Laura Newell: Free zoo tickets a ‘nice-to-have’ not real cost-of-living relief

Rejoice residents of Perth, the State Government has once again given us a school holiday gift — free tickets to the zoo! In the Term 1 holidays their offering was a little cash to pay for school items, and this week they also announced free swimming lessons, both of which, in my book, are eminently sensible ideas. And in the case of the State’s excellent vac swim program, potentially life-saving. But while zoo tickets might offer a charming day out, forgive me if I’m a bit sceptical of the giveaway as a truly philanthropic “cost-of-living” measure. For some of us in the trenches — when combined with the seemingly incessant demand we sign up to the god-awful ServiceWA app — it honestly feels more like a vote and data-grabbing measure. If you turn to the comments section on Premier Roger Cook’s Facebook page, it seems I’m not alone. “That’s a great incentive for votes but how about you pay for one GP visit per household?” asked one respondent. Ouch! “How about something for regional WA, rather than all your Perth buddies,“ another challenged. “That’s right you don’t care about regional WA do you. Other than all the revenue they bring in for you to give to Perth.” Inevitably, however, the most “liked” comments in the feed all focus on the woes of our health system, or more basic cost-of-living pinch points: “I spent 7.5 hours in the ER waiting room of Fiona Stanley on Friday night because of bed shortages, but cheers for tackling the cost of living crisis”; “Prefer credit on electricity bill instead of this”; “Rather you lower taxes and make food more affordable”; “Yeah, because going to the zoo is a priority! What about more teachers to tackle class issue? What about lowering rents? Lower the cost of living and families will be able to afford days out at the zoo.” Some commentators were even more blunt: “Spend the money on important issues — more nurses, doctors, hospital beds, police officers, teachers, firefighters and ambulance drivers.” Despite knowing that it’s not quite that black and white when it comes to Government spending, as a WA taxpayer I found it hard to argue with that last sentiment. When low income families are being forced to cut back on meat, fruit and vegetables, three in four people on JobSeeker, YouthAllowance and parenting payments are finding it tough to buy needed medications and one in four Aussies are struggling to make essential purchases over $200, it’s an odd decision to pitch a nice-to-have as a cost-relief measure. It’s also frustrating to see it matched with the need to use the COVID-era app that the State has piled money into and now seems so keen on forcing down our throats. As an aside, if you are willing to risk towing a very disappointed child home on the bus if your gamble doesn’t pay off, a “small” number of tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the zoo gate each day. Otherwise, you will either need to fork out $100.30 for two adults and two children, or, like 25,000 families in WA so far, offer up your digital identity on a platter if you want to enjoy the elephants these holidays.