Libs want to stop Nats using Royalties for Regions ‘like a slush fund’ as both vow to ‘restore its integrity’

The WA Liberals have vowed to stop the Nationals from using Royalties for Regions “like a slush fund to throw money around for purely political purposes” if the parties form government. The West Australian can reveal that with less than nine weeks until the State election, the Nationals have rejected repeated offers from their conservative partners to discuss the program’s future. Both parties say they want to “restore the integrity” of the multi-billion dollar fund, but have different definitions on what that entails should they prevent Labor from winning a second term on March 13. Shadow Regional Development Minister Steve Thomas accused Labor of “stealing” from RfR — worth $4.2 billion over the next four years — to pay for ordinary government spending. The South West Region MP said the Liberals would reverse the McGowan Government’s decision to shift the annual $80 million cost of operating regional school bus services onto R4R expenditure from next financial year. In addition to stopping this so-called “cost shift”, Mr Thomas said the Liberals would push for a “much stronger and robust set of rules and guidelines” to restore the integrity of RfR in an “economically-sound manner”. He said any spending from RfR would be matched by savings elsewhere to ensure the scheme has a sustainable future when the current iron ore price boom comes to an end. It comes after the McGowan Government’s Langoulant Inquiry in 2017 found RfR “destabilised” the State’s financial management processes. Mr Thomas said about $5 billion of the $7 billion spent by the previous Barnett government represented “very good investments”, but the rules the Nationals put in place around its use were “far too loose”. “The program didn't have strong enough guidelines and rules about its expenditure. That means the Labor Party has been able to completely misuse this fund,” he said. “Because the National Party required the fund effectively to be available as a slush fund, the rules allowed the Labor Party to do exactly the same thing. “The Labor Party has taken that money and nearly 70 per cent of it now returns to Perth under this trans-subsidisation process. The Liberals will be the first party that reverses even a part of that process.” The new policy comes after the Liberals controversially announced before the 2017 poll that it planned to take $800 million in funds from the lucrative scheme to pay for recurrent costs of regional services. WA Nationals leader Mia Davies said stopping cost-shifting of Government services onto RfR, as well as the underspend from the account, would be a condition of forming government with the Liberals. “We are yet to see the full detail of the Liberal Party’s policy, however it appears the commitment is far from a rock-solid promise to deliver the State’s only regional development fund in full — it is conditional on finding savings in the State Budget,” she said. “The Nationals WA have been clear and upfront with voters about our intentions for Royalties for Regions – we have committed reversing the $2.7 billion cuts planned by Labor and will ensure the full amount is budgeted and spent responsibility for the benefit of the State.” Ms Davies said claims her party used RfR as a slush fund undermines the program and “makes it easier for Perth-based politicians to argue against the program”. Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan said over the past four years, the Labor Government “has invested more funding into regional WA than any other government in history”. “There will always be debate over which parts of the Budget should be allocated to RfR and which to the Consolidated Account,” she said. “For example, under the previous Liberal-National Government, funding for many government agricultural projects came from RfR. We have moved that funding back to the Consolidated Account. “Regional communities are more interested in seeing projects delivered on the ground – which we are doing – than from which government bank account the funding comes.”

Libs want to stop Nats using Royalties for Regions ‘like a slush fund’ as both vow to ‘restore its integrity’

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