Millions of NSW Dine and Discover vouchers remain unused, but their expiration date will not be extended beyond June 30, according to the government.
Key points:
- Twelve million Dine and Discover vouchers out of the 32 million issued are unused
- The Minister of Customer Service says the plan has been an overwhelming success
- The state opposition says the acceptance rate reveals a city-country divide
Thirty-two million vouchers were issued as part of the program launched in March 2021 to help local businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of these, 20 million (62%) have been used, totaling $ 820 million for people to eat and go out.
With only four days to go before the plan ends, 12 million vouchers remain.
NSW Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello is “super happy” with the results, praising the plan as an “overwhelming success”.
“It’s not designed for everyone to have to spend vouchers, it’s an acceptance scheme,” he said.
“But five and a half million people, out of an adult population of about six million, have actually registered to receive the vouchers, which is extraordinary.
“And the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with satisfaction scores above 90 percent.”
Dominello says the rate of acceptance of the plan has been extraordinary. (AAP: Flavio Brancaleone)
A system with charities has been established where people can donate their unused vouchers with Dominello by ruling out another extension.
“The regime will not be extended, it has already been extended … so this is the last extension. If they are not used on June 30, they expire,” he said.
“But there are some new companies in the charity sector that set a framework where you can pay, and I encourage people to do that.”
State opposition says the government is wrong and calls for it to be extended.
Departmental data show that the rate of acceptance of vouchers among age groups has been evenly distributed, a success that Mr. Dominello attributed to how they were distributed.
He says nowhere else in the world was there such specific financial support for businesses.
“I challenge anyone to find a scheme that has almost no fraud or waste that goes directly to companies, they get paid in three days,” he said.
“I’ll eat my left shoe if I see a better scheme.”
However, the data also showed unequal use of vouchers across the state with less likelihood of having exchanged those living in regional local government areas.
It topped the Central Darling list, in the far west of the state, where no more than 70% of the vouchers have been spent.
Dominello acknowledged that the non-mandatory nature of the plan meant there would be variations, but said that in places like western Sydney it helped with the cost of living.
Ms Catley says it is disappointing that the money has not reached the economies of the regional areas. (Facebook: Yasmin Catley)
For the state opposition, it is another example of the “city-country division.”
“It is disappointing to see that although the Prime Minister said the aim of this program was to revitalize local economies, the money has not reached the regional communities,” the Shadow Care Minister said. Client and Digital, Yasmin Catley.
NSW regional and western shadow minister Mick Veitch said rural areas had lost ground again.
“It is surprising to think that the rural councils that make up the top 60 areas of the state have not been able to exchange vouchers,” he said.
“This is a shame and the National Party has once again overseen the poor implementation of a program in the rural and regional areas of New South Wales.”