David Fawcett (Wakefield, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I draw the attention of the House to the lot of retired people in our community. On a frequent basis I communicate with people through things such as surveys. For example, a fortnight ago I spent two complete days in the Elizabeth shopping centre to listen to people from the electorate of Wakefield. That confirmed the information we have got over a long period of time that retired people in our community are in a wide range of situations. Some people are on a full pension. Some are on a part pension. Some are completely self-funded. Some are single. Some are couples. Some have their own home. Some are in private rental. Some are in housing trust homes. There are a variety of health situations. There are issues about public transport et cetera. The wellbeing and the lifestyle that these people can afford comes down to not only the interplay of these factors but also the interplay between the three levels of government, Australian, state and local government, as they affect their income or income support—the rates they pay on properties, the rents they pay on properties, as well as their costs for things such as utilities, public transport and community services et cetera.

There are some retired people in our community—and this includes some people on a pension—who say that they have never had it better but there are others, particularly as we come into winter, who are suffering and find it difficult to stay warm. Some people are doing it very hard. I believe it is appropriate that the government and the House take note of that. We, as leaders, need to evaluate what we are doing collectively to support this generation that has gone before us. I note that the federal government has done a range of good things, and I think it is worth while recapping on some of those.

I will come back to the indexing of the pension to the CPI and tying it to the male total average weekly earnings. I note that the age pension is currently $40 a fortnight more due to the introduction of this decision. However, this is still an area of considerable concern for those people who are reliant on the pension.

Pensioners receive a supplement to their pension to maintain a two per cent advantage over any increase in the CPI. The supplement is currently worth over $17 for singles and $14.80 each for couples. I note that income and asset tests were relaxed as a result of the A New Tax System and that the assets test will be further reduce in 2007. I note that, with the senior Australians tax offset, single pensioners can earn up to $24,867 and pay no tax. Couples with equal income can earn up to $41,360 tax free as of May this year. There are quarterly telephone allowances and there has been an increase in the rebate to 35 per cent for private health insurance for those aged 65 to 69 and an increase in the rebate to 40 per cent for those over 70.

A whole range of other things are provided, for example the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the pensioner loan scheme, but I still draw the attention of the House and the government to the fact that some people are finding life very hard. I think we have a duty to look at how the three levels of government can work more effectively to understand why that is and how we can help people to have a good quality of life and health care regardless of which combination of circumstances they find themselves in.

One of the most frequent pieces of feedback I have had from people who are reliant on the pension as their prime income is that the CPI is not a fair representation of the costs that they as pensioners incur. Whilst they welcome the fact that this now occurs twice a year—in March and September—the all-groups category, which is calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, does not necessarily reflect accurately the consumption patterns of pensioners despite the changes that occurred in September 1998. Whether it is purely to do with the CPI and finding a better way to work with pensioners or the equally likely approach of making sure we have a better interaction between the three levels of government, I draw to the attention of the House the plight of retired people in our society.

Question negatived.