Bill Shorten Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:00 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. Tomorrow at the Perth Town Hall—
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
pensioners will be protesting against the Prime Minister's cuts.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The Leader of the Opposition will put the prop down. We do not have props.
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
Okay. Tomorrow at the Perth Town Hall pensioners will be protesting at the 6PR Channel 7 Fair Go for Seniors rally. Given that Premier Barnett has confirmed that the Prime Minister is cutting pensioner concessions, will the Prime Minister finally admit that his budget is hurting pensioners?
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I can confirm that pensions will go up every six months under this government. They will go up every six months under this government. This government has absolutely delivered on its commitment not to change pensions in this term of parliament. We have absolutely delivered on our commitment not to change pensions in this term of parliament. It is true that we have not continued with a national partnership agreement on pensioner concessions, but pensioner concessions are overwhelmingly the preserve of the states. Less than 10 per cent of the value of pensioner concessions was provided by the Commonwealth, and, given that in this budget the Commonwealth is providing the states with some $9 billion more, we thought that this was a small price that the states could pay to the task of budget repair.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I am pleased to say that, so far, every single state has undertaken to continue to maintain the value of pensioner concessions.