Fix WA cost of living now: Social services launch election pitch
By Emma Young
The Western Australian Council of Social Service has demanded the state provide targeted cost-of-living relief, rent reform and sustainable community services funding in the lead-up to the 2025 state election.
WACOSS released its Make WA Fair: Leaving No One Behind report at a launch on Wednesday night, outlining its asks to make Western Australia “not just a great state, but a fair one”.
WACOSS chief executive Louise Giolitto with a copy of the new report.
The council said after three years of high costs and low wage growth, West Australians on low incomes were without financial reserves and now missing out on food, housing and the opportunity to plan their futures.
Their launch followed them releasing more research this week showing one in three West Australians would not be able to cover an unexpected $500 bill.
The council is also calling on the state to abolish no-reason evictions and implement rent stabilisation measures.
In WA, tenants can be evicted without reason at any point during a periodic tenancy with 60 days’ notice, and at the end of any fixed-term tenancy with 30 days’ notice.
The council said no-reason eviction was a persistent threat preventing tenants from advocating for their rights and basic needs.
They also wanted the government to expand universal access to early-years education, and consolidate and expand integrated child and family hubs, which they called a cost-effective way of serving families in need.
Lastly, the council sought sustainable funding and a one-off catch-up injection for its sector, already underfunded and “buckling under demand” in the past three years thanks to the population spike and dual housing and cost-of-living crises.
It stated that without this, services would continue to erode and West Australians in desperate need would be left behind.
Council chief executive Louise Giolitto said people’s needs should be above politics.
“Making WA fair means prioritising policies that address inequality, supporting those doing it tough, and creating pathways where everyone has the chance to succeed,” she said.
“Now is the perfect time to end the funding insecurity for our sector. Help us to help people.
“All of these things are achievable.”
The wishlist comes a day after the national accounts were released, revealing the dire state of the Australian economy.
The June quarter showed economic growth had slowed to a level not seen for two decades with just 0.2 per cent in the June quarter and 1 per cent for the year to June.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said while the government had created jobs, brought down inflation, grown real incomes and rolled out tax cuts, this was an economy buffeted by global uncertainty, price pressures and higher interest rates.
“We’ve got a lot going for us, but we know that people are under substantial pressure,” he said.
“But we know, and we see in this data, that people are still doing it tough, and that’s why the cost of living remains our highest priority.”
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