Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I pre-empt my comments on this legislation by advising that I will be moving an amendment to the legislation. The amendment has been circulated in my name, and I'm happy to go through it. I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

1. notes that:

a. this Coalition Government has spent five years trying to cut the pension and increase the pension age to 70;

b. in every Budget, this Government has tried to cut the pension—including a plan to change indexation, which would have left pensioners $80 a week worse off;

c. the Government did a deal with the Greens political party to change the pension assets test and cut the pension for 370,000 pensioners; and

d. the Government spent years trying to cut the energy supplement to new pensioners; and

2. criticises the Government for its cuts to social security, including the pension, and their ongoing demonisation of social security recipients".

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