Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question goes to the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing. Given the pension increase is happening today, can the minister outline what other support the government is providing to older Australians?

Mark Butler (Port Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Mental Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hindmarsh for his question. He represents one of the oldest and therefore one of the wisest electorates in this place. This is a great day for Australia's 3.5 million pensioners, including 330,000 pensioners in South Australia. About one in five South Australians today are receiving an increase: if they are a maximum-rate single pensioner it is an increase of about $35.80 per fortnight, or $54 for pensioner couples.

This government's pension reforms have made a very real difference to the financial circumstances of Australia's pensioners. The biggest ever increase in the pension was steered through by the Minister for Families and Communities in 2009—there were new indexation arrangements that reflect the real-life circumstances of Australia's pensioners—and the clean energy supplement was introduced and steered through by the minister for climate change. Because of these, the maximum-rate single pensioner is now $5,300 better off than they were only 3½ years ago—more than $100 per week. In South Australia, the 30,000 pensioners who live in public housing can also rest assured that they will be able to keep every single dollar of their clean energy supplement. To their shame, the governments of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria have refused to give the same assurance to their public-housing-tenant pensioners. Instead, they will gouge 25 per cent of that clean energy supplement and plough it into their own Treasury coffers.

I am pleased to say that, in addition to keeping a close eye on cost-of-living pressures for older Australians, this government is acting to make sure that older Australians have as much choice and as much information about their age care and support options as is possible. Later today, or perhaps tomorrow, this House will debate five bills that incorporate the government's substantial aged-care reform package, Living Longer Living Better—the most substantial reforms to our aged-care system in almost 30 years. I am pleased to say to the House that there is very strong support from the aged-care sector and from the broader community for those bills to pass the House this week in order to allow those bills to be considered in the other place, including by way of a Senate inquiry.

I thank the member for Hindmarsh for his ongoing advocacy and support of pension reform and of aged-care reform. I also thank other members across the chamber who have shown a deep interest, over the last couple of years, in building a better aged-care system for Australia's future.