Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am glad this is so welcome! I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving immediately—That the House of Representatives:

(1)

recognises that the Prime Minister and his Government:

(a)

have acknowledged that it is virtually impossible for single age pensioners to meet essential expenses on the current pension rate, yet have refused to act and instead expect struggling pensioners to wait until yet another review is completed; and

(b)

have a responsibility to act immediately to ensure that the entire pension payment system appropriately addresses these pressures;

(2)

affirms the urgency of the Coalition’s pension bill in proposing to:

(a)

increase the single age pension, single age service pension and the Widow B pension by $30 per week;

(b)

provide immediate relief to single age pensioners, single age service pensioners and Widow B pensioners struggling with the rising cost of living pressures; and

(c)

provide the first step in ensuring that the Government acts immediately and accepts its responsibilities to take the urgent action required to assist all pensioners;

(3)

demands that the Government:

(a)

allow the Opposition proposal to be debated immediately and in doing so, reflect the will of the Senate in passing the Urgent Relief for Single Age Pensioners Bill 2008 last night; and

(b)

recognise the urgency of the Coalition’s bill and support its enactment without further delay; and

(4)

should it refuse to deal with the Coalition’s bill, demands that the Acting Prime Minister immediately introduce the Urgent Relief for Single Age Pensioners Bill 2008 in the House of Representatives with full knowledge that it will pass through this place and through the Senate.

We have seen the plight of pensioners trivialised and mocked by this government today. We have seen pensioners who are living on a pension that the Treasurer, this man who claims to be so in touch, says he cannot live on, and that the Acting Prime Minister says that she cannot live on. We have seen this move to give single age pensioners $30 a week described by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs as ‘a stunt’. We have seen it described by the Treasurer as ‘a ploy’. And we have seen it described by the Acting Prime Minister, after listening to the comic antics of the Treasurer during question time, as ‘low-rent politics’. Low-rent politics indeed—we have had a gutful of that from the government today!

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: the opposition have chosen not to seek leave to move a motion. They have chosen to just move a motion to suspend standing orders. Therefore, it is only within the parameters of the Leader of the Opposition’s speech to address that question of why standing orders should be suspended.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Leader of the House will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition understands that he has to speak to the reasons for the suspension.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The urgency of this motion is acknowledged and self-evident to the government members who said that the pension is so low that they cannot live on it. They are asking Australian pensioners to accept a payment, a pension, that they say, in their arrogance, they cannot live on but they will do nothing about. Here is the bill. Here is the answer. This can fix it. It is within the power of the government. The Acting Prime Minister is sitting there, despising those pensioners over a payment—despising them. Oh, yes.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Oh, are we respecting pensioners? Does the Acting Prime Minister claim she respects pensioners? She respects them so much that she will not lift a finger to relieve them. She has the opportunity. There it is. All the work has been done. The Senate has passed it. All the government has to do right now is pass this bill. This bill is there for you. We have had nothing. There is the bill.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Gillard interjecting

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All she can do—Mr Speaker, I am getting a running dialogue from the Acting Prime Minister, a sort of psychobabble going back into the past, talking about last year. What about the year before last or the year before that?

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Those on my right will come to order!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me remind the Acting Prime Minister that the Acting Prime Minister is running this country today. The pensioners of Australia are not interested in her excursion into political history. They want to know what the government will do for them now and the answer that the government has for pensioners, the answer that the so-in-touch Treasurer there, running through his comic lines written by Bob Ellis, has. He sneers. He writes better lines than the ones you do yourself. The answer that they have—the only answer they have—is nothing. They have nothing to give pensioners, nothing to relieve a pension that they acknowledge is completely inadequate. And they claim that this is not urgent. They say this can wait. Till what? When? Until the Ken Henry review reports, till the end of 2009.

The coalition’s proposal of $30 a week will have the effect of increasing the rate of the single pension to approximately two-thirds of the rate of the couple pension, up from under 60 per cent. The percentage of the couple pension that the single pension in our system represents is low by OECD standards, and this can be seen as correcting an immediate anomaly at a time when we have seen extraordinary price inflation. It is an immediate challenge, and it is one where justice needs to be done.

We have heard complaints from the government as they try to defend their lack of action today, as they try to give the coldest of cold comfort to the pensioners of Australia with their recitation of political history. They claim that the previous government did not increase the pension. Let me tell you: in 1997—if you want some political history—it was a decision by the coalition government to link the age pensions to growing incomes, at 25 per cent of male total average weekly earnings rather than the CPI, and that meant that pensioners directly shared in the benefits of a stronger economy. That was concrete action. It was the coalition government that introduced the utilities allowance. It was the coalition government that increased the amount of the age pension a part-rate pensioner receives above the income-test-free area by reducing the pension income test withdrawal rate from 50c in the dollar to 40c in July 2000. And it was the coalition government that passed the legislation to halve the assets test taper rate. The coalition has stood by pensioners throughout its time in government.

But, you know, Mr Speaker, the task of government is continuing. The government is now led by Mr Rudd, by the Acting Prime Minister here and by the Treasurer. They have got the responsibility today. Just as the coalition responded to the needs of pensioners when it was in government, so it is the responsibility of this government to act today. The government has the ability to act. There it is. All the work has been done. You do not need to set up a committee. You do not need to have a review. The bill is there. You can pick it up. This can be passed. The pensioners can get the $30. The only thing that stands between the single age pensioners and the single service pensioners of Australia and $30 a week is the cold indifference of this government.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

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

Where is the member for Warringah? Goodness knows where he is. He’s bored! He is so bored.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Those on my left will come to order! The minister has the call.

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

He is too bored to come and do his job in the parliament, too bored to defend pensioners. He does not want the job anymore. Why is it that we are having this debate in the parliament right now? Why is it that we are having this debate? Because the great lawyer over there has finally realised that what the opposition have proposed is unconstitutional.

I see the member for Mackellar over there is giving it a very big nod. The member for Mackellar knows that I am exactly right—that the previous Leader of the Opposition, when he dreamt up this idea to try and save his leadership a week or so ago, actually said, when he made this announcement, ‘I will be introducing this bill into the House of Representatives. I will introduce this bill.’ Then we saw the member for North Sydney get completely eaten up by Laurie Oakes—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Crean interjecting

Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Martin Ferguson interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Minister for Trade and the Minister for Tourism: the member for Mackellar has the call.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House was arguing previously that this debate is on the need for the suspension of standing orders. The member opposite must restrict her remarks to that subject matter and not verbal me in the course of them.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Mackellar will resume her seat. The minister will address the motion for the suspension of standing orders.

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

The Leader of the Opposition says this is so urgent, because he has finally figured out that he cannot do what he wanted to do. He has to move this suspension because he knows he cannot actually bring the bill into the House of Representatives because of the Constitution. We have got a great lawyer here! He does not even understand the Constitution—and he sure as heck does not understand pensions policy. Let us just go through a few reasons why this bill should not be made into law. It should not be made into law because it is flawed policy and it is cynical politics at its worst—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The point of order I make is precisely the same as I made before.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Mackellar will resume her seat. The minister will address her remarks to the suspension motion.

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

As I said, the reason that those opposite think this matter is so urgent is because they made this big commitment a couple of weeks ago to bring this legislation into the House of Representatives. They have now figured out that they cannot do that, and so the only thing they have got to do is to move a suspension of standing orders to have this debate. They thought this was so urgent in the Senate yesterday that they could not even get a seconder for their motion! And I am told they thought it was so important in the Senate yesterday that they actually had more speakers on the luxury car tax bill than they did on their own pension motion. So much for it being so important!

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

They are all saying over there that we should just get on with it. Well, you would have to ask: why didn’t they just get on with it a year ago? Almost exactly a year ago, this issue went to the Howard cabinet and it was thrown out by the Howard government. The Leader of the Opposition said no. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition said no. The Leader of the National Party said no. So much for it being urgent! They are not serious about this issue. All they want to do is to play politics with pensions—play low-rent politics. The reason we will not be introducing anything like the bill that they are proposing is that it is extraordinary in the way that it sets pensioner against pensioner. What it does is ignore the needs of two million pensioners. It ignores the needs of those who are on the disability support pension. It ignores those on a carer payment.

Another complication which, of course, the Leader of the Opposition does not understand is that there are actually 13,000 people over the aged-pension age—and if he actually listened to this he might learn something about the pension—13,000 people aged over 65 who are on carer payment or who are on the disability support pension. They are living on exactly the same amount of money as people on the aged pension. And the legislation that he thinks is so urgent to debate today completely ignores their needs. So we will not be introducing that legislation. It ignores the needs of two million pensioners, more than one million of them married couples, who are also doing it tough and who are having trouble making ends meet; disability support pensioners who are having trouble making ends meet; and, of course, carers, who are carrying a very heavy load. And it is the opposition who are saying that we should just adopt this bill, because they have dreamt it up in an effort to save the previous Leader of the Opposition’s skin. Well, we will not be doing that.

What we have done is taken a far more responsible approach. What we have done is made sure that we increased the utilities allowance from $107—

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Truss interjecting

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

The Leader of the National Party over there just sighs! He sighs in his tired, old way; he sighs because he knows that, when they were in government and had the opportunity to increase the utilities allowance, they did not do it. They did not increase the utilities allowance. They left it at $107. We increased it to $500. And in this fortnight pensioners are going to be receiving $128, which is the third instalment of that increased utilities allowance. It was left to this government to extend the utilities allowance to carers and people on the disability support pension. They had all that time to extend it to those pensioners. Did they do it? No, they did not.

This government also decided that we would pay the bonuses both to people who are on the aged pension and to carers, to make sure that they got some extra help while we did this very important inquiry, because we do understand just how complicated it is. Another attempt by those opposite demonstrates just why it is so important to get this right. If we were to do what they are proposing then, if you were a public housing tenant, a quarter of what those opposite want to give you would just go in public housing rents. And 13,000 older Australians who are on the carer payment or the disability support pension would just be ignored. Two million Australians who are battling on pensions would just be ignored.

We will not be introducing a flawed piece of legislation. What the government has done is made sure that we have provided around $900 extra to pensioners to make sure that they had some additional help while we did a proper inquiry to make sure that the base rate of the pension, the support that governments provide to pensioners, is right for the long term. We will not be leaving it for 12 years and doing nothing about it. We made sure that in our first budget—in our first budget, not our 12th budget—we delivered an extra $900. Our first budget delivered an extra $900, and we will get this right for the long term for pensioners.

Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government is a sham. They pretend they care about the Australian pensioner, but what will they do for the Australian pensioner in the immediate time? We have had a Senate review, we have had the Harmer review and now we are told we are having the Henry review. How many reviews do we need to have before the pensioners of this country get the support they need? They are struggling now. They do not need help tomorrow; they need it today. Today is when these pensioners need some help.

The government does not think this motion is urgent. I wonder what the pensioners of Australia think when they hear that their government does not believe their needs are urgent. This is a government that has only taken nine months to be out of touch with older Australians—nine months. And the minister stands here today and talks about a seniors bonus—a measure introduced by this side of the House when we were in government. They talk about a utilities allowance—another measure introduced by this side of the House, recognising what senior Australians need. But what are they going to do about the single rate pension? A $30 increase was supported by the Senate last night and brought into the House today, and we have the government sitting before us today and the minister saying: ‘This is not urgent. We need a review. These people do not need assistance today; they will have to wait until tomorrow.’ Well, I do not think the pensioners of this country can wait until tomorrow. They are going to have to wait until next year.

Where is the Prime Minister when we talk about older Australians? The minister talks about our shadow minister not being in the chamber—where is the Prime Minister of this country? Where is he? Missing in action, when the senior Australians of this country need his support. The government calls this a stunt. I do not think it is a stunt when we are talking about senior Australians and the cost-of-living pressures that they are under today. Look at the cost increases and the promises made by this government in the lead-up to last year’s election that the cost-of-living pressures would be relieved by this government. What has it done? Nothing but review after review after review, and still no relief for pensioners in this country. Pensioners are still being told they are going to have to wait until next year’s budget. The review will not put bread on the table. It will not pay the bills of single pensioners in this country.

And now we have a minister who comes before us today wanting to rewrite history. She talks about the seniors bonus and the utilities allowance—brought in by a coalition government, not by this government. This government is a disgrace. When it comes to senior Australians, it wants to just forget they exist, forget the needs of senior Australians and not assist them. It has a budget surplus left by the coalition government, a surplus that can be used today to immediately offset the living pressures on senior Australians in this country. You are a disgrace, and senior Australians listening to this today around the country will understand that this government does not care about their needs, their wants and their wishes. The majority of Australians support a $30 per week increase for senior Australians in this country and it is time this government took action and ensured that that happened today.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 3.20 pm, the time for the debate has concluded.

Question put:

That the motion (Mr Turnbull’s) be agreed to.