Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am going to talk about good news. The good news I am going to talk about is the simple fact that pensioners, carers and disability support pensioners who were ignored by the previous government—wife and widowed pensioners; people on partnered, widowed and bereaved allowances; veterans affairs service pensioners; veterans income supplement recipients; Commonwealth seniors health card holders; veterans gold card holders who are eligible for seniors concessions allowance; and carer allowance recipients—will all be receiving a much-needed payment just before Christmas through the Rudd government’s economic stimulus package. The economic stimulus package will provide $4.8 billion to assist age pensioners, veterans and disability support pensioners and carers. This is a far cry from what the previous government did. The previous government did not listen to the pensioners. After all, the then Minister for Families and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs took a recommendation to cabinet that pensioners should be paid more money, but it ignored his recommendation.

It has taken the election of the Rudd Labor government to actually deliver to pensioners. First, we increased the utilities allowance to $500 a year; that is indexed, unlike the previous money that was paid to pensioners. Pensioners receive the same amount as do self-funded retirees, so that is an acknowledgment that pensioners were doing it hard. We also looked at the way pensions were indexed and put it in a more favourable light for pensioners—something that the previous government ignored for the 12 long years it was in government. For 12 long years it sat on its hands and did nothing to assist pensioners and elderly Australians.

In addition, from 1 January next year pensioners will be able to use their travel concession cards to travel anywhere in Australia—use of the cards will not be limited to the state they live in. Following the one-off payment that they will receive on the fortnight commencing 8 December, pensioners will look to the government for further remuneration from 1 July next year. The Harmer review has been taking submissions and will make recommendations to the government. The government will deliver a long-term solution for pensioners.

What does this mean for the people that I represent in this parliament? As well as the payment to the pensioners there will be one-off payments to families in receipt of the family tax benefit A. In the electorate of Shortland, there will be 42,724 people who benefit from the Rudd government’s economic stimulus package. There are 11,144 age pensioners partnered, 7,454 single pensioners, 89 wife pensioner partnered and one in the category of a bereavement allowance. As for carers, we have 2,768 on the carer allowance coupled and 1,091 on carer allowance single and there are in excess of 1,000 on carer payment, coupled and single. There are 11,133 families who receive family tax benefit A who will benefit. All up, as I said, there will be 42,724 beneficiaries.

The Rudd government is a government that listens to the people and it knows that families are struggling. The Rudd government has been in power while we have had two percentage points decrease in the interest rate, unlike under the previous government when the interest rates only went one way—up. The Rudd government has listened to people and will deliver to them before Christmas when they need extra financial support.