Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

It is grossly misleading on the part of those opposite to put a view to carers and pensioners across the country that they were locked into doing this were they re-elected. It is untrue. It is demonstrated by the document to be untrue. It is there in black and white. Then we go to how these matters were treated by the previous government in previous years. Every budget night—and I have attended a few—when the member for Higgins would stand here and deliver the budget, you will see if you look at this statement that he said repeatedly, ‘Tonight I announce that.’ In terms of bonus payments for carers he said: ‘I announce that. I announce this one-off payment.’ It was the same in 2004, the same in 2005, and I have here for 2007 a one-off seniors bonus payment. These are one-off announcements. That is how you have described them each budget that you have done them. You have done them in four previous budgets in the case of the carer payment and in one previous budget when it comes to the $500 payment for pensioners. These are one-off statements, one-off announcements, and are described as such by the former Treasurer himself.

Where does the evidence leave us? The evidence leaves us as follows. First of all, there was nothing in the forward estimates on the part of those opposite, nothing whatsoever. Secondly, we have an explicit statement in the colourful document which says that they may consider this, depending on the state of the economy. Thirdly, when you look at the way in which this has been handled in previous years they are explicitly addressed as a series of one-off statements announced—repeat, announced—on the night. What you therefore have on the part of the government is something considerably in addition to what has been provided by those opposite.

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