The Australian Greens have launched a plan to deliver 50 cent public transport fares across the country, taking the Queensland experience national, in a bid to tackle the skyrocketing cost-of-living and save households thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP will make the announcement today at a pre-poll booth for the Prahran by-election, alongside Australian Greens\u2019 spokesperson for transport Elizabeth Watson-Brown and Greens\u2019 Prahran candidate Angelica Di Camillo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plan would see a full-time worker in Melbourne save $50 a week, or $2,400 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Sydney a full-time worker would save $2,160 a year, in Perth $2,006, and in Adelaide $1,872.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An independent costing by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) reveals it would cost the federal government $8.1 billion dollars over the forward estimates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This money would be used to fund the lost ticket revenue from introducing the 50 cent fares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Greens\u2019 plan includes a one-off $250 million-dollar fund to help states and territories transition to \u2018smart ticketing\u2019, allowing people to pay for public transport using their credit or debit card, or their phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under sustained pressure from the Greens, the Queensland Government recently shifted to 50c public transport fares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a minority parliament looming, the announcement is the latest in the series of the Greens\u2019 \u2018Robin Hood reforms\u2019 that will be put on the table in any post-election negotiations, and will be funded by making big corporations pay their fair share of tax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt MP:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dThe Greens will make big corporations and billionaires pay tax so you can have 50c fares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn a wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to afford the basics. 50c fares will help people make ends meet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting a different result. This election will be the most important in a generation. By electing more Greens we can keep Peter Dutton out and get Labor to act on the cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith poll after poll indicating we\u2019re headed towards a minority parliament, if people vote Greens we can get cost-of-living relief like 50c fares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGreens pressure got 50c fares in Queensland, and now we want it for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe major parties can\u2019t say it\u2019s impossible, because it\u2019s happening right now in Queensland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian Greens transport spokesperson, Elizabeth Watson-Brown MP:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe average household is spending almost $450 a week on transport, meanwhile Australia\u2019s billionaires are making $67,000 an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter years of Greens pressure, Queensland has 50c fares for good. Now we\u2019re fighting to roll this out nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQueensland\u2019s recent shift to 50c fares has been proven to be a huge success. It has reduced traffic and emissions, massively increased ridership on public transport, and saved Queenslanders millions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s time to roll out 50c fares across the country. If it\u2019s good enough for both Queensland Labor and LNP, surely it\u2019s good enough for Federal Labor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greens candidate for Prahran, Angelica Di Camillo:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMelbourne residents have copped three fare increases in the last 18 months alone, and have some of the most expensive public transport in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut under the Greens\u2019 plan to make public transport 50 cents nationwide, Melbourne households could save almost $5,000 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI catch the 78 tram every week along Chapel street to get to Pilates or Prahran market, and the cost absolutely adds up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c50-cent fares would provide much-needed cost-of-living relief to people across Prahran.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Australian Greens have launched a plan to deliver 50 cent public transport fares across the country, taking the Queensland experience national, in a bid to tackle the skyrocketing cost-of-living and save households thousands. Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP will make the announcement today at a pre-poll booth for the Prahran by-election, … Continue reading “Greens launch election pitch for 50 cent public transport fares, say it would save households thousands every year”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31159,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31158\/revisions\/31159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}