Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services) Share this | Hansard source

This bill, the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Portability Extensions) Bill 2021, makes amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 to include a permanent discretion to provide portability extensions for pensioners who are temporarily overseas—or who usually live overseas and are temporarily in Australia—and are unable to return home as planned for reasons beyond their control. Allowable reasons include unforeseeable and emergency events such as a serious accident, the death of a family member, a natural disaster or a public health crisis. The measure will assist pensioners who are away from home due to unforeseeable and emergency events beyond their control by ensuring their rate of payment or grandfathering status is not affected after 26 weeks.

I would also like to respond to the misleading and untrue claims raised by the Labor opposition in respect of the cashless debit card during this debate, which we just heard from the members opposite. They are entirely unrelated to the legislation being debated. I call on Labor and the shadow minister to end their campaign of lies and fearmongering when it comes to age pensioners. It is completely false to claim that this government has a plan to force pensioners onto the cashless debit card. Let me repeat that for the shadow minister and for the member for Oxley: it is completely false to claim that this government has a plan to force pensioners onto the cashless debit card. There you have it. This government has no such plan—let me repeat this for the shadow minister—and it never will have such a plan.

The cashless debit card is for people on working-age payments, to help them stabilise their lives, become job ready and get back into the workforce. As the Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services, I think that's very important. It's shameful that you people didn't support that on another piece of legislation. It's a shame. At the end of the day, I believe the opposition want to keep people down. They want to keep them on the hand of government. They don't want to see people being able to improve their lives. That's the problem with members like the member for Oxley and those opposite: they don't care about other people.

I think I've made my point. In fact, the most recent sites in which the card was introduced were Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, where it applies only to young people—those aged 35 and over. According to the member for Hinkler up there, it has the strong support of the community and it's working and helping people there. It has nothing to do with pensioners at all. Labor's claim simply has no basis in fact, and they really should be ashamed of themselves. I commend this bill to the House.

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