Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the eve of Christmas last year, I received an email from one of my constituents voicing her concern about changes proposed by the Minister for Social Services to the disability support pension. My constituent, Jacqui, wrote that she is a 51-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis, currently on the DSP. The DSP was granted to Jacqui in 2010 following her diagnosis after a protracted period of being unwell. Her symptoms include loss of balance, dizziness, frequent paraesthesia in her limbs, frequent migraine headaches, pain and cramping in her left leg and foot, tremors in her right arm and severe heat intolerance and fatigue. Jacqui is generally unable to do the most basic of things outside the home without assistance, mainly due to her problem with balance. A former public servant, veterinary nurse and financial planner, she is no longer able to work. She was fortunate to get a wheelchair with help from MS Australia and the ACT government.

Jacqui is a single mother of a 16-year-old boy. Her son started year 11 at Narrabundah College this year. Last year, he graduated with distinction from year 10 at Alfred Deakin High School, despite being Jacqui's unofficial 'carer' and missing a bit of school work as a result. He also works part time at a local music shop. Jacqui contacted me out of desperation because the mixed messages she was receiving from the Abbott government had left her in a state of total uncertainty, insecure about her financial future, fearful about how she would continue to provide for her son if her pension were cut. On the eve of the election on 1 September 2013, then opposition leader Tony Abbott, appearing on the ABC's Insiders, said:

And I want to give people this absolute assurance: no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no changes to pensions, and no changes to the GST.

Jacqui says that upon seeing this interview, she breathed a sigh of relief. No changes to pensions, no cuts to health would ensure she could maintain her modest lifestyle and afford much-needed medical care.

However it appears this is yet another election promise that the Abbott government is all too willing to break even though on 1 January a spokeswoman told the Canberra Times that the Prime Minister has always made it clear that all election promises will be honoured. The Prime Minister has said this many times. There is a review underway currently but there are no recommendations before the government to make changes to the disability support pension at this time. However, as I said, this election promise is one the Abbott government is all too willing to break. In December, the Minister for Social Services and member for Menzies flagged changes to the DSP, suggesting that not everyone who is on it deserved to be on it permanently:

We don't want to condemn people to what is virtually a dead-end these days in terms of the DSP.

The DSP might be 'a dead end' to the member for Menzies, but I assure those opposite it is a lifeline to those who receive it. On Sunday 22 December, the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann, confirmed on Sky News that the disability pension was being considered for cuts by the government's Commission of Audit.

This—

the disability support pension—

is one of the fast-growing areas of government expenditure. The Commission of Audit is looking at this whole area for us ... and is expected to make some recommendations on how that can best be achieved by the end of January.

I say to those opposite: the end of January has come and gone and Jacqui and the other 822,000 Australians living with a permanent and significant disability who rely on the disability support pension are still none the wiser. I wonder if those opposite realise the incredible stress, the anxiety and the uncertainty that they have forced upon DSP recipients. I wonder if Prime Minister Abbott realises that the promise he made prior to the election that there would be no changes to pensions provided a fragment of hope for those who rely on pensions. I wonder if he realises that in breaking that promise he is crushing that hope and breaking their trust?

The disability support pension is a lifeline for those in our community who have to live with permanent disability and illness. It is something we should be proud of as a nation and not somewhere to look for savings.

House adjourned at 21 : 30