Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

As every member of this House should know, these incoming pensions provide a very significant boost to our economy. The arrangements in fact mean that $1.6 billion comes into Australia from overseas pensions compared to around $517 million in payments going to pensioners overseas. So, in net terms, our international social security arrangements deliver more than $1 billion to the Australian economy each year.

Of course, it is not just pensioners living overseas whom those opposite want to get stuck into. We already knew that the opposition’s theatrics on the pension last year were just a political stunt, but last night in the parliament we had the member for Warringah making absolutely crystal clear what the opposition’s position on a pension increase actually is. Let me read what the member for Warringah last night said:

… the ability of the government to afford this kind of generosity towards pensioners is under enormous question.

In other words, the opposition do not support any increase to the pension. It demonstrates just how completely out of touch the member for Warringah is. We of course all know how bored he is with the job. We all know that the member for Warringah does not think he is in the main political game. Here is a wake-up call to the member for Warringah: if you want to be in the main political game, you cannot be asleep in your office.

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