Craig Thomson (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. What impact will increased grocery prices have on Australia’s pensioners? What assistance has the government provided and are there any threats to this support?

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dobell for his question and particularly for the hard work that he does on behalf of the more than 25,000 pensioners in his electorate. This government does understand that pensioners do it tough. That is why we have delivered for pensioners. We delivered a pension increase in last year’s budget, and that was worth more than $70 a fortnight for singles on the maximum rate. From this Saturday, of course, pensions will rise again. Regular indexation will increase the maximum single rate by $29.20 a fortnight, and the maximum rate for couples combined will increase by $44 a fortnight. If you add together the budget increase for pensioners and indexation, single pensioners on the maximum rate are up to $100 a fortnight better off than they were in August last year. That, I have to say, is on top of the increase to the utilities allowance of almost $400 which we also delivered. So we certainly have delivered for pensioners and we will continue to do so.

One of the things we know is that pensioners certainly do feel any increase in the cost of living, whether it is to essentials like food, petrol or utility bills. That is one of the reasons that we introduced a special measure for pensioners last year to make sure that the value of the pension really kept up with the cost of living of pensioners. What pensioners cannot afford is a brand-new tax delivered by the Leader of the Opposition that would push up prices. But, of course, we know that is exactly what this Leader of the Opposition has in mind for them: a big new tax on the very companies that sell food to pensioners. The opposition wants to put a tax on supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths, two of the companies being targeted by this Leader of the Opposition’s great big new tax. As the chamber of commerce said last week:

The impact of a new tax or levy imposed upon business cannot be quarantined and these changes end up having an impact on overall prices …

That is crystal clear to every single pensioner in the country. One thing is for certain about this Leader of the Opposition: he has a giant new tax that is going to apply to supermarkets, and that will mean increased prices for pensioners.