Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor understand the pressure that pensioners are under, especially age pensioners. Providing a basic standard of living for those not able to support themselves is a core Labor value and a key principle of the income support system, because every citizen should be able to meet their basic needs and participate in Australian society. We recognise that rising food and petrol prices and the cost of heating and other utilities can determine whether or not Australians are able to live in comfort and dignity and remain active in their communities, particularly when they are surviving on fixed incomes. That is why last year, when in opposition, Labor initiated the Senate inquiry into the cost-of-living pressures on older Australians—because we understood that seniors were doing it tough.

We are intent on properly addressing 11 years of coalition neglect, giving pensioners dignity in their everyday life. The unsustainable position that pensioners are in today is a problem created by those opposite, who did nothing to fix the problem in 11 long years of government. In contrast, immediately on coming to power, Labor acknowledged the problem and took responsibility for doing something about it. We recognised the needs of pensioners in our very first budget with a substantial increase in the utilities payment. It is not appropriate to fiddle with the base rate of the pension without looking at the issues as a whole. For example, we have just had a claim that the Liberals fixed the pension to average male weekly earnings. What happens to that benchmark once you fiddle with it by adding the extra $30?