Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, isn’t it the Rudd government? I am not referring to him; I am referring to the Rudd government. The government plan is to strip them of many hard-earned benefits, including access to the critical Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The change, which was included in the recent federal budget and is intended to come into effect on 1 July next year, slashes the number of self-funded retirees who are entitled to a Commonwealth seniors health card. Eroding the entitlements at this stage in their life is simply despicable and causes undue worry and stress. At present seniors are entitled to the concessions, provided that their annual income does not exceed $50,000 for a single or $80,000 for a couple, with payments drawn from superannuation excluded from the assessment. However, from 1 July next year, superannuation will be included in the assessment, meaning that many self-funded retirees will exceed income caps. I have had many visits from self-funded retirees who are very worried, scared and distressed that they will not be able to afford their medicines or cope financially with buying them if they lose their Commonwealth healthcare card.

In the mail-out to seniors, I also enclosed a postcard for recipients to sign and return to my office to express their disapproval of the government’s handling of seniors’ affairs, and the response was overwhelming. More than 3,000 cards were returned in just days, and the phones in my office did not seem to stop ringing for over a week. These 3,000 cards were returned by seniors who are angry and frustrated with the Rudd government’s neglect of pensioners and the Prime Minister’s false promises, and this bundle of cards contains the cards from those who agreed with the Prime Minister’s stance. There is somewhat of a difference, don’t you think? In fact it is a huge difference, clearly demonstrating to the Prime Minister that our seniors are not happy with him and not happy that they are being treated as second-class citizens—which they most definitely are not. Let us hope he gets the message loud and clear and rethinks the pig-headed refusal to act now.

As well as the postcards, many seniors—both pensioners and self-funded retirees—returned lengthy letters expressing their concerns and outlining their individual plights. I was shocked and deeply moved at what was going on in our senior community. To be honest, I had no idea of the extent of the hardships that are occurring now and the further hardships to be experienced after next year’s budget. I felt the need to act promptly, to do something to allay people’s fears, to explain what is happening and to give advice as to what services are available to both pensioners and self-funded retirees. I decided to hold a public forum two weeks later and, again, I was stunned by the feedback. The capacity of our venue was less than 200, and we were fully booked days ahead of the event. Even so, on 24 July, more than 200 people packed into Riverton-Rossmoyne Bowling Club to vent their frustration and get answers to their questions, particularly about the plans which could see them stripped of their federal concessions.

In conclusion, we have the financial plight of our pensioners and we have the absolute contempt with which the government is treating self-funded retirees. If this is the way the government treats such a deserving part of the population, what hope is there for the rest of us? I will be assuring the seniors of Tangney that their voices will be heard not only now but well into the future in Canberra. I will maintain the rage—I think we have heard that expression before—and I will continue to fight for a better, fairer, more realistic outcome for our senior Australians.

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