CONSUMER PRICE INDEX —
ELECTRICITY SUBINDEX
1063. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Treasurer:
I
refer to the Treasurer's answer to question without notice 1032, asked
yesterday, in which he indicated that without the $400 household
electricity credit, the quarterly consumer price index would have risen by 1.7 per
cent from the previous quarter instead of declining by 0.5 per cent.
(1) What would
the September quarter 2021 to September quarter 2022 rise in CPI have been
without the $400 household electricity credit?
(2) Will the $400
household electricity credit have any impact on the current October to December
quarter; and, if so, to what extent?
(3) Will there be a rise in CPI in
Perth as the $400 household electricity credit exhausts?
(4) If yes to (3), what is the
expected rise as modelled by Treasury?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
Gotta love a Thursday! I thank the
Leader of the Opposition for some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) If
the McGowan government did not provide all Western Australian households with
the $400 household electricity credit, CPI would have been 2.4 per cent higher
in the 12 months to September 2022. This demonstrates
that the household electricity credit places downward pressure on inflation and
provides real cost-of-living relief for Western Australian households.
Unlike the former Liberal–National government, which delivered
above-inflation increases to household fees and charges in every year of
office, the McGowan government has delivered
real cost-of-living relief to Western Australian households, including
through decreases to household fees and charges.
(3)–(4) Perth CPI is
available in the budget papers and midyear reviews.