5 million cost of living booster package to provide immediate financial and practical help to Tasmanian families through our community sector partners and grassroots community organisations.
This is on top of the $17 million the Government has already committed to power price relief, via our $180 Bill Buster Payment program for all eligible Tasmanians.
In addition, we are also providing one-off additional funding to increase indexation to 3% on Tasmanian Government funding to community sector organisations for the 2022-23 year to help with rising cost of fuel, wages or other costs of doing business.
A full review of community sector indexation rates will be done by the Government to lead into the 2023/24 Budget process.
The $5 million cost of living funding will be delivered straight into the hands of those organisations who can help individuals and families in need. Funding initiatives for this financial year include:
- $1.75 million for Tasmania’s Neighbourhood Houses. Each of the 35 houses will receive an additional $50,000;
- $1 million in additional support for the Family Assistance Program, allowing the Salvation Army, St Vincent De Paul, Anglicare, and the Launceston and Hobart City Missions to extend more support to vulnerable Tasmanians, doubling current funding for the next twelve months;
- Today the Government has announced we will provide an additional $1m to Aurora Energy for its hardship program to provide assistance for customers experiencing financial difficulty bringing the total amount available to $2.7m.
- $500,000 of additional funding for emergency food relief providers Foodbank Tasmania, and Loaves and Fishes to help purchase and distribute food, as well as support to help them upgrade their distribution vehicles;
- $250,000 of additional funding for a fuel grants program to provide payments of up to $1000 to help community organisations with rising fuel costs;
- $350,000 in additional funding to the very successful School Lunch Pilot Program to include 30 Tasmanian schools in the next 12 months;
- And, a further $150,000 will go to the No-Interest Loan Scheme to allow the organisation to provide no-fee, no-interest loans to Tasmanians for items such as rental bonds, car repairs or essential white goods.
We know that cost of living pressures are impacting, not just in Tasmania, but across the nation, and indeed, across the globe.
Higher fuel prices are biting Tasmanians and this Government will continue to lobby the Federal Government to retain the fuel excise discount to help ease the burden on families, businesses and community organisations.
Media release – TasCOSS, 16 August 2022
Tasmanian Government’s cost of living package
has welcomed the Tasmanian Government’s $5 million cost of living package, which acknowledges the significant cost of living pressures Tasmanians are currently facing.
TasCOSS CEO Ms Adrienne Picone said with recent data showing Hobart’s Consumer Price Index was now sitting at 6.5%, well above the national average of 6.1%, urgent cost of living support was desperately needed.
“We know so many Tasmanians are struggling right now just to put food on the table, or pay their electricity bills or rent, so the announcement of additional funding for Tasmania’s Neighbourhood Houses, emergency food relief providers, Family Assistance Program providers and Aurora Energy’s hardship program is positive news for those struggling to afford the basics,” Ms Picone said.
“It’s also positive news for the School Lunch Program who will now be able to fully deliver their services to another 30 Tasmanian schools in the next year.
“This additional $5 million in funding will enable the community services industry to support and empower more Tasmanians to participate in life, be that socially, economically or culturally.
“This funding is recognition the community services industry is an essential pillar in Tasmania’s social and economic infrastructure.”
Ms Picone said TasCOSS were also pleased to see the stopgap increase to indexation for community service organisations to 3% (compared to the current rate of 2.25%), along with the commitment to a full review of funding allocations.
“While the stopgap funding is a step in the right direction, the reason it’s necessary is because for many years Tasmanian Government contracts have not adequately addressed rising operational costs and increased demand for services,” she said.
“Our workforce of almost 18,000 and 35,000 volunteers provides Tasmanians with work that has real meaning. We help families stay together, support people into education and employment, help Tasmanians to overcome literacy and digital barriers, provide housing and homelessness services, just to mention some of our crucial work.
“But in recent years it’s been getting harder to do this work because the costs to deliver our services have been growing faster that what we receive to deliver them, just as household expenses have been growing faster than incomes.
“For some organisations, wages alone have seen a 5.2% increase in their costs.
“We look forward to engaging in the full review of indexation rates for community service organisations so we can place our industry on a sustainable footing for the future.”
Media release – Dean Winter MP, Shadow Energy Minister, 16 August 2022
Barnett claims his electricity bill shock is required to pay for collapsing health system
Energy Minister Guy Barnett’s answers on energy pricing are offensive to Tasmanians who are battling cost of living pressures and a health system at breaking point.
His claim that the massive Aurora bill shock is funding our health system is deeply concerning. He appears to be saying that unless Tasmanians pay 12 per cent more on their energy bills, it will impact our healthcare system.
This is not how budgets are supposed to be run.
Tasmanians are starting to see power bills which include the massive 12 per cent price rise. Over the coming weeks and months, these bills will keep rising.
Minister Barnett’s failure to deliver his policy to de-link from the National Electricity Market has caused this. He broke his promise.
Rather than capping power prices – as this government has done before – Minister Barnett remains transfixed on projects he announced years ago but have not commenced.
There is no reason the government cannot support the price cap, as they did in 2018.
