[John Towers]

I have been advised that there was commentary in The Sunday Telegraph of 25/1/2015 regarding this matter. It would appear there is still some time until the bite of the Federal Election hits.

Premier Baird announced:

NSW Premier Mike Baird has pledged to bail out a previously federal-funded pensioner concession scheme while calling on the commonwealth to reverse its “savage” cuts. The election pledge follows the scheme being gouged of millions of dollars in funding by the federal government at the last Budget. The state government stepped in temporarily to ensure pensioners were not suddenly
forced to pay full price for public transport fares, energy and water bills, council rates and car registrations.

Mr Baird will today announce a Coalition government will continue to prop up the scheme for another three years at a cost of $343 million, while at the same time demanding the commonwealth
reinstate its funding.

“We believe the cuts to these concessions were harsh, which is why we acted swiftly to restore this vital support to the state’s pensioners and seniors for 12 months,” he said. “With our budget now
under control and the state’s finances strong we are in a position to extend this vital support for a further three years.”

Minister for Ageing John Ajaka said the government would continue to demand the commonwealth fulfil its commitments to NSW seniors, with the government set to raise the issue in future white paper discussions.

“A key commitment of the NSW Liberals and Nationals is protecting vulnerable members of our community, such as pensioners and seniors,” he said.

If I was cynical I’d think there was an election looming……………… and/or there were amalgamations in the wind.

JT