Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Within 10 years, pensioners will end up $4,000 a year worse off because of the Prime Minister's cuts to pension indexation. Pensioners will also have to pay for the Prime Minister's cuts to pension concessions, the new GP tax and the higher petrol tax. Why should pensioners, who have worked hard their whole lives, be forced to pay for this Prime Minister's dishonesty?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister has the call. I repeat: the tag line broadens the nature of the question considerably.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the pensioners of this country understand, this government inherited a debt and deficit disaster, thanks to the incompetence and the untrustworthiness of members opposite. We said that we would not change pensions, and pensions do not get changed until after the next election. They do not get changed until after the next election.

What we propose to do after the next election is to apply the same indexation to pensions as members opposite applied to family tax benefit. If it is right for members opposite to apply this particular indexation to family tax benefit, how can it be somehow grievously wrong to do it for the pensions? Let me repeat for the benefit of members opposite and for the benefit of people right around Australia who members opposite are seeking to deceive: the pension goes up every six months every year. When members opposite changed the indexation method that applies to the family tax benefit, no less a person and no less a guardian of ethics and morality than the member for Jagajaga herself said in this House:

The removal of the link to earnings ensures that government expenditure on—

this particular social security benefit—

is more sustainable in the long term.

That is what Jenny Macklin, the member for Jagajaga, said. She said that they were changing indexation to make that particular social security benefit 'more sustainable in the long term'. The difference between this government and members opposite is that we want the pension to be sustainable.

Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So you lied.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are no pie-in-the-sky promises from this government. There are no cash splashes with borrowed money from this government. What there is from this government is decent, sensible, prudent government, and I think that pensioners of Australia understand that.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Werriwa will withdraw his comment.

Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.