Seniors in regional NSW will get a free $250 travel card next year, unless they live in the Newcastle and Wollongong council areas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A spokesperson for the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Paul Toole, confirmed on Friday that the Regional Seniors Transport Card would not be available to people living in the Newcastle local government area, even through residents in neighbouring Lake Macquarie will receive the card.
The card offers a $250 discount for aged pensioners on fuel and taxis from participating providers in rural and regional NSW and pre-booked NSW TrainLink train and coach services.
It was announced as a campaign promise before the March election and confirmed in last week's budget to start from January 1.
The minister's spokesperson said the card was designed to help rural and regional seniors who had further to travel and fewer public transport options than "metropolitan" residents.
"The definition of regional NSW is consistent with that used for Restart NSW (LGAs outside of Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle)," the spokesperson said in a written statement.
The Parliamentary Budget Office, under the heading "Definition of Regional NSW", did not specifically exclude Newcastle when it costed the transport card election promise before the March election.
"The costing assumes the same definition of Regional NSW as used for the Restart NSW funding allocations. The regions are as following [sic]: Far West, Riverina Murray, Central West and Orana, South East and Tablelands, New England and North West, Illawarra and Shoalhaven, North Coast, Central Coast, Hunter. The metropolitan Sydney region is excluded," the budget office's website says.
Newcastle Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp said the city's omission from the scheme was another example of government neglect.
"Yet again we see Newcastle residents missing out because of arbitrary regional and metropolitan definitions," he said.
"Seniors in Fern Bay will receive $250 for transport costs whilst seniors in Stockton will miss out.
"Whether it is sports, arts, tourism or transport funding, Newcastle is not receiving its fair share."
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie's status has been confused while separate funding streams have emerged for city and regional areas. Both were omitted for the first time from the regional breakdown at last year's state budget but reappeared in the regional section this year.
The government said last year that Newcastle was considered a metropolitan area and was not eligible for funding from the regional and rural $4.2 billion Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund.
The Regional Seniors Transport Card will give seniors $250 per year in 2020 and 2021. Almost 400,000 pensioners are expected to benefit from the card.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
