Words from Mark Edwards

Over the past 6 weeks my wife and I have had to travel to the mainland almost every day to visit a family relation who is recovering in hospital. What we have really come to appreciate is the subsidised 50 cent fare each way. This was an initiative of the previous Labour government but also embraced by the current LNP government who have continued to heavily subsidise public transport. Whilst we don’t know what the fare would be today if there was no subsidy, it would have to be in the region of $6 per person each way. So if not for the subsidised fare, we would have been out of pocket around $22 per day or over $900 over the past 6 weeks! The State government subsidy has positively impacted the islands community more than anywhere else as we are fully dependent on public transport. I have also saved 50% on a barge booking I have recently made due again to the current State government subsidising our vehicle fares. Our islands are now a very attractive in terms of affordability and transport costs. Whilst these subsidised fares may change in the future, we should enjoy them now and hope they will stay in place for many more years to come. That tempts me to talk about the car parking or lack thereof……..but that will be for another time.