Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to be speaking on the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cost of Living Concession) Bill 2015. This new cost-of-living concession bill has arisen because the South Australian Labor government has provided welcome support for pensioners, concession card holders and other low-income Australians. It consists of a $200 per year payment to help pensioners and concession card holders with cost-of-living pressures. This bill introduces a measure to exclude the cost-of-living concession payment made by the South Australian government from being assessed as income under the social security and veterans' affairs income tests—so Labor supports this bill. We support the bill because it is good for South Australian pensioners.

Let me say on the record today that we very much welcome the South Australian Labor government's decision to stand up for pensioners and vulnerable Australians. We know that this Liberal government certainly never would. We know the Liberal government here in Canberra has cut money to pensioners, and this is the reason why this new payment is being made to pensioners in the first place. Let us get the facts right about South Australia.

Mr Williams interjecting—

Let us let us get the facts right about what this member, in South Australia, actually voted for. He voted for a cut to the indexation of the pension. Thank you to the member for Hindmarsh for his interjections, so I can remind all of the voters in Hindmarsh that he voted for a cut to the pension that would have amounted to an $80-a-week cut over 10 years. That is what the member for Hindmarsh voted for. That is exactly what he voted for. He also voted to increase the age pension age to 70. I hope the voters in Hindmarsh are listening and that they know that the member they voted for at the last election broke the promise that was made before the election that there would be no changes to pensions. The pension indexation cuts were voted for by each and every member of the Liberal and National parties, including the member for Hindmarsh.

The reason we are here today is that the Liberal government's 2014 budget, which was supported by the member for Hindmarsh, included a cut of $1.3 billion—$1.3 billion ripped out of the pockets of pensioners. We know what that would have meant if the South Australian Labor government had not helped pensioners out. It would have meant a cut to the concessions that pensioners rely on for essential services like electricity, gas, transport fares and council rates. All pensioners would have been worse off because of the Abbott-Turnbull government's cuts in the 2014 budget that the member for Hindmarsh supported. I see that the member has gone a bit quiet.

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