James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the coalition's election commitment to increase the income thresholds for eligibility to the Commonwealth seniors health card. It was a great day in the campaign when we announced this, and not that big a surprise when the Labor Party dramatically and rapidly said, 'We'll do that as well.' This legislation changes the eligibility income threshold to $90,000 adjusted taxable income for singles and $144,000 for couples. It is a dramatic increase in eligibility. It is estimated that nearly 50,000 people will now be eligible for the Commonwealth seniors health card. Self-funded retirees are the great economic heroes of our country. They are in a position to finance, largely, their own retirement and take an enormous burden off the taxpayer by way of funding their retirement rather than needing to draw on the appropriate supports that are in place for senior Australians who are eligible. The Commonwealth seniors health card is an important indication and a practical support, and one that they deserve. It indicates to them that we value the fact that they have provisioned for their retirement and that, despite having provisioned for their retirement, they deserve some support from the government.

The last few years have been challenging for all, but particularly for self-funded retirees, given the economic turmoil and headwinds around the pandemic. I have a very significant cohort of self-funded retirees in my electorate of Sturt and a lot of them have been apprehensive about their financial circumstances. Obviously, there were dramatic issues in markets with investments that they rely on to provide for their retirement—all of their own savings. This is an excellent way of making sure that they understand how much we value them. They should be entitled to support through the Commonwealth seniors health card around pharmaceutical and medical benefits.

It is worth noting that the Commonwealth seniors health card is also used by state governments and others to provide concessions et cetera to seniors. I know that's not the case in South Australia; I am sure it is in most, if not all, other jurisdictions. Being eligible for the Commonwealth seniors health card not only gives you access to medical and pharmaceutical entitlements through the Commonwealth but also provides for other concessions that can be accessed through state, territory and local governments. So it is very important.

It's disappointing that Labor have broken their promise to introduce this by 1 July. I'm sure that is particularly due to the ridiculous delay in the parliament sitting. I apologise to all of the self-funded retirees who have missed out on a fair access to this card from 1 July, but I'm hopeful that this bill will rapidly move through the House and the Senate, and that we can adopt it and give the entitlement to all. I commend the bill to the House.

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