Free zoo tickets and swimming lessons not enough to support regional, remote and rural families: ICPA

Free zoo tickets and swimming lessons are not enough to support regional, remote and rural families during the cost-of-living crisis, the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association of WA says. The ICPA has called on the State Government to make more useful investments to help ease the increasing financial burden on families, saying the recent free family activities initiative only costs regional families even more. While welcoming the subsidy for VacSwim programs and Perth Zoo tickets, ICPA president Jane Cunningham said she believed the money could be better spent to help the families the association represented. “While these initiatives are great for our city counterparts, many regional families who would also enjoy these initiatives won’t be able to afford to access them, once you consider travel, accommodation and food costs associated with attending these venues,” she said. “We believe if the Government is serious about easing the financial strain of the increasing costs of living, they should significantly increase the Boarding Away From Home Allowance for all rural and remote families.” An increase to the BAHA, Mrs Cunningham believed, would provide tangible assistance with the true cost of educating rural children, instead of a one-off gesture that benefited metro families and further isolated rural ones. She said a “quick” survey of the nine ICPA State councillors showed accessing the nine-day VacSwim program would cost between $630 and $1900 per family, while a trip to accept the Government’s free zoo tickets would cost between $680 and $2912, depending on their location in the State. “Rural families need real support; the BAHA must be significantly increased to help address this inequity in education,” Mrs Cunningham said. “Families already find themselves around $4000 out of pocket under the current funding model and this doesn’t include additional expenses such as kilometres travelled, accommodation required when travelling and days parents and caregivers spend away from work to drive their children to and from a residential facility.”