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

I would like to thank the member for Canberra not only for her question but also for her leadership on behalf of carers as the chair of the House of Representatives inquiry into support for carers. The government’s secure and sustainable pension reform package will deliver essential and long overdue recognition to people with disabilities and to carers. From 20 September this year, the government will deliver increases to people on the carer payment and those receiving the disability support pension of $32.49 for singles on the full rate and $10.14 for couples on the full rate. These rises are on top of the existing allowances for GST, utilities, telephone, internet and pharmaceuticals. There are 720,000 disability support pensioners and 140,000 carer payment recipients who will receive this increase.

Around 500,000 carers across Australia will also receive a new payment, the new permanent $600 carer supplement. This supplement will go to people who receive the carer payment, the veterans carer service pension or the carer allowance, and it will be $600 for each of the people that they care for. People who receive both carer payment and carer allowance will receive two carer supplement payments. This supplement and the additions to the disability support pension and carer payment have been welcomed by both carer groups and those representing people with disabilities. Carers Australia Chief Executive Joan Hughes said, ‘The $600 a year supplement was very welcome because its status was assured in future budgets.’ From the Spinal Injuries Association we had, ‘People with disability are pleased that their living costs have been recognised.’ I am very pleased to be able to tell Australia’s carers that just a short time ago today the Senate passed the bill introducing this new permanent $600 supplement. This is a huge win for Australia’s carers. Their first $600 supplement will be delivered before the end of June.

The government’s reforms have involved some very difficult decisions—decisions like lifting the age pension age—decisions that in 12 years the previous government did not make despite the former Treasurer’s enthusiasm for releasing reports about our ageing population. Here are just a few words from the member for Higgins back in 2007. He said:

The first Intergenerational Report put the ageing of the population on the map.

…            …            …

We started talking about fertility rates and pushing back retirement ages …

Now here we are five years later. The member for Higgins of course was still only talking, as he is today. The member for Warringah by contrast has at least woken up to the fact that talking about something is not the same as doing it.

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