Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I was asked about pensioners and that is exactly what I am talking about. Today, the opposition decided to deny to 170,000 people with relatively low assets a pension increase of up to $30 a fortnight. They do not want poorer pensioners to get more money. What they do want is for millionaire pensioners to keep their part pensions. That is what this opposition wants. They want millionaires who also own their family home, people who have more than $1 million in assets plus their family home, to stay as part pensioners.

This is a strange position for the Labor Party and it shows absolutely comprehensively that this is the 'welfare party'; it is not the workers' party anymore. This is so symptomatic of modern Labor, which is the 'welfare party', not the workers' party. They even want welfare for millionaires.

I was asked about pensions and I was also asked about superannuation. Let me make this very clear on superannuation. People's superannuation savings are safe with this government. There will be no adverse changes to superannuation in this parliament. We have no plans to increase taxes on superannuation in any future parliaments and we do not want to increase the restrictions on the way superannuation is used—we don't and we won't. Every superannuant ought to know what will happen if members opposite become the government: Bill Shorten will come after your money. Your nest egg is not safe under this person, who wants to rip off your super, just like he wanted to rip off your unused bank accounts.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

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