Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, a pensioner couple who own their own home and have more than $451,500 in assets will have their part pension cut. If you do not know that that is the effect of your legislation, you should know.

People who have been told this are deeply offended by the idea that they are millionaires and welfare bludgers. We have the minister up here saying that these people are different from taxpayers and taxpayers should not have to pay them a pension. They are taxpayers. They have been taxpayers all their working lives, and they have planned for their retirement based on the promises that they were made by successive governments that, if they saved hard, they would do all right and—I will tell you what else—based on a promise from this Prime Minister, nine times before the last election: 'We're not going to change the pension.' They are deeply offended by being told that this is welfare, and they are offended by your proposition that they should sell down their assets for their retirement, which should be a contented and happy time for 20, 30 or 40 years after they retire—because we know the Treasurer thinks that they are going to be living till well over the century mark. That is how long their assets have to last them.

We know that within 10 years half of all retirees will be affected. Single pensioners will lose as much as $8,000, and couples will lose as much as $14,000. These people are part pensioners, because they have saved hard, and somehow this makes them evil in the eyes of the government; it means that they should be penalised. But who should not be penalised in the eyes of the government? People with $10 million in their superannuation accounts. We have 475 people who have more than $10 million in super.

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