Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Reid very much for his question. I can inform the House that this government is continuing to act to help families and pensioners with their everyday expenses. As of today, more than 6½ million initial payments have been made before the price on pollution starts on 1 July, so 6½ million families and pensioners have already received their assistance. This is going to help with their expenses like their groceries or their electricity bills that are coming both now and in coming months.

I can also let the House know that from today more than 280,000 self-funded retirees who are on a Commonwealth seniors health card will be receiving $250 if they are single self-funded retirees or $380 for couples combined. The one thing that they certainly are not looking forward to is this opposition clawing that money back off them if this lot ever gets the chance. I can also inform the House that the government's household assistance package is designed to support around 98 per cent of families with incomes up to $150,000. Those families will be receiving some assistance. More than half of those families will in fact get a 20 per cent buffer to make sure that they do get the assistance they need with the introduction of the carbon price.

One thing that Australians are very good at is judging whether or not what they hear is true. What they are going to know after 1 July is that the doom and gloom that this Leader of the Opposition has been spreading is patently untrue. They will be able to judge the truth for themselves. Already we are receiving correspondence from pensioners who are saying to us how pleased they are that the money is certainly going to assist them with their winter power bills. As the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency mentioned a minute ago, pensioners do understand that the assistance they are receiving is permanent, that it is ongoing. But, of course, it is only permanent and ongoing if the government stays in power, not if people over there get the chance because we know that this Leader of the Opposition is only plotting to figure out how he is going to claw this money back. (Time expired)

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