Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Senator Evans. If the government are so keen to help pensioners, why are they reducing benefits to 17,000 individuals in receipt of pension and allowance payments from July 2009 under changes to income definitions used to assess entitlements?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Boswell for his question. As I have indicated to him on a number of occasions, there were a range of budget measures that went to some of the arrangements regarding some of the entitlements to do with pensioner health cards and other entitlements that were seen as tightening up on the incomes test and other measures that were designed to give the system more integrity and to make sure it was targeted at those in need. But the budget also included very large increases in payments to pensioners and extended the utilities allowance and other measures to a broader range of pensioners and carers. We actually increased the utilities allowance from just over $100 to $500 per annum, and I understand that the next instalment of that greatly increased allowance will be going out this month as part of a quarterly payment.

So the budget contained a range of significant measures that improved income to pensioners and carers. But, as the senator knows, in addition to those very serious and sizeable initiatives to better help pensioners and carers—people who are on fixed incomes and who are doing it tough in times when inflation has been at levels way beyond what we would consider acceptable—we also made a number of measures that sought to tighten eligibility and make sure that benefits were going to those most in need and that they were targeted in the same way that the previous government had sought to target benefits for those most in need. As I say, there were a number of changes in relation to Commonwealth senior health card eligibility and a couple of other measures that looked to better target those benefits.

As with any measure such as that, it is true that, when you target a measure to those who you decide are in need, there are others who miss out, either as a result of the measure or because they are missing out already. That is a fact. We accept that a couple of those measures have had that impact—that some people who were previously entitled are no longer entitled and some people who would like to be entitled are not. But successive governments on both sides of politics have looked to target welfare benefits and concessions to those most in need. That is, I think, responsible public policy, and it is certainly a policy that this government continues to support. The alternative is to say that these measures should be directed to everyone, that we have a bottomless pit of funds and we can direct them to everyone. Clearly that is not feasible. What you have to do is make decisions about who is in greatest need and who to target payments to. The previous government made a number of decisions and, as Senator Boswell knows, the one that most affected people was a measure introduced by the previous government the year before. But the budget contains significant improvements in payments to pensioners and extended a range of allowances to carers and others who were not previously included. The utilities allowance is the best example of that, where the rate moved from just over $100 to $500 a year. I think that was a significant down payment on what is a serious problem, and that is the fact that pensioners are doing it tough and that we need to try to address greater support for pensioners. We have made that a strong focus of the taxation review. (Time expired)

Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. When will the government advise the 74,400 families receiving family tax benefit and the 18,800 families receiving childcare benefit that they will receive reduced benefits from July 2009?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Boswell for his supplementary question. I will take on notice the question of when advice is provided to the groups you referred to, although I would remind you that, in terms of childcare benefit, the budget also provided significant increases in benefits to families in the childcare area by moving the rebate from a rate of 30 per cent to 50 per cent. So, when you talk of advice to those who are missing out, I am not quite sure that I understood the question but I probably did not hear it properly. But, in terms of the advice you sought, I will take it on notice and get you an answer as soon as I can.