Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Workforce Incentive) Bill 2022 and to support the amendment by the member for Deakin. Arguably, the silent generation and the baby boomers are the hardest-working generations since the industrial revolution. They built this country. We see feats like the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the highways around Australia, and many of the people who built those are now our pensioners. And not all of them want to be retired. Not all of them want to play golf or travel around in a campervan, and not all of them who are currently on pensions can afford to do so.

Among those in these two hardworking generations that I talk of—the silent generation and the baby boomers—many are facing tough times, with cost-of-living pressures and increasing fuel prices. Many of them still rent. But what you can say about those generations is that that their work ethic generally was second to none. They got out there and they worked hard. They didn't complain. And, unlike some generations, and I include mine, they didn't have their hand out. They never stuck their hand out and asked for something from their governments. They got up, they dusted themselves off and they got on with it. They worked hard to get ahead. But some of those who worked to support this country and who built this country do rely on their pension, and that is why I support this bill—because they deserve to be able to go out there and put a little bit more money into their pocket to combat the cost-of-living pressures that they're facing today or just to give themselves something nice, a treat, or even to buy Christmas presents for the grandkids.

When you talk to employers in the electorate—and no doubt around Australia, in the electorates of all the members who are contributing today—if you go into a retail shop, a cafe or a restaurant, or industry, the first thing that employers will say to you is 'We cannot find workers; we cannot find enough workers for the floor, skilled or unskilled.' The previous speaker, the member for Brisbane, referred to teachers. We can't find them. And yet they're there, willing to work, but can't because their pension won't allow it. Well, this is a step in the right direction.

I would have liked to have seen a much larger step in the right direction to enable twice the amount—$600 a fortnight rather than the proposed $453—but, as I said, it is a step in the right direction. In Cowper alone, there are some 130,000 eligible voters. Over 30 per cent of those 130,000 are over the age of 67. That's in my electorate alone, so think how many people across Australia would be willing to work. We have a workforce shortage in the agricultural sector—180,000 people. We're seeing farmers plough their fruit and vegetables, their horticultural products, back into the ground because they can't find people to pick it. They can't find the workers who want to go out there.

I've spoken to plenty of pensioners. In fact, over the weekend I was at the Kempsey Riverside Market, and a fellow came up to me and said, 'When is the government going to pass this bill so I can go out and get some work—because it's been four months, five months.' Fortunately we'll be able to do it today, but unfortunately it won't be the amount that he was looking for. I'm sure we all have these stories of pensioners saying, 'I want some more money in my pocket.' And I do commend the government for taking up what was our bill previously and with a relatively bipartisan approach.

Employers know what they will have in pensioners with that work ethic. They know they'll show up, they know they're going to be as honest as the day is long and they know that, at least for part of the time, they'll be able to fill those job shortages—rather than somebody who should be working on the business being there working in the business. I was talking to a lady in a bottle shop the other day, and she was telling me she was on her 17th day straight of doing 12-hour shifts. She was in her late 50s. She said, 'Pat, I just cannot find anyone.' Everywhere I go—and I'm sure you have the same, Deputy Speaker Buchholz—you'll see the signs in the windows: vacancy. My 15-year-old son put four resumes in for four jobs and got all four of them. That's how desperate they are. I wouldn't let him take all four jobs; he's got to do his schoolwork first!

There was another issue raised previously, and it was something I hadn't turned my mind to, but it was an excellent point, and that is the mental health and wellbeing of pensioners from getting out into the community. I know that many of them do volunteer work. Many of them need that camaraderie and need that community support. By getting involved in work, working with other staff members, it actually gives them a form of confidence and will to get out there and be part of the community. In terms of the mental health aspect this can only be a positive thing.

This is based on the coalition's proposed bill, some four months ago, to double the amount of income that age pensioners and veterans can earn without reducing their payments, which in real terms means an increase of potential earnings from $300 to $600 per fortnight, which would go a long way for the pensioners. I do commend the government for recognising that this is a good thing. It's a commonsense thing. It really is. You have a workforce shortage. You have people who want to work. Let's put them together. It won't solve the problem. As I said, we are 180,000 people short in the agriculture sector and that's not looking across at all the other industries and sectors.

I do commend the government. But I would urge them to support the amendment by the member for Deakin. I will support it, even if the government won't support the amendment, because we need to get on with it. We need to give some sort of certainty to those pensioners and veterans out there that they can actually earn some more money, most importantly, to combat these rapidly increasing costs in life. It has been four or five months now, but I am sure that pensioners watching this or listening to this or being involved in this would also urge the government to do the very same thing. Let's not give them a lukewarm, weak cup of tea. Let's give them nice, hot, strong coffee and get it all moving.

Importantly, and I will say it again, I do urge the government to reconsider the strength of this bill as soon as financially viable. I certainly hope it goes further than the sunset clause in the bill. We have to provide that certainty to pensioners and we have to provide that certainty to our employers, not just for the next six months or 12 months but for the next 10 years, for the next decade, to ensure that we can work through these times that are coming that are going to be very difficult. It is going to be difficult for businesses. It will be difficult for the average punter. Prices are starting to rise. We've seen that significantly in gas, petrol and electricity. For a pensioner it must be very difficult under normal circumstances, but where you see electricity prices going up 57 per cent that must be terrifying, knowing that you have a limited amount of money coming in every fortnight and knowing that those cost-of-living pressures are going through the roof. I do commend this bill. I do urge the government to support the amendment by the member for Deakin. I hope that they take it very seriously and think about the pensioners when they do so.

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