Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

In response to the member's question, poorer Australians—people who live on fixed incomes such as, for example, the pension—will get more assistance than they need to deal with the impact of carbon pricing; 20 per cent more. The Australians he says he is concerned about will actually have more money in their pockets as a result of the extra payments that are flowing through to them. That is a fact. I am sure that, if the member is genuine and serious in his concern for these poorer Australians, he would want to see these poorer Australians with more money in their pockets, and that is what this government has determined to do. That is what is happening right now with people getting prepayments, for example, of additional moneys going into their pension.

The member who says he is concerned about these issues ought to direct his attention to the right place: not to this government which, in the course of carbon pricing, has sought to benefit low-income households, but to state governments which have had huge electricity price rises without a cent of assistance to Australians and, most particularly, poorer Australians. He might then like to direct his attention to a state government like the O'Farrell government in New South Wales which wants to engage in a public housing rip-off. Barry O'Farrell wants to grab money that we sent some of the poorest Australians—those who are most at risk—out of their purses and wallets and stuff it into his budget because he cannot make it add up. So if the member is genuinely concerned about the poor then he should get on the phone to Barry O'Farrell today and say, 'Don't steal money from people in public housing.' When he is finished with that call he might say to Barry O'Farrell, 'Do something about the increases you are putting on electricity.' Then he can ring Premier Newman, Premier Baillieu and Premier Barnett on exactly the same point.

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