Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a petition from the Bundaberg Pensioners League to the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives. The petition draws the attention of the House to the following motion—moved by Mr K Keeley, seconded and passed by financial members undersigned—that ‘a petition be circulated for the amount of the single pension to be increased to 75 per cent of married couples’ allowance immediately and also that the pension rate be increased before 1 July 2009’. It was seconded by J. Glanville and carried unanimously. The principal petitioner was Grace Johnson, who has written to me, ‘I certify that there were 570 petitioners.’

These are members of our local pensioner organisation. They do a good job; they are very dedicated to their members. It comes as no surprise to honourable members, especially those who are close to their communities, that the matter of the increase of the pension has been left to one side for too long. Notwithstanding the fact that the previous government introduced the MTAWE factor, which gave pensioners a two per cent increase; notwithstanding the fact that there was a utilities allowance; and notwithstanding the fact that there was a bonus, pensioners really do need an increase. We went through the business of the drought, where fruit and vegetable prices increased; the increase in the price of petrol, which in areas where there is not a lot of public transport is a big problem; and, on top of that, pensioners, as a result of the real estate boom of two or three years ago, saw increases in rents without an appropriate adjustment through the rent allowance. So, all in all, pensioners have had a pretty tough time.

I fully support this move. I think single pensioners are suffering quite dramatically. I have a church organisation in Hervey Bay that runs one of those supermarkets with out-of-date lines and bulk commodities and so on, and they tell me they are seeing 1,400 people a week. Fourteen hundred people in a fairly affluent town like Hervey Bay just says how hard the economic conditions are biting, and I think they fall very heavily on pensioners. I will be forwarding this petition to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions and I hope honourable members will take into account in future debates the call from the pensioners league.