Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to address six steps for seniors in the electorate of Flinders. In particular, I want to start by noting that we had 31,891 people aged 60 and above as at June 2004—the latest figure available—and that now there would almost certainly be more than 32,000 members of the local community who are over the age of 60. In practice, that means that it is an electorate with particular needs for seniors. The Mornington Peninsula, Hastings, Koo Wee Rup, Lang Lang, Phillip Island and the Bass Coast area—all of these areas have a very high concentration of seniors. In acknowledging that fact, I want to pay tribute to the work that they have done but also, most importantly, to set out a practical, six-step plan. The first four of these elements come from the budget announced this week. Many of them are items that I have worked on with local residents and local seniors representation groups.

Firstly and most immediately, there will be a one-off payment of $102.80 to all pensioners to assist with utilities and to all self-funded retirees who are eligible for the seniors concession allowance by 30 June 2006. That payment will reach about 20,000 people in the electorate of Flinders, so that is a very significant payment for seniors within my electorate.

The second thing that I am looking at is that, significantly, for those who may not receive that payment, the government has announced a plan to dramatically simplify and streamline superannuation. The superannuation changes, which will come into effect as of 1 July 2007 because of the need to prepare them, will mean that anybody who has paid contributions and ongoing tax through their superannuation system—so that it is a fully taxed superannuation program—will thereafter be able to withdraw their superannuation tax free. That is an extremely important income initiative for self-funded retirees in Rosebud, Rye, Dromana, Blairgowrie, Sorrento, Mount Martha and so many different places on the Mornington Peninsula. It will make a real difference to the quality and level of their income and also to the simplicity with which their tax arrangements will thereafter be able to proceed.

The third initiative that I am very pleased about is to do with the fact that there are many seniors who are also carers. Many of them have children who have grown up and who are still in need of care. It is a situation in electorates all around Australia. About 700 recipients within the electorate of Flinders who currently receive the carers payment will receive a $1,000 one-off bonus by 30 June this year, and around 2,600 carers who currently receive the carers allowance within the electorate of Flinders will receive a $600 bonus. So that is the third element in the six steps for seniors.

The fourth element that I want to outline will affect only 100 families, but it is extremely important. It is largely to assist retired farmers and rural land-holders. From January 2007, people of age pension age who are currently capable of receiving the age pension, who have at least a 20-year attachment to their land and for whom it would be unreasonable to realise the value of that land by selling it or leasing it may have that land excluded from the calculation of the assets test for the age pension and other allied pensions. That is a critical step forward. It effectively ends the problem of curtilage. As rural land-holders and representatives will know, it is critical.

The fifth element is a step we are taking in the electorate of Flinders. Later this year, at a date to be announced, most probably in early October, we will be hosting a seniors forum bringing speakers and experts on health and wellbeing and creating an expo for seniors about seniors on the Mornington Peninsula. I think that is an extremely important step. That is a way of, firstly, bringing seniors together and, secondly, addressing their needs.

The sixth point that I am very pleased about is that at Point Nepean we will be establishing respite for carers of children and others who have disabilities. That is one of the components there. I commend the six-step program.