Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I have four questions to put to the minister representing Minister Ruston. My first question is: how many jobs will be lost when the government prematurely cuts unemployment support? My second question is: why is the government short-changing pensioners by refusing to adjust the age pension deeming rates? I think the member for Jagajaga put that question to you. The third question to the minister is: why won't the government join Labor in delivering support for disability support pensioners and carers to cope with additional health costs during the pandemic?

The next question is: will the government consider working with Labor to get the scheme working for survivors? That's to do with redress. I would also ask, having listened to the last speaker: will the government agree to become the funder of last resort or not? That would seem to me to be an obvious thing, having listened to the member for Petrie talking for some time about the institutions that have refused to join.

I will take a few moments to touch on some of these areas. The government expects that 1.8 million Australians will be on unemployment support by the end of the year—that's the government's figures, not our figures. That's 300 more than what the government expected. Just this week, despite how it's dressed up, there has been a reduction in the coronavirus supplement to people on JobSeeker, with, I grant you, an extension to the end of March. But the other thing that we've consistently called for, as has everyone from the BCA through to ACOSS, is a permanent increase to the JobSeeker rate. That still has not been delivered by the government.

In terms of the age pension, you know as well as I do that it is more expensive for people on the age pension during the pandemic. Yet there was no consideration given to adjusting the deeming rates and a late consideration, by the Prime Minister's own admission, to give two $250 payments to pensioners. Of course, that is welcome. But, as previous members have said, that it is simply not enough. The government has gone harder by patronising pensioners with the explanation that the CPI has not grown in terms of the deeming rates. The Reserve Bank cash rate, as you well know, Minister, is at an all time low at 0.1 per cent—unprecedented Australian history—and yet the upper deeming rate is still 2.25 per cent. How is that fair? Why won't the government adjust the deeming rate to be in line with the cash rate of the Reserve Bank?

The other point that I'd like to make is about disability and carers—and my colleague has outlined a very important question to you in relation to carers. The pandemic saw people with disability forced to purchase more expensive groceries and essentials. They experienced increased costs of private transport as they attempted to avoid public transport. Last week, Labor moved very reasonable and modest amendments in the parliament, as you know, Minister—in fact, I moved them myself—that would allow the government flexibility to address this. We're willing to work with the government on these issues. This is not a contested space.

Finally, in relation to redress, we know that, as at September 2020, the scheme had only made 3,498 payments when there are identified 60,000 people that are eligible for this scheme. There is an absolute slowness in processing applications. My question is: why won't the government introduce an early release scheme similar to the one in Scotland?

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