Aug 9, 2023

By Staff Writers Copy The State government has refuted claims it has done a deal with United Petroleum to replace the Regional Seniors travel card. The State government has refuted claims it has done a deal with United Petroleum to replace the Regional Seniors travel card. Last Saturday, August 5 Minister for Seniors, Jodie Harrison acknowledged a cost-of-living measure introduced by United service stations could save NSW seniors four cents per litre on fuel purchases, if they held a NSW Seniors Card. "Allegations that the Regional Seniors Travel Card has been replaced by a direct deal with a private operator are intentionally misleading," Ms Harrison said. This is not a NSW Government funding initiative, nor was it purported to be, she said. Introduced by the former state government, the Regional Seniors Travel card was not funded in the forward estimates. The NSW Government has been handed the largest debt in the state's history, $185.5 billion, Ms Harrison said. Jodie Harrison. Picture supplied On top of this, incoming briefs have uncovered a $7 billion black hole of unfunded programs, including a $700 million hole over the forwards of support for children living in out of home care, she said. In June it was reported both the Regional Seniors Travel Card and Regional Apprentices Travel Card, could be used on non travel related expenses. In response, Minister for Regional Roads and Transport, Jenny Aitchison asked for applications for the card to be paused while mitigation options were investigated. The pausing of applications does not impact the more than 320,000 cards which had already been issued to date in 2023. "Reasonable people would agree raising awareness and celebrating the savings available under the NSW Seniors Card falls within my remit as Minister for Seniors, without interpreting it as a hidden budget announcement," Ms Harrison said. "As a government, we have been up front with the people of NSW. "The Coalition passed us the largest debt ever handed from one government to another, and there will be difficult decisions in this upcoming budget. "We will continue to be honest with the people of NSW and communicate those decisions in the September Budget." WHILE YOU'RE WITH US: