Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Further 2007 Budget Measures) Bill 2007 implements a number of additional measures from the 2007 budget. These include: changes to the pension bonus scheme, improvements to funeral investments, the extension of eligibility for the crisis payment to holders of certain humanitarian visas and the extension of the multiple birth allowance. Labor support these measures and we support the bill because we recognise that senior Australians and families are facing significant pressures due to the increasing cost of living. Therefore, 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 notes that:

(1)

the cost of living pressures on older Australians are increasing;

(2)

families are facing skyrocketing child care costs, higher mortgage repayments after 5 interest rate rises since the last election, and increases in the cost of groceries; and

(3)

early intervention support for parents can provide significant benefits for their children’s start in life”.

We welcome the changes being made to the pension bonus scheme and to the treatment of funeral investments. We understand how difficult it is these days for pensioners to make ends meet. There have been significant increases in the cost of living in recent years, particularly in essentials such as food and petrol, not to mention the other basics around the home such as phone and electricity bills. Labor have long been a strong supporter of pensions for those Australians who need support. We certainly understand that the pension has to keep up to date with everyday costs.

At our recent national conference we endorsed the following as a key part of our policy platform: we remain committed to providing adequate income support for those who need it. The platform states that Labor will maintain the benchmark of maximum single adult rates of pension to at least 25 per cent of male total average weekly earnings, ensure that basic rates are indexed at least twice a year in line with movements in the consumer price index and ensure that those whose only income is provided through the social security system will not have to pay income tax.

Recently, Labor initiated a Senate inquiry into the cost of living pressures facing senior Australians. We wanted to listen to the concerns of senior Australians by giving them an opportunity to put their concerns directly to the parliament so that we could hear firsthand about the pressures on them—especially those coming from cost of living rises. According to the submissions to the Senate inquiry—and I will first refer to the submissions from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and from National Seniors—the living costs of age pensioner households have seen the highest increase compared to those of other household groups. The latest ABS analysis in the ‘Household, income and labour dynamics in Australia’ survey shows that, over the four quarters from June 2005 to June 2006, living costs for age pensioner households rose by five per cent. For self-funded retiree households, the rise was 4.6 per cent, while the consumer price index rose by four per cent over the same period. Over the eight years to 2006, the living costs of age pensioner households showed an increase of 29.2 per cent compared to the 27.4 per cent increase in the CPI.

Even the submission to the inquiry of the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs admitted that over 25 per cent of senior Australians—that is, over one in four—describe themselves as ‘just getting along’. There was a submission to the Senate inquiry from a National Seniors group in Queensland which looked into the cost of weekly grocery shopping. Buying the items on the list cost $55 two years ago but may cost $75 today at the local supermarket. They went through a number of the common items in most of our supermarket shopping trolleys: bread, margarine, mince, chicken—all of the sorts of everyday items that people buy. The comparison that this National Seniors group from Queensland put together shows just how difficult it is becoming for many pensioners. The Salvation Army highlighted the problem starkly in their submission when they said:

A significant percentage of older Australians presenting for assistance at Salvation Army services are assisted with food and/or food vouchers.

Fuel and utility costs have also hit many senior Australians very hard. From the inquiry we heard that many senior Australians are going to bed early or sitting in cold living rooms to save power. The Australian Pensioners and Superannuants League Queensland Inc. wrote the following in their submission to the inquiry:

The rising impact on the price of fuel particularly petrol has placed an added burden on Pensioners and Superannuants in their ability to maintain an active life and has forced them to rely more on the needs of public transport. This is particularly so for those pensioners who live in remote and regional areas and where the services of public transport is less available.

The league also said:

To keep costs down as a result of rising fuel costs Pensioners and Superannuants during the winter months are either forced to reduce the use of the their oil heating appliance (further impacting on their health) or use alternative heating appliances eg electric which increases the cost of their power.

This is the reality for senior Australians under the current government. The government seems to be saying to senior Australians that they have to turn to organisations like the Salvation Army or other charities for help. Even with this evidence, I have to say that it is extraordinary that we have a Prime Minister who is saying that Australian families have never been better off when we see in black and white before us just how difficult it is, particularly for older Australians.

I will turn to the changes in the bill to the Pension Bonus Scheme. The Pension Bonus Scheme was introduced in 1998 and is designed to financially reward seniors who defer claiming the age pension. A one-off tax-free bonus is paid for each year that a person is eligible for the age pension but does not claim it. The schedule creates a new payment—the pension bonus bereavement payment—which enables the bonus accrued by the Pension Bonus Scheme participant to be paid to their surviving spouse if the participant dies before claiming the bonus. Under current rules no bonus is payable if the participant dies before claiming the bonus. This proposed change is to apply to the surviving spouse. Labor certainly supports this change.

The Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs has advised that 460 older Australians die each year before they can claim their pension bonus, which is worth up to $32,000. We think it is unfair that a bonus rightly earned by an older Australian who participates in this scheme is not able to be passed on if they unfortunately die before claiming the bonus. So, as I say, we support this change. However, I ask the minister why the benefit cannot be passed on to the next of kin if there is no surviving spouse. I also ask the minister why the bonus cannot be transferred effective from the date of the budget. My office was contacted by someone whose husband recently passed away before he claimed the bonus, and she has been told that she cannot receive the payment. I ask the minister in the spirit of compassion to consider changing the eligibility date for the transfer to a surviving spouse—or next of kin if he is willing to consider that—to the date of the last budget when the measure was announced rather than 1 January 2008. There will not be that many people affected, but for those few who would otherwise miss out it would be a generous thing to do in what are otherwise very difficult circumstances.

Schedule 4 of the bill increases the threshold for funeral investments that are exempt from the pension income and assets test from $5,000 to $10,000. The new threshold will also be indexed to the CPI. This schedule also inserts a new provision for determining whether an investment is an exempt funeral investment for social security purposes. Labor supports these changes.

We also support the changes that will increase access to the crisis payment. The crisis payment is a one-off payment equal to the total of a person’s pension or allowance and is available in cases of extreme financial hardship. This bill adds holders of certain humanitarian visas to the eligibility list. As I understand it, the qualifying humanitarian visas will be determined by the minister in a legislative instrument. Once again, Labor supports these changes.

I want to touch on some issues that are also putting significant financial and other pressures on families. I have indicated that many senior Australians are doing it tough, but many Australian working families are also under pressure. With that said, I think we would all agree that, even in testing times, parents are pretty resilient. Those of us who have brought our children up know that you have to go through an enormous range of ups and downs, watching and helping them grow. We all understand that it is not easy, and it is certainly not getting any easier for parents. Labor understand that parents do not want to have to rely on government to help them bring up their children, but parents do appreciate governments giving them choices and making their lives easier when that is possible. We want to make sure that governments offer choices to parents, especially so that they can give their children the best possible start in life.

One of the most difficult things that faces parents at the moment is the stress as they juggle their work and family responsibilities. That is why the Leader of the Opposition has announced that Labor, in government, would establish an Office of Work and Family within the Prime Minister’s department and that this Office of Work and Family would be a focal point at the centre of government for addressing the concerns of families. One of the key tasks of this office would be to provide detailed family impact statements on all submissions presented to the federal cabinet under a Labor government. These assessments at the moment are the responsibility of departments which are themselves developing cabinet submissions together with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Unfortunately, it seems that the Howard government has not always taken these family impact statements seriously and, as I understand it, in the case of the Work Choices legislation, no family impact statement was completed.

Under a Labor government family impact statements will be given much higher importance. The Office of Work and Family will also assess the economic impact of policy proposals on family wellbeing, the impact of measures on work and family balance, and how proposals affect children’s health, development and general wellbeing. We have announced that a Labor government would publish an annual ‘state of the family’ report, analysing key issues and trends facing Australian families. That report would include looking at critical issues such as the increasing number of parents caring for children and their ageing relatives, the impact of longer periods of education and the educational debt that students now carry on family formation, and measures to assist parents balance work and family responsibilities. These are just some of the areas that we think an Office of Work and Family should focus on.

The recent snapshot, released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, of how Australian families spend their time shows that parents with children under the age of five are most likely to feel time pressures but that these pressures do not ease all that significantly as their children grow.

A recent study by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission found:

Despite a decade or more of economic growth and prosperity, many Australians say they are not living the lives they want. They feel pressured, stressed and constrained in the choices they can make, particularly at key points in their lives.

Members should contrast that statement with the comments that we have heard from the Prime Minister that ‘working families have never been better off’. That, yet again, demonstrates how out of touch this Prime Minister is. The Prime Minister does not seem to understand the impact of the five interest rate rises that working families have had to endure since the last election. To give people an idea of what that means, families with a mortgage on a median-priced Sydney home are now paying $384 a month more in mortgage repayments since the Prime Minister promised to keep interest rates at record lows at the last election.

The other area in which families are facing very significant financial pressure is in childcare costs, which are skyrocketing. In the last year alone they went up by 12.8 per cent. Families have now faced four years of double-digit increases in their out-of-pocket childcare costs. Of course, that is on top of the increases that parents face as they try to put healthy food on the table, whether it be fruit and vegies, or other grocery items. The price of most of those things has increased well beyond the consumer price index. So across the board families are under significant financial pressure. Members on this side of the parliament understand the impact of those pressures on families. We also understand that even though families are facing these pressures they expect governments to do what they can to help and to not be told by the Prime Minister that things are just fine for them.

Another measure in the bill that Labor welcomes is the extra support for large families. Schedule 5 extends payment of the multiple-birth allowance to family tax benefit children from six years to 16 years, or older if they are undertaking full-time study, until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 18. The multiple-birth allowance is an extra component of family tax benefit part A, which is paid if an individual has three or more family tax benefit children and at least three of those children were from one pregnancy. Caring for large families is certainly stressful and I can imagine that dealing with triplets must be extraordinarily demanding.

Those families do a great job, and we understand that they need every bit of extra help they can get. That is why the opposition supports this additional payment. Interestingly, between 1986 and 2004 Australia has had 1,690 sets of triplets, quads or other multiple high-order births. So a large number of children will benefit from this measure, and we think that is a good thing. It was in fact a Labor government that introduced a multiple-birth payment for families with triplets or quads way back in 1985, so we certainly support this extension of the multiple-birth allowance for children up to the age of 16, or 18 if the child is still in full-time study.

As this measure obviously recognises, the special costs of raising multiple-birth children does not diminish once they turn six years old and at the stage when we are getting them off to school. It is not only one of the most significant and emotional times for many parents but it is also a very expensive time. Labor recognises that it is an extremely important time for children’s development. That is why today the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Perth and I announced that a Labor government will work in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence to establish 50 community programs nationwide to give parents the skills and confidence that they need to prepare their children for school. Federal Labor will provide $32.5 million over five years to roll out the home interaction program nationally in disadvantaged communities where children are at risk of falling behind. This is yet another instalment of federal Labor’s education revolution. This is a two-year program for three- to five-year-olds and provides for home tutors, books and associated educational resources to help parents get their children ready for school.

Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to work in cooperation with the Brotherhood of St Laurence to establish the program across the country in 50 communities. It will be established in preschools and in some of the 260 new childcare centres that Labor will locate on primary school sites. We want to ensure that this home interaction program works from those sites. From there the tutors will go out into parents’ homes. Each individual program will have qualified tutors working intensively with approximately 65 families and more than 3,000 families in total. As we have heard from the Brotherhood of St Laurence, this program, which has been operating since 1997, has been very successful. Qualified instructors visit parents every two weeks to provide personal mentoring, tutoring assistance and support, as well as the educational resources that I have mentioned.

One of the important things about this program is that it helps parents to develop confidence in their own ability to get their children ready for school. We all know that parents are the first and most important teachers of our children. This program is so important to ensuring that children who otherwise might not start school at the same development level as other kids get a chance to do well.

Each of these programs will prepare children for the learning they will get at school, and give confidence to their parents, improve parents’ relationships with their children and, most importantly, help parents make a more positive contribution to their child’s education. I am sure that all members of parliament know that the evidence shows that investing early delivers significant social and economic benefits to individuals, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This leads to better school results, improved school retention and much greater participation in society and the economy, bringing productive benefits to the nation as a whole.

For these reasons, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation recently called on countries to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood learning, especially for the most disadvantaged and at-risk children. Labor have certainly picked up on this evidence and the initiative we have announced today builds on a number of other very significant policies that Labor have announced. We have given a commitment to make sure that every single four-year-old in Australia will have access to a preschool program. We have committed $450 million a year to make sure that those 100,000 four-year-olds in Australia who are missing out on preschool will get access to that very important early learning. We have committed to build 260 new childcare centres on primary school sites, where it is possible, and other community land. We have committed to a national action plan on literacy and numeracy, including individual learning plans; and also we have committed to a national roll-out of the Australian Early Development Index. I think all of these initiatives together demonstrate Labor’s fundamental commitment to making sure that our youngest children do get the best start in life. The announcement today will particularly focus on those who are most disadvantaged.

Alex Somlyay (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the amendment seconded?

Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the amendment and reserve my right to speak.

Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Further 2007 Budget Measures) Bill 2007 as it brings into line a number of initiatives announced in the 2007-08 budget. The budget initiatives in this bill cover significant and diverse areas in the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs portfolio, and are made possible because of the strong economic management of the coalition government. I believe strongly that families will benefit from these initiatives and will welcome them. Older Australians, families with triplets, quadruplets or other multiple births, refugees and migrants are all covered by the initiatives in this bill.

Older Australians at retirement will benefit from changes to the Pension Bonus Scheme. This scheme is one of the great initiatives for older Australians to stay in work and defer claims on the age pension. Currently, the Pension Bonus Scheme offers a one-off tax-free payment of up to around $32,083 for a single person and up to $26,792 for each member of a couple. The coalition recognises the important role people over pension age play in the workforce, and is committed to supporting their choice to participate. From 1 January 2008, the Pension Bonus Scheme will be more flexible, easier to access and have a range of benefits not previously available. For example, people will be entitled to a top-up of their pension bonus in certain circumstances. Topping up is subject to assessment under the income and assets test. For example, a person retires from work and makes a claim for their age pension and pension bonus. That person’s entitlements and/or superannuation are not settled at the time of the grant of a pension and bonus but are settled shortly after. They are assessed for the age pension and the pension increased because their assessed income and assets have decreased in that time. The top-up is the difference between the amount paid and the amount that would have been payable using the higher rate of age pension.

One improvement that takes into account special circumstances, such as the serious illness of a close family member, is the broadening of the discretionary powers that Centrelink and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs have to extend the period in which people must claim their bonus after failing the Pension Bonus Scheme work test. This will mean that late claims can be considered. In addition, Pension Bonus Scheme members who take recreational leave, long service leave or unpaid leave will be able to continue in the scheme as non-accruing members for up to 26 weeks without failing the scheme’s work test. In this bill a pension bonus bereavement payment will be introduced. This means the surviving partner of a deceased Pension Bonus Scheme member will be now able to receive a payment for accrued bonus not claimed before the death of their partner. Under current rules the bonus cannot be paid to them.

The total cost of this initiative is $46.4 million over four years. As from 1 January 2008, the threshold for funeral investments, which are exempt from the income and assets test, will be raised from $5,000 to $10,000 per person or couple. The new threshold will also be subject to indexation in line with the consumer price index. Increasing the means test exemption threshold for funeral bonds to $10,000 should help people make better provision for their funeral arrangements without affecting their income support. It is estimated that following implementation, on 1 January 2008, around 4,100 social security pensioners and close to 3,400 veterans’ affairs pensioners will receive additional income support.

While supporting older Australians is very much in the coalition’s hearts and minds, at the other end of the scale the coalition is helping families with multiple births of three or more children where the children are under the age of six. The multiple birth allowance was introduced in November 1985 in recognition of the extra costs faced by parents following the simultaneous birth of three or more children as well as the indirect costs of reduced workforce participation, particularly while the children are very young. The benefits are worth over $3,000 per year for triplets and over $4,000 for quadruplets. These families are also eligible for the large-family supplement, which is paid at $255.50 a year for the third and each subsequent child in recognition of the challenges faced by multiple birth families and to relieve some of the financial pressure.

From 1 January 2008, payment of the multiple birth allowance will be extended to family tax benefit recipients who have children under 16 years of age and to family tax benefit recipients, until the end of the calendar year in which their children turn 18, whose children are undertaking full-time study. Over 1,000 families with triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets will benefit from this measure. From 1 January 2008, over 300 families currently receiving multiple birth allowance will continue to receive the payment beyond their children’s sixth birthday and an estimated 746 families will start receiving multiple birth allowance for children who are already over six years of age. Eligible families will receive the allowance for up to an additional 13 years. Extending multiple birth allowance will cost an estimated $10 million over four years.

This bill will also make way for essential assistance for newer Australians. It does this by adding a new category of people eligible to receive crisis payments. Crisis payment will, from 1 January 2008, be extended to humanitarian entrants to Australia to help reduce the significant financial burden faced by them during their initial settlement period. Australia does have a compassionate heart and no-one could begrudge these people this type of help when one hears their stories. In my electorate of Greenway, we have many people who have fled from all around the globe to the safety, prosperity and freedom of Australia. Each year around 6,800 humanitarian entrants will benefit from this measure.

The final initiative that I support in this bill is to do with improving the operation of the Assurance of Support scheme. An assurance of support is a form of guarantee. It is lodged at Centrelink by a person or persons in Australia and is used for people who are at higher risk of needing income support in their visit or migration to Australia. An assurance of support protects the interests of taxpayers by being an amount of money available to be used to repay any income support payments accessed by the visa holder for up to two years, or up to 10 years for contributory parent visas. The Assurance of Support scheme has had its administrative difficulties in the past—for example, where there has been a dispute between the person lodging the assurance of support and the visa holder and the assurer withdraws their support; or it could be that the assurer dies, disappears or goes bankrupt and the visa holder is left stranded. This measure is aimed at improving the operation of the Assurance of Support scheme and simplifying arrangements for people seeking to provide an assurance of support. The measure commences on 1 January 2008. An additional $13.1 million over four years from 2007-08 will be provided to ensure effective, efficient and timely administration of the assurance of support program. I commend the bill to the House.

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the members who have contributed to the debate. The Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Further 2007 Budget Measures) Bill 2007 is an important piece of legislation. It does some really positive things for a range of Australians.

Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms George interjecting

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is good to see that the member for Throsby recognises that; I appreciate it. The bill provides the legislative basis for five measures announced in the 2007 budget for the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs portfolio. It furthers the government’s commitment to older Australians by increasing the flexibility of the Pension Bonus Scheme. This has come about because people have asked us to make the system more flexible and to work for them. They like the system—it is enabling them to work up to the age of 70—but they felt there were things we could do. The government has listened and I will outline some of those measures.

In this bill, we have also extended the allowances for multiple births. One woman in my electorate is quoted on the front page of the Courier-Mail as saying that she was so excited she could not sleep all night. It shows you how much it means to people. To have that additional cost is a bit of a difficult thing as a parent. We had two sets of hands, two sets of feet and mum and dad, and when we had our third child—separately—it was wow! To have three come along at one time is a massive effort, and I take my hat off to those parents, who do a fantastic job. The measure I will outline here is very important for that as well.

Lastly, the bill expands the crisis payment to humanitarian entrants to Australia and it simplifies and improves the operation and integrity of the Assurance of Support program.

The Australian government spends more on the age pension than on any other single program—around $24,000 million next financial year in pension payments to around two million Australians. An important part of this program is the Pension Bonus Scheme, which supports older Australians who choose to remain in the workforce beyond retirement age. Older Australians who defer their age pension and take advantage of the scheme may be entitled to a one-off tax-free payment of up to around $32,000 for a single person—when we first introduced this, it was set at $25,000 for a single person—and $27,000 for each member of a couple. It is paid when they eventually claim and receive the age pension.

This bill will make the Pension Bonus Scheme even better and more flexible in four central ways. Firstly, a new pension bonus top-up will be payable to people whose retirement investments are not settled until shortly after grant of their age pension and bonus to get the most out of their bonus. The top-up will be made available to eligible persons if their pension rate increases within 13 weeks after being granted because their income or assets have decreased.

Secondly, a new pension bonus bereavement payment is introduced to allow for any bonus that is accrued but not claimed by a scheme member who dies to be paid to their surviving partner. I recall the member for Hasluck speaking to me about a very distressing case of a spouse who died after completing the five years, or that close to it. The couple went to the doctor and the spouse was told, ‘You don’t have a great life expectancy,’ and unfortunately in this particular case that was only too accurate. The person had fulfilled almost all of their obligations but had simply not had the chance to say to Centrelink, ‘I want to cash in my chips.’ Unfortunately, in that circumstance the person passed away. That is not what this was about; it was about supporting people who made these choices. This flexibility and this change will ensure that those circumstances no longer prevail.

Thirdly, flexibility around non-accruing membership of the scheme is increased by providing the government with the power to make a legislative instrument that will allow members to be recognised retrospectively as non-accruing members of the scheme. This is intended to allow members who are involved in unforeseen incidents, such as natural disasters, to stay in the scheme, despite having failed the scheme’s work test for a period. Lastly, when people do fail to meet the work test, there will be greater discretion for the usual 13-week claim lodgement period to be extended. Therefore, special circumstances, such as a serious illness of a close family member, can be taken into account if a person is late in claiming.

A further measure, which is targeted at older Australians but which will affect the income and assets test for all social security payment recipients, is that the existing social security income and assets test exemption threshold for funeral investments will be increased from $5,000 to $10,000 for individuals and couples. In simple terms, this means that people who choose to invest in this way will not have their investments assessed as an asset when their rate of social security payment is calculated. Unlike the old threshold, the new threshold will be indexed in line with inflation so that it maintains its real value. This measure is also designed to allow individuals or couples to have a second funeral bond, subject to exemption, so that those with existing bonds can take advantage of the new threshold.

Before moving on to other measures in the bill, I would just like to answer some of the criticisms by the member for Jagajaga, who in relation to this issue was making the point of how tough it is for pensioners today. I am the first to say that we should do all we possibly can to help those people who have grown and contributed to the Australian economy, particularly during tougher times—particularly when they were in the workforce and had to put up with the sorts of taxation rates experienced under previous Labor governments, such as 50c in the dollar. Today, after being able to drive down tax rates and help people when they work to keep more in their pocket, the pensioner who is no longer in the labour force does not necessarily see that as benefiting them. They had to go through those tougher times under a much harsher regime of higher taxation under Labor governments.

What we can tell them, and what I can tell the member for Jagajaga, is that one of the really important initiatives that the Howard government brought in very early in its term was to index pensions twice a year to male total average weekly earnings—25 per cent of it. As a result, with the pensioner supplement, the pensioner bonus and the utilities allowance, that equates to a pensioner this financial year having $2,803 more in their pocket than they otherwise would have had. That is an extraordinary difference from where they were and we are very proud of it. A single maximum rate pensioner will be $2,803 better off than they would have been had the old system remained in place under the Labor government. That is about $107 a fortnight. That is real money that makes a real difference.

I would also ask the members who sit opposite, who have suddenly found the plight of seniors to be of concern, whether they could turn their attention to their Labor colleagues. One would hope they would have some influence with their Labor colleagues. Perhaps the Tasmanian members could ask the Tasmanian Labor government what they will do about helping pensioners not have to pay for the new ambulance service. Pensioners and healthcare card holders will not be exempt from that fee; they will have to pay it. They will have to find that money. Sure, the Howard government has given them a $500 bonus and that may help. However, if the Labor Party is really serious about helping pensioners with their costs, perhaps the Tasmanian members could do that. That is a cost of $690. Well may you exhale in such a way, Mr Deputy Speaker Barresi. Furthermore, in Melbourne the cost of water will double over the next five years. That is not something that pensioners can avoid. That is extra money that they will have to find for the absolute basics in life. But it is Labor governments that are doing these things to them.

The Labor government in New South Wales—I am sure that the minister at the table would be interested in this—has slugged families with a $100 rise in their electricity bills. That is according to the Daily Telegraph of 15 June this year. That, of course, will impact on older Australians. They will have to find that money. I think probably the worst thing that the New South Wales government has done is something that as minister you get a lot of letters about—sometimes saying how fantastic it is but sometimes asking for it to be improved—and that is people making use of reduced fees and sometimes free tickets when using trains. The New South Wales Labor government has seen fit to increase the cost of train travel for seniors by introducing a 15 per cent booking fee on CountryLink trains in New South Wales. That will have a detrimental impact both on elderly people or pensioners but also on business. In the rural areas, particularly where they are doing it tough in drought, there is no way that pensioners will be out spending, because of this unnecessary burden that has been placed on them by yet another state Labor government. That means it will cost a minimum of $10 for a single ticket and $20 for a return fare—and for pensioners such travel is supposed to be free. That is the Labor Party’s idea of free.

They are just a few simple things that those who sit opposite can refer to when asking their Labor colleagues: ‘Take the burden off pensioners. Don’t burden them with the cost of ambulances. Don’t burden them with the cost of water. Don’t burden them with the cost of public transport. For goodness sake, they have done their bit; respect them.’

I would now like to turn to families with higher order multiple births—triplets, quadruplets or larger birth sets. They will benefit from the extension, in this bill, of multiple birth allowance. Multiple birth allowance is an additional component of family tax benefit part A for families with three or more children that are born together. It is worth over $3,000 per year for triplets and over $4,000 per year for quadruplets or more—further to the large family supplement of over $250 per year for families with three or more children. Multiple birth families face a significantly increased financial burden over most families, both in the direct cost of raising their children and in the indirect cost of reduced workforce participation. Multiple birth allowance aims to relieve some of this financial pressure. The allowance currently cuts out when a child turns six. Our argument is, ‘Gee, that’s when kids are going to school; three pairs of school shoes and three sets of uniforms.’ That is a time when you actually need it more and not less. So, thanks to the cabinet—particularly to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer—we have been able to deliver this very significant improvement and practical assistance to these people raising large families from multiple births.

So we have listened again, and this is going to be a practical measure that will help people. Therefore, the multiple birth allowance will now continue beyond the age of six and will be paid until the children turn 16 or until the end of the year in which they turn 18 if they remain as full-time students. That is a huge step forward. There are about 1,000 Australian families who will benefit from this extension, and some will continue to receive the allowance past their children’s sixth birthdays, when it would otherwise have stopped.

Another measure in the bill is the crisis payment. It is a one-off payment equal to a week’s worth of income support for people in severe financial hardship in certain circumstances. People recently released from prison, victims of domestic violence and people affected by extreme circumstances such as natural disasters currently may receive a crisis payment. This bill enables newly arrived humanitarian entrants to Australia to be able to qualify for and receive such a payment. The availability of the crisis payment to a newly arrived humanitarian entrant is intended to give extra support to refugees managing the immediate costs of settling in to the Australian community, especially in finding long-term accommodation. Under this measure, we expect about 6,800 humanitarian entrants will be assisted by the crisis payment each year.

I also mention the Assurance of Support program. This will allow entry to Australia by migrants who are considered more likely to claim a social security payment, while protecting government outlays. These migrants are permitted to migrate to Australia on condition that the person providing the assurance undertakes both financial responsibility for their assuree’s support and responsibility for the repayment of the social security payments which may be paid to the assuree during the period of the assurance. This bill will improve and simplify the program’s operation in various ways.

I will make one last comment before I put the bill to the House. It is in relation to the hypocrisy of the member for Jagajaga in relation to Labor’s announcement today. It is about the old adage of putting it out there as though you are a leader when, in fact, you are a follower. Today Labor announced that they would be rolling out the HIPPY program. The HIPPY program is a very good program. We should know—we have been funding it. We have been funding it in a number of communities around Australia, the difference being that the coalition government says to the Australian population, ‘If you have a local problem, you need a local answer.’ We do not say to them, ‘HIPPY is the only answer and you will use the Brotherhood of St Laurence.’ We ask: ‘What is important to you?’

In a number of localities, people have used the HIPPY program. And it is a good program. But, in other areas, people have decided that the HIPPY program does not suit their needs, and they have come up with other alternatives. But, yet again, we see the Labor Party following rather than leading. That is exactly what they are: followers. One would lament where we would go to as a nation if the leaders of this nation—the coalition, the Prime Minister and the Treasurer—were not there for the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow minister to follow. If we were not there, they would be rudderless. I commend the bill to the House as it contains wonderful measures made possible through the good economic management of the Howard government.

Phillip Barresi (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Jagajaga has moved as an amendment that all words after ‘That’ be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The question now is that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question.

Question agreed to.

Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.