Cost of living still hurts

Federal Senator Kerrynne Liddle was in Whyalla last week to visit local organisations and businesses struggling with the cost of living crisis.

Senator Liddle, who is also the Shadow Minister for Child Protection and the Prevention of Family Violence, visited the city alongside Federal candidate for Grey Tom Venning and Queensland Senator James McGrath on February 7 and 8.

Mr Venning said it was great to have both senators in the region to hear about the issues that are most important to locals.

“We’re fortunate enough to get Senator Kerrynne Liddle and Senator James McGrath here in Grey, and particularly in Whyalla, and it’s all about listening and understanding, what are the challenges and opportunities here, and what people want from an alternative government,” Mr Venning said.

“It is clear that the cost of living is at the front of everyone’s mind, and we’re seeing that impact in so many parts of people’s lives.

“People also want some certainty from the State Government around hydrogen … investment is good, but it needs to be backed up by facts.”

The Senators and Mr Venning met with members of the Whyalla Business and Tourism group as well as various support services in the region.

Senator Liddle said the message the groups were sending was clear and that the cost of living crisis was being exacerbated by the issues at the Whyalla Steelworks.

“Cost of living is what we’ve been hearing over and over again, and it particularly impacts people in regional and remote areas,” Senator Liddle said.

“We’ve heard today that the crisis services are actually having to turn away people who are really in need of help.”

Senator Liddle added that Centacare was one such service, with 15 per cent of their clients needing assistance as a direct result of the uncertainty at the Whyalla Steelworks.

“They are seeing people they haven’t seen before, it’s really noticeable for them, and that’s, that’s a deep concern,” she said.

The Senator said that given the broader effect the issues at the Steelworks were having on the community, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese needed to be providing greater clarity and transparency on the subject.

Another issue that Senator Liddle addressed was that of power prices, going on to say that the current State Government had not delivered on its promise to reduce the cost of electricity.

“We have been very critical of the government’s renewables only approach … It’s really important that there is an energy mix that fuels industry and households,” she said.

“South Australians pay some of the highest electricity prices in the country, we were told they were going to have, with this government, a $275 reduction in the cost of electricity.

“In fact, the average household is seeing an electricity increase of some $1,000.”

Mr Venning went on to say that while South Australia’s commitment to renewable energy was admirable and necessary, becoming solely reliant on renewables would continue to drive power prices up.

“In this state 74 per cent of our grid power comes from wind and solar, that’s more than double the next highest state,” Mr Venning said.

“But at the same time, our retail power prices are 50 per cent higher than the next most expensive state.