Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can think of no more fitting introduction to my remarks than the previous remarks of the member for Longman because, since he has been talking about the tremendous difference in terms of the Liberal Party's push for the creation of wealth versus the Labor Party's redistribution of wealth, he may wish to provide the notes of his speech to the Victorian Liberal government, as it seems they have been doing quite a good job of redistributing wealth from pensioners into Victorian government coffers. And they seem to have done this not once but twice in the course of the last year.

My contribution to this evening's adjournment debate is really focused on what has been happening to the circumstances of pensioners as a result of changes made by the Ballieu government to the annual electricity concession that was previously available to those pensioners. I specifically speak about the circumstances of Mr Alan Richardson, a local constituent in La Trobe and a pensioner—one of around 17,600 pensioners in my electorate who have received a well-deserved and much-needed boost to their pensions through Labor's Household Assistance Package in addition to the historic increase in the pension delivered by Labor earlier in its period in office.

Over the past few months, as members will know, this package has delivered around $250 in extra cash to single pensioners across Australia and $380 combined to couple pensioners, and from March next year they will receive a permanent boost to their regular payments meaning that, in total, single pensioners will receive an extra $338 a year and couples will receive an extra $510 a year combined. We are providing that extra assistance to pensioners and other low-income families and households to help them make ends meet, in particular with things like utility bills. The increases mean that Labor has more than supported Australia's pensioners for the impacts of carbon pricing, providing on average $134 above this effect.

And yet, a few weeks ago, Alan Richardson, a constituent of mine, a pensioner, received a letter from his electricity supplier—and he is not alone; it has happened to many pensioners across the state, and certainly in my electorate—Australian Power and Gas, stating that the Victorian Liberal government has decided to reduce his annual electricity concession and the winter energy concession. It quite bluntly states: 'The federal government is compensating low-income households for the additional cost of electricity and gas through increases in pensions, allowances and income tax cuts. As a result, the Victorian government has decided a concession is unnecessary for the proportion of the bill covered by the federal government's compensation.' So we see that, from 1 July 2012, the Baillieu government is no longer making available a concession to the first $172 of a concession-card holder's annual electricity bill. Australian Power and Gas clearly states that the Victorian government is doing this because of the federal government's Household Assistance package. So there we have it. While the federal government is providing much-needed support to pensioners and low-income earners, Ted Baillieu and the Liberals once again seek to claw that back.

Since we are talking this evening about the redistribution of wealth, it is important that people bear that in mind. It follows from a decision made earlier this year, again by the Victorian government, to increase public housing rents, which means that more than 38,000 pensioners living in public housing in Victoria had a portion of their pensions docked for public housing rents. So we see that, under Labor, as a result of the very significant increase in the pension and our Household Assistance Package, amongst other things, pensioners have seen a significant increase in the amount that they receive on average per annum—around $4,000 more under Labor—but we see state Liberals, in my home state of Victoria and in New South Wales and in Queensland, being opportunistic, being cynical and seeking to claw back those pension rises by providing themselves with a windfall, a windfall at the expense of pensioners like Alan Richardson and a windfall at the expense of almost 18,000 pensioners right across my electorate and across the electorates of other Victorian MPs.

It is an extraordinary situation, where the Baillieu government, elected seemingly on the promise of assisting people with the costs of living, are in fact taking money out of the pockets of pensioners and retaining it for their own benefit. I imagine that this is not going to be the last occasion on which we see this. We are certainly seeing it in Queensland. I expect more of it in Victoria. (Time expired)