Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the Social Security and Veterans’ Entitlements Legislation Amendment (One-off Payments to Increase Assistance for Older Australians and Carers and Other Measures) Bill 2006. The bill seeks to provide a one-off payment to certain older Australians, as the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs has said. Those eligible for the payment include: firstly, people who have reached pension age by 9 May 2006 and are receiving income support under the Social Security Act 1991; secondly, people who are qualified for the seniors concession allowance on 9 May 2006, or who would qualify because they had lodged a claim for the seniors health card by 9 May and would be eligible for that card on 9 May; and, thirdly, people who are receiving widow allowance, mature age allowance or partner allowance for a period that includes 9 May by virtue of a claim made prior to that date. Fourthly, the legislation also provides for one-off payments to certain veterans and carers.

The payment rate for a single, a member of a temporarily separated couple, a respite care couple, an illness-separated couple or a member of a couple whose partner does not qualify for the payment will be $102.80. People receiving the widow allowance, mature age allowance, mature age partner allowance or partner allowance, in similar circumstances, will also receive that same amount. For people who are members of a couple, each of whom is eligible for the payment, $51.40 will be paid to each person. The amount for a person who is qualified or becomes eligible for a seniors concession allowance is also $102.80. Most of these payments will be made in June of this year.

Labor supports the payment of this one-off bonus to older Australians. Many older Australians, particularly those entirely dependent on income support, survive on very low incomes, and any additional financial assistance is very welcome to help them make ends meet, particularly in an environment where many of them are paying more for their petrol than they ever have.

I note that those seniors who are entirely dependent on income support have seen the smallest growth in disposable income of any household type listed in appendix A to the government’s budget overview. Despite the economic growth of the last decade, senior singles and senior couples entirely dependent on income support have seen a disposable income growth of only 17.1 per cent and 17.5 per cent respectively. This is the lowest rate, as I said, listed in appendix A to the government’s budget overview. This is the lowest level of disposable income growth of any of the household types listed by the government, and it does not reflect well on the government’s treatment of older Australians without independent resources.

With regard to payments to seniors in couples, Labor fails to understand why pensioner couples are getting only half the assistance that is being provided to self-funded retirees. Whereas a pensioner couple will receive the equivalent of only one payment of $102.80, self-funded retiree couples will be entitled to two payments, one for each member of the couple. I am sure that pensioner couples who are listening today will be interested to know and will be pressing their members of parliament, if they are government members, to explain why they are being provided with only half the assistance that is being provided to self-funded retirees. In an environment where their cost of living is increasing exponentially day by day, it seems like a cruel hoax to provide these older Australians with less assistance than will be provided to self-funded retirees who are of the same age and in very similar circumstances.

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