Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of the member for Jagajaga, I move:

That this House:

(1) welcomes the recent increase in pensions, following the largest indexation increase in 12 years.

(2) notes that in a time of cost of living pressures this increase is a welcome support for pensioners across Australia.

(3) commends the commitment of the government to support older Australians, who have worked hard all of their life and built this country; and

(4) acknowledges that it was the previous Labor government that commissioned a review into pension payments, and ultimately adopted the recommendation to upgrade indexation requirements to support greater pension increases.

I want to commend the member for Jagajaga for bringing on this motion. It really does need to be recognised that this pension increase has happened and that it has happened at a time when lots of things are going up. Of course, something that this government is working very hard to do is provide support for all of those members in our community who need support at this time. Harking back a little longer than 12 years ago, I think it was 1909 when the very first pension payment was actually made. Interestingly, it was a Labor government that oversaw the commencement of what was then referred to as the old-age pension in 1909.

If we fast forward over that 100 or so years, the pension has been around now for a long time, but we haven't always been good at indexing it the way it should've been, and I am so pleased that this government has finally stepped up to that task. Pension rates increased by $38.90 a fortnight for singles and $58.80 a fortnight for couples combined. As I mentioned a moment ago, the Albanese government is proud to continue this very long-held tradition of support for older Australians. We acknowledge that they work hard all their lives, they pay their taxes and then they continue to make a contribution to our economy and our society.

It's rather interesting—the member for Parramatta has just left the chamber—that I was here with him for the jobs summit. We were having a conversation about older Australians. These days, 50 is the new 40 and 60 is the new 50. People do seem to be staying younger and more vibrant for much longer, thanks, in part, to medical technology, but also we now have more at our disposal in terms of health, nutrition and exercise research. We know how to look after ourselves perhaps a little better than they did in 1909, with the miracle of modern medical technology.

I made a comment to the member for Parramatta on that day of the jobs summit that older Australians make fantastic employees and that, at a time when we are struggling to fill skills shortages and gaps, it would be wonderful if we could incentivise more older Australians to work. That's why I am particularly proud that, in fact, that very afternoon the Treasurer made an announcement. The member for Parramatta and I were having a bit of a joke. He said, 'You speak and it's so.' But, quite coincidentally, that announcement was made that older Australians on a pension would be able to increase their income-earning capacity. I think that's such a fantastic thing.

Older Australians not only bring a wealth of experience when it comes to work but I think they often bring a perspective. They have had not only all of that work experience but, more broadly, life experience. That's why I was delighted to see that pensioners could, in fact, earn more money under our government, and I'm particularly proud of that. In addition to the indexation and my support for this motion, and recognising the recent indexation and increases to government pensions, we know our country has been built by the hard work of older Australians. I particularly want to acknowledge the 21,000 age pensioners that I have in my seat of Paterson. It's such a great contribution that they have made.

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