Budget letdown for regional WA

May 13, 2008, 6:54pm, 217 views,  1 Comment

Federal budgetDespite being the biggest state in Australia, WA has the highest concentration of people in a small area. I guess about 80 percent of the people live in a narrow coastal strip from Margaret River to Perth.

And that’s where most of the Federal Budget infrastructure funds appear to be going, according to this media statement.

The biggest single allocation is $160 million for the new Bunbury to Perth highway so city folks can get to the wineries faster on long weekends.

There’s no mention of the Esperance port or the Kalgoorlie-Esperance transport corridor.

In fairness, I’ll study the detail tomorrow and update this post if I find a bucket of money stashed away secretly to honor Labor’s election promise regarding the Esperance port.

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Budget leaks galore

May 11, 2008, 9:47pm, 93 views,  Leave a Comment

I really don’t know why there is so much security surrounding the release of government budgets. Read more

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Medicare relief or pain?

May 10, 2008, 4:32pm, 95 views,  Leave a Comment

I find it hard to understand the logic of doubling the income threshold at which the Medicare surcharge kicks in. Read more

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