Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

'I came to this meeting for the free food.' 'We often reach the point of having to decide between food and medication. Sometimes we cannot afford both.' That's an extract from the recent report of the Benevolent Society into the assessment of pensioners' living standards in Australia. I decided to use this extract not because I'm proud of the real-life experience of pensioners in this country but because I think it succinctly puts in perspective the dire situation that many of our most vulnerable Australians are facing on a daily basis. Some pensioners are taking drastic measures to make ends meet, such as turning off the hot water in summer, blending food because they cannot afford to see a dentist and choosing between food and medication. That's not a good position for us in a First World country.

The OECD calculates that Australia's expenditure on the pension is currently four per cent of public spending. Despite our aging population, they go on to say that, projecting it forward to 2050, our spend on pensions will be four per cent. In other words, it won't have changed. This compares with nine per cent and 10 per cent respectively for other OECD countries. The government is happy to penalise pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet, and those who have worked hard all their lives, with massive cuts—all while the government is committed to handing out $65 billion to the top end of town in the way of tax cuts. This government keeps reminding us that they cannot be trusted when it comes to the treatment of the most vulnerable Australians. This government has misled Australian pensioners time and time again. Right before the 2013 election—and you will recall this, Deputy Speaker Vamvakinou—one of the promises they made on the eve of that election was no change to pensions. But despite that promise, on the very first opportunity, in the first budget, and every subsequent budget handed down by this government, they have made cuts to pensions.

Labor will hold this government to account. We will not let the government get away with the savage and unfair cuts to Australia's pensioners. We will not let the government fool every Australian into thinking they actually care about pensioners. History has shown us otherwise, and time and time again we see the Liberals failing to understand the notion of fairness. It's a concern, particularly with the rising costs associated with living expenses for Australian pensioners. You only have to take a look at the past four budgets delivered by the Abbott-Turnbull government to see that this government has no hesitation when attacking pensioners. First, they tried to cut the pension indexation rate by $23 billion over 10 years. In the 2014 budget, the Liberals tried to reset the deeming rate thresholds—a cut that would have seen over half a million pensioners made worse off. Then they abolished the $9,000 seniors supplement for Commonwealth senior health card holders, and let's not forget the changes to the pensioner assets test, which left 370,000 part-pensioners losing income of up to $12,000 a year. The Liberals' track record when it comes to Australian pensioners has been nothing short of an utter disgrace. The government wants us to believe that they care about older Australians but, at the same time, they are relentless in their pursuit of an age of 70 for the pension age. We will have, if that be the case, the oldest pension age in the world. This is definitely not a fair and reasonable way to reward Australian pensioners who have contributed so significantly to our country.

On top of this, we have all heard the government is seeking to cut the energy supplement to nearly two million Australians, including new pensioners, a cut which will see pensioners worse off to the tune of $550 a year. While it might not sound like much to those opposite, for those Australian pensioners this is certainly very much a blow to their standard of living. Australians are entitled to know that they are being let down by this government. The government needs to stop looking after their friends at the top end of town and turn a good eye to the dire situation facing many of our elderly Australians.

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