لنستخرج كنوزا من المعرفة و الإبداع و العلم و الأفكار
MORE than 90 WA families per day are asking for help to pay their electricity, gas and water bills.
Between July and March 31, about 25,000 West Australians applied for hardship grants to ensure their household utilities were not cut off.
State-owned power supplier Synergy made 12,877 referrals to the Hardship Utilities Grant Scheme. Alinta Energy referred 10,154 customers, followed by Horizon (1069) and Water Corp (921).
Over the past three years, $25.5 million has been paid out in grants, including $8.1 million in the 11 months to May.
Another round of cost-of-living increases takes effect from Wednesday and will result in electricity and water charges rising 4.5 per cent.
But as first reported by The Sunday Times, households applying for the grants will no longer be referred to a financial counsellor for assessment.
To save the State Government $2.3 million, applicants will access HUGS subsidies without going through a counsellor. Disability Services Minister Helen Morton said as part of this decision, the amount available for grants had risen from $9.5 million to $9.7 million.
Anglicare WA general manager Mark Glasson, said the combination of rising costs of living and the mining downturn meant this was “the very time we need financial counsellors”.
Financial Counsellors’ Association WA executive officer Charles Brown said families were crying out for help: “The last thing we need is people to die in a house fire because their power has been disconnected and they’re using candles for light.”
An online poll of PerthNow readers this week found 85 per cent believed WA should maintain a free financial counselling service.
In a separate move, FCAWA says 50 counsellor posts will be lost in the next three months when the State Government axes $1.5 million a year in funding.
Ms Morton said financial counselling was not the core business of the Department for Child Protection and Family Support and it was clear there were “efficiencies that could be made”.
She said as result of a meeting last week, her department would work with the sector “to develop a new model for a metropolitan-wide service”.
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