Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the statements made by members of this House, which I'm pleased to respond to. The member for Moncrieff asked about older Australians benefiting from changes to the pension loan scheme and how many older Australians could benefit from changes to this scheme in this year's budget. I am pleased to advise that any Australian of age pension age can benefit from the pension loan scheme subject to how much equity they own in Australian real estate, if they choose to use it. This is because the scheme, which is a reverse mortgage loan product, is not just available for pensioners and part pensioners but also for self-funded retirees. Age pension recipients can combine their pension payments with the loan amounts provided by the scheme up to a total of 150 per cent of the maximum rate of age pension. On the other hand, self-funded retirees can receive the whole 150 per cent of the maximum rate of age pension as a loan.

Participation in the scheme is voluntary and participants have complete discretion as to how they spend their money. Since the reduction in the scheme's interest rate in January this year, participant members have more than doubled. At the end of March, there were over 4,000 older Australians participating. We're also introducing a campaign to raise awareness of the scheme so that more Australians of age pension age are aware of the options available to them. As the member for Moncrieff has stated, these changes mean that older Australians will be provided with more choice to enjoy their life in retirement. The retirement income review has shown that, by tapping into a small proportion of their home equity, older Australians could substantially improve their retirement incomes. Can I say I'm particularly proud of the way the government has supported pensioners in the way in which we're delivering for older Australians.

In response to the member for Barton asking questions about pensioners on the cashless debit card, let me be absolutely clear on government policy: we have no such plan and never have had such a plan. The cashless debit card is for those Australians on working age payment to help stabilise their lives, become job ready and get back into the workforce. Overwhelmingly, Australians in Cape York were excited that they could use the cashless debit card when they travelled to Cairns, Townsville or wherever else they might go. One issue that has been raised a number of times concerns the amount of misinformation—much of it perpetuated by those opposite, unfortunately. Any campaign aimed at suggesting that age pensioners will be moving in this direction is patently and utterly wrong.

Can I respond to the member for Dunkley on the issue of affordable housing. When it comes to social housing, social housing has and always has been the responsibility of state governments—any failing in social housing is a failure of state governments period—notwithstanding the federal government's intervention through programs such as NHFIC, which has sought to put over $1 billion into the community housing sector to assist. It's also important the member for Dunkley understands that the federal government spends over $5 billion per annum in Commonwealth rent assistance, on top of other primary payments. Likewise, we've increased the base rate of unemployment benefits for the first time in 35 years. That's the first time since there have been five Labor prime ministers and four liberal prime ministers. It's this government that has put more money into the base rate of unemployment and more money into Commonwealth rental assistance than any government in living memory.

Can I also respond to another question asked by the member for Barton in terms of the National Redress Scheme. I acknowledge her heartfelt interest in the scheme and the requirement and desire for the scheme to do better. The scheme recognises that survivors of institutional child sexual abuse have been waiting for a long time for redress. I think we all acknowledge the enduring pain of survivors and their families who are waiting for resolution. No scheme is perfect; not this one, not any one. There is always trauma in coming forward. But the government is working hard to ensure that every institution with a history of working with young people joins the scheme to ensure all survivors who come forward can access redress. Institutions will be able to join throughout the life of the scheme, maximising access to redress for survivors. If institutions named in applications do not join the scheme, they will be publicly named, will become ineligible for Commonwealth grant funding and may be stripped of their charitable status.

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