Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a short contribution on the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Energy Assistance Payment and Pensioner Concession Card) Bill 2017. Schedule 1 of the bill provides for a one-off energy assistance payment to those receiving the age pension, the disability support pension and parenting payment single as well as recipients of a number of veterans' payments if they are residing in Australia on 20 June this year. Individuals who have made a claim for one of these payments on or before the test date and their claim is subsequently successful will also be paid the one-off payment in 2017-18. The payment is exempt from tax and will not be considered income for the purposes of social security.

Schedule 2 of the bill provides a pensioner concession card to pensioners and veterans who lost the card on 1 January 2017 as a consequence of rebalancing the assets tests. I should say here that the Greens will be supporting this bill. However, we do have concerns. The energy assistance payment, which, as I have just articulated, will be targeted at those receiving the age pension, the disability support pension and the parenting payment single. We have no objection whatsoever to that; in fact, we will support the bill so that they get this one-off payment because people still struggle to make ends meet on those payments. However, what I am deeply concerned about is these payments will not go to those Newstart or youth allowance. They will not be eligible for this payment.

When you consider that at least pensions are better indexed than Newstart payments and youth allowance, when you consider that both of those payments ensure that people live below the poverty line and when you consider that those payments are significantly lower than the payments received under the age pension, under the disability support pension and under the parenting payment single, I cannot for the life of me think why the government and the Nick Xenophon Team think that those on Newstart and those on youth allowance do not deserve this one-off payment as well, when they are the people that are living significantly below the poverty line.

As I said, I think those on parenting payment single should be getting this payment. But if we think that single parents should be getting this one-off payment, why are we not paying the single parents that are trying to exist bringing up a family on Newstart once their youngest child turns eight? Why are we not making sure that they get a payment? Because I tell you what, they certainly need an extra one-off payment for energy assistance, which will help them meet their bottom line because they are living in poverty. Why are we not acknowledging that these people are living in poverty? We have been campaigning for years to try and get Newstart increased. Everybody—except, apparently, most of the people in this place—realises that Newstart and youth allowance recipients need an increase and they have for years and years. They certainly need assistance to pay their energy bills.

I know the government is going to say, 'Yes, but they're only on there short term.' Let's acknowledge the reality that people now have to exist on Newstart for much longer because they cannot find a job. The latest stats are still basically the same for every—