$100 will barely fill my tank, but I’ll take free money when its on offer

There’s no such thing as free money, unless you live in Western Australia.

The headline of today’s budget was a novel $100 “fuel support payment” that will only just be enough to fill the tank of my Ford Focus once with maybe enough left over to get a cheese and bacon traveller pie with sauce.

Take that, oil shock.

The whole thing will cost about $210 million (around the same price as the Burswood racetrack and Perth Park) and will be available for WA’s 2.1 million drivers’ licence holders.

Despite assurances of more targeted cost-of-living relief, it was a return to the broad-scale cost of living supports the Labor government has become known for.

But much like the electricity rebates, this measure is so broad it could fall into the pockets of both Gina Rinehart and her postman. We know which person it’ll benefit more.

West Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Louise Giolitto also pointed out that the more people in the family unit, the better off they were.

“I can give you a very simple example in my head; a single parent with three children, that person is going to get $100, another household with two parents is going to get $200 that has two incomes coming into the household. It’s not fair, and it’s not targeted,” she said.

Despite Treasurer Rita Saffioti confirming the measure was a direct response to the fuel crisis stemming from the Iran war, the loose nature of the payment means it can be spent on anything.

By my reckoning, you could probably pick up about four packs of illegal smokes from a Murray Street convenience store for $100. Then again, money saved on smokes one week could mean a few more hydrocarbons in your car next week.

It also overly benefits people with driver’s licences who might not own a car and those owners of EVs, resulting in their level of smugness reaching unbearable levels.

When accounting for the $35 increase in vehicle and licensing fees contained in this budget, the $100 payment is actually closer to $65.

Looks like I won’t be getting that pie after all.

What it does show, however, is that Labor still knows where its bread is buttered. Middle Australia.

When former Premier Mark McGowan first announced the electricity rebates, his response to criticism about the broadness of the measure was that middle Australians deserved some help too.

Ultra-targeted support is all well and good, but right now everyone with a mortgage is feeling the pressure of inflation and interest rate hikes.

It might not be much, but when that $100 starts landing in accounts from July, you can bet there will be a few smirks on faces.

Time to fill up.