Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to follow the member for Lyons because it was interesting to hear his contribution to this debate, a contribution that I found quite phenomenal when he talked about this particular piece of legislation. The legislation leads to the indexation of thresholds. That will occur annually and is aimed to start on 20 September this year. That indexation is going to be based on the consumer price index. The member for Lyons was very keen to celebrate this legislation and talked about how this will extend benefits to seniors who are now ineligible. He talked about the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. He talked about 'bulk-billing by GPs'—those were the words he used. I felt that it was really important that I raise that issue in connection with this debate, coming off the words that he used.

This budget has been debated and discussed in this House, throughout every media outlet in Australia and certainly in my electorate. In this budget there is a move to end bulk-billing and to force those people going to visit a doctor to pay a GP tax. On the one hand, we have the member for Lyons celebrating the fact that 1,020 seniors in his electorate will be eligible to go and see bulk-billing GPs with their card; on the other hand, he stands up in this parliament and supports a GP tax and the fact that the Abbott government in this place is seeking to end bulk-billing as we know it today and force people to pay co-payments. Those seniors that he believes will be able to access bulk-billing will be accessing a second-class form of bulk-billing. That is what he is arguing for.

The other issue he touched on was the PBS. It was only last night that we passed legislation in this House to increase co-payments paid by people when they have their prescriptions filled, be they concessional or be they for people who pay the full amount for their prescriptions. I found that contribution from the member for Lyons somewhat convoluted and it showed a lack of understanding of a number of issues surrounding this.

I have to pick up on one other thing that he said when he talked about electricity. He talked about electricity prices going down. I would like to share with the House news from the electorate of Shortland. News from the electorate of Shortland comes in the form of the fact that EnergyAustralia, who is my provider, and AGL, who is the provider for many other people in the area, sent letters to all their customers advising them that electricity prices would be going up from 1 July. Yet we have members on the other side of this House saying that prices are going down. The state member for the electorate of Swansea had egg on his face because he sent a newsletter out to the whole of the electorate telling them that the price of electricity was going down on the same day that the provider of electricity in that area sent a letter to customers saying that in actual fact it was increasing.

There is so much misinformation being put out into the community by those on the other side of this House. It is incredible that they are out there duping people in the way that they are. To the member for Lyons, with his 1,020 seniors who will become eligible for this benefit, I say that 20,400 pensioners are going to have their pension indexation rate changed after legislation is passed through this parliament and are going to be receiving less money each fortnight. I say to him, 'Go and explain to pensioners why it is more important to pay money to seniors who have a very high income in excess of $50,000 and why it is more important for them to get a card than it is for pensions to be indexed properly.'

It absolutely horrifies me that members on the other side of this House have so little concern for the people who they represent that they smugly come into this House day after day to support a tax on the very livelihood of those people that they are in this parliament to ensure are represented effectively. At the end of the day, I have news for members on the other side of this House: they are going to reap a reward for what they have done to the people of Australia. The people of Australia are disgusted with this government. The people of Australia do not want a GP tax or the pension indexation rate changed. The people of Australia look to the government to deliver on the promises that they made before the election. Their promises were not only to remove the carbon tax but also that there was a unity ticket on education, there would be no cuts to education and there would be no cuts to health. Each and every day we see this shambolic government trying to do backroom deals to get through the worst measures that any government could possibly seek to perpetrate on the Australian people.

I do not think my electorate office is any different to the electorate offices of those members on the other side of this parliament. I suspect that members on the other side of this parliament are receiving the same phone calls from their constituents that I am receiving from my constituents. They are phone calls saying that this government is cruel, heartless, mean and attacking them in each and every way.

A few weeks ago, I held a Medicare rally in the Shortland electorate. I was joined by my colleagues the member for Newcastle and the member for Charlton. On the day, we had over 500 people turn out. People marched from the Medicare office which was opened when we were in government and closed when the Howard government was in government. So we gave back what the Howard government took. We give back what the Liberals take. We walked from that office down to the foreshore of Lake Macquarie. At that rally the question was asked: 'How many people are attending their first rally?' Eighty per cent of the people who were at that rally put up their hand. Eighty per cent of them had never been to a rally before. That is the level of anger this government has caused in my community.

A week later, I was delivering some flowers to a couple who were celebrating their 70th anniversary. The husband was 89 years old and his wife was 88 years old. They were both pensioners. Both are going to have their pension indexation changed and both are going to lose $4,000 a year under this government's mean-spirited budget. So both of them—an 88-year-old and an 89-year-old—were involved in that Medicare rally. But they were not the oldest. There was a 93-year-old woman there, as well as an 83-year-old man with an 89-year-old woman.

This legislation delivers on one of the government's pre-election promises. It delivers to a small number of people in the community. It delivers to just over 20,000 people whilst the other attacks included in this budget—the cuts to health, the cuts to hospitals, the cuts to pensions, the GP tax, the increased co-payment on pharmaceutical benefits—affect each and every person in Australia. They will impact on the cost of living and the lifestyle of many Australians.

In addition to that, this government is giving with one hand by extending the Seniors Health Card but taking away with the other. Not included in this legislation is their plan to abolish the Seniors Supplement, an annual payment to people who have the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. So more people will get the card—those people on higher incomes—but seniors who are already eligible for the seniors card are going to lose their supplement. This government is taking from the people who most look to government for support. This government really does stand condemned for what it is doing in this area.

As I was saying earlier, the people of Australia will remember at the next election. The people of Australia will deliver their judgement on this government. For those members opposite representing marginal electorates, I can tell you that their verdict will come hard and it will come fast—many of you need to update your resumes. If you do not update your resume, you are going to be left sitting at home on the couch wondering what you are going to do. The Australian people did not think they were voting for an unfair government that was going to attack them each and every day in each and every way. They did not think they were voting for a government that was going to be so harsh and so mean-spirited, that was going to skew its policies so much in favour of those on high incomes at the expense of those who look to government for support—people on low or medium incomes.

This government has really shown their true colours with this legislation. They are putting forward their rolled-gold paid parental leave scheme that will pay $50,000 to millionaires whilst at the same time they are putting a tax on visits to the doctor, cutting family tax benefits and attacking pensioners in the harshest possible way. They are cutting indexation for pensioners after saying they would not change the pension. They said that, but already the legislation that is going to lead to a reduction in the income of pensioners has passed through this parliament.

This legislation will benefit some seniors. It will benefit those seniors who have higher incomes—single pensioners with incomes over $50,000, couples with a combined income of over $80,000 and couples separated by illness with a combined income of over $100,000. But, on the other hand, this government is legislating to take away the income supplement for seniors, attacking their healthcare benefits and attacking their ability to afford GP visits—attacking their quality of life and impacting on their cost of living each and every day.

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