Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to be the voice of the carers in my electorate just for this moment and not actually throw bombs across the chamber. I would like to say to the Prime Minister, from Jenny, Tony, Mark, Katie, Toby, Jodie and many other people in my electorate: please understand the issues that carers are facing at this point in time and listen to their concerns. Please understand that not everybody qualifies for a utilities allowance. Please know that the lump sum, as paid by the former government, can be multiplied depending on the number of people in care. So, if you have—as Jenny and Tony have—two profoundly autistic children, you get $1,200 as a carer’s bonus, not a $600 one-off payment. These are the issues that are facing and concerning the people in my electorate.

A utilities allowance, as has been noted by many of the people across my electorate, is a payment that is generally not commensurate with the numbers in care; and we do have numbers in care. We certainly have Robert and his mother. Robert’s mother cares for two people in her family who have severe intellectual and physical disabilities. Robert has said: ‘My mother and I both voted for the Rudd government in the hope that things would get better in our community. We now feel very uneasy and unsure as to what the future holds with the Rudd government.’ This is not about politics. This is the concern of the people. Hear, understand and respond to the issues that the member for Mac-kellar has raised. It becomes taxable if you make it part of the payment, so the benefit of that payment is eroded away. A one-off bonus each year is not eroded away. A one-off bonus each year, announced with the budget, has common-sense proportions that do not allow these moneys to be eroded away.

The opposition have clearly articulated the concerns of carers. In response, we hear from the government that it was not in the forward est-imates. How many times did we sit in the gov-ernment benches and hear the opposition carp on about the dental program that the Howard government cut out in 1996 when they came into being? They cut the dental pro-gram. And again it is not do as I do; it is do as I say. It is one rule for one and one rule for the other. Now that the former opposition are in government they are saying, ‘Oh, it must be in the forward estimates.’ We remem-ber that that dental program was not in the forward estimates either. It was a one-off pro--gram. How many hours did we spend listen--ing to those from the other side of the House commenting ad nauseam whilst we were in government? What happens in the for-ward estimates is now all so very important. I appeal to the Prime Minister and to the min-ister on behalf of carers not only in the River-ina but in all electorates—Labor, Liberal and National—right across the spectrum and right across Australia. They are right to have concerns and they are right if the reports that are coming out, saying that it would be in a utilities allowance, are true. Even though the Prime Minister may think that the carers will not be one cent worse off, please look at this carefully; please understand the concerns of the carers and please res-pond appropriately. This is not a political issue. This is not just political bun fighting by an opposition with a government across the chamber. These are the lives and the concerns of real people who matter. These are the concerns that the carers are raising with us and, if the truth be known, they will also be raising them with members of the govern-ment. We sincerely ask that the Prime Minister ensures that he looks at this carefully so as not to disadvantage any further those carers who do a magnificent job on behalf of the people of Australia. If we were to put just 10 per cent of our people with disabilities into care, we would not be able to manage the bud-get that is responsible for caring for them. So, rather than be playing time across the chamber, I just appeal for common sense to be had.

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