Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with many Australians who are not certain but who would like to think they could welcome the Rudd Labor government’s kind of decision relating to the bonuses paid to carers and age pensioners. We are sort of getting somewhere. We are not quite certain, though, whether we can completely welcome it. We are not certain whether the many people who look to those bonus payments can do so with relief and with optimism that that lump sum of cash—cash that can fund much-needed repairs on their car, replace an important home appliance or be the nest egg that they can use to invest in a holiday and a chance to recharge their batteries, which are all very important issues—will still be available. We think we can be optimistic about that, but we are not quite sure.

We have heard the long-awaited declarations of what truly is the Labor government’s position. It is still vague. We have heard that carers and pensioners will not be worse off under the budget, but we still have not quite got to a very simple statement that the sound economic management of the Howard government that made these bonus payments possible will be carried forward by the Rudd government. We are waiting to see whether we can get that clear declaration. There has been a lot of speculation about it, but I know that in the community that I represent in Dunkley it is a very important issue. There are more than 2½ thousand local people on the carers allowance. There are probably another 580 on carers payments and many age pensioners who would like simple, plain-speaking, frank, up-front, honest information on what their benefits are. With the Rudd government inheriting an enormous budget surplus from the former Howard government, this should not be a point of conjecture or consternation; it should be very easily sorted out. I call on the Rudd Labor government to be clear about what they are planning to do.

It would be helpful for those claiming to be fiscal conservatives to realise that it is conservatively estimated that carers save the Australian economy $16 billion a year. Seventy-four per cent of all the services that people of high care and support needs receive come from those carers and those volunteers providing the very assistance that the previous government sought to recognise. I would like to draw a link to the ongoing work of carers and point particularly to carers of children with autism.

On 27 October the former Minister for Families and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough, came to my electorate. We visited the establishment of an innovative therapy centre for primary school age children with autism in Mornington. Those families who selflessly contribute to the development of their children and to improving their functionality and quality of life had moved forward to set up this very innovative program and they were elated that the Howard government had announced a $190.7 million program to assist young children with an autism spectrum disorder. We have seen that Labor can find money to bring the Tree of Knowledge back to life. Why don’t we put some money into preparing young people with autism for a better life, developing their knowledge and functionality, and pick up this very sound policy introduced by the former government? (Time expired)