Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

When we were in government we did what you did not do for the 13 years that you were in government, notwithstanding what you said you would do every other year. You said not only that you would index pension increases to the CPI but also that you would increase the pension to 25 per cent of male total average weekly earnings. We were the government that did that, not the Labor government. Now we are seeing the old Labor Party policies coming forward.

There was a report to the Senate, which this Labor government could have responded to, on the needs of that wonderful and very special generation of Australians who built this country. They laid down the foundation stones for the legacy we have all inherited and the way of life we have today, and we owe it to those people to increase the base rate of their pension. It is to the absolute shame of this Treasurer and Prime Minister that they have done absolutely nothing to improve the lot of our senior citizens. The Treasurer said this week that Australians are happy, and the Prime Minister said that there is nothing more that he can physically do. I say there is a lot more that the Prime Minister can physically do. He ought to get out of the Lodge and into the real world. He should forget about tripping around the world on VIP jets and talk to the real people. He will find that he is not the popular boy any more. (Time expired)

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