Premier Steven Miles arrives at a press conference to make a major Cape York announcement flanked by Member for Cairns Michael Healy and Member for Cook Cynthia Lui in Cairns on 19 June. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
Is it just me, or is it difficult to take seriously an announcement aimed at delivering cost of living relief to some of the remotest, most disadvantaged Queenslanders when it’s made just a stone’s throw from the glitz and glamour of the Cairns CBD?
That was the scenario last week when Premier Steven Miles flew into the Far North Queensland capital to reveal his government was increasing its remote freight subsidy by almost 15 per cent by the end of the year.
The announcement came on the back of protracted criticism the Remote Communities Freight Assistance Scheme’s initial 5.2 per cent discount was not making a genuine dent in the crippling bills facing Cape York and Torres Strait residents at the supermarket every time they attempted to put food on the table. Some of that opposition came from within Premier Miles’ own ranks, with even Cook MP Cynthia Lui taking the risk of becoming a Labor pariah by pointing out “when you are paying almost 30 per cent more than people in the city for a basic food item, a 5.2 per cent discount does not help much”.
There is little argument in the northernmost part of the state the $64 million scheme has been a flop since its inception in 2023, with some retailers complaining how cumbersome it was to sign up to offer the discount, and shoppers left scratching their head at the State Government’s interpretation of what constituted the “essentials” eligible for the subsidy.
Under the scheme, only items like bread, milk, and fresh fruit and vegetables get a price cut at the checkout. That’s all well and good, and 20 per cent is a solid foundation to work from, but we aren’t going to get a noticeable cost of living reprieve until the government recognises everyday costs like fuel, clothing and whitegoods are essential to us, just like they are to those residing in the riverfront suburbs of Brisbane.
How could the government not deem these living expenses as eligible essentials under the scheme? Does Premier Miles think we all just walk around up here naked, eating raw fruit and vegetables, and wishing we had equitable access to the life items our city cousins don’t consider luxuries? Cheap whitegoods and household furniture, and fuel that doesn’t cost north of $2.50 a litre, as examples off the top of my head. Perhaps making such a major announcement on Cape York, rather than the Cairns Esplanade, would have provided the government with some measure of perspective on why the subsidy has done little to improve our lives to date.
It’s been suggested I’ve been far too harsh and cynical of the government over the past five or so months but, in my defence, it’s hard not to be when you discover the fine print at the bottom of the media release admitting “the 20 per cent discount will come into effect later this year, after engagement with retailers”. Later this year? How much later? Is there any chance that “later this year” means sometime after 26 October if Premier Miles and his government still happen to be at the helm of Queensland’s future? If it’s been costed and approved, how can it possibly take months to implement a change to an existing scheme, other than if the jump from 5.2 to 20 per cent is being dangled as nothing more than an election carrot for Cape York and Torres Strait voters?
At least the carrot will be eligible for a discount at the supermarket, I guess.
