Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday in the House of Representatives the Labor government voted against the proposal by the coalition to increase the single age pension by some $30. Single age pensioners in this country receive $273 per week, and the opposition believes that a $30 rise is affordable and desirable. I certainly believe this. Last night we voted for this very strongly and very convincingly. The ALP government, led by Mr Rudd, voted against it and, in my opinion as the member for Ryan, this is mean-spirited. The Australian budget surplus is some $22 billion, left by the Howard government—an enormous amount of money. Certainly it means that this country can afford to take care of our much-deserving pensioners. We are a rich nation. We can afford this. We must take care of all those Australians who are less fortunate than us. This includes those on pensions—especially those on single age pensions—and I would even say we should be taking care, in particular, of people such as carers, who do an enormous amount of wonderful work in our community. We are a rich country. We can afford this. We have a $22 billion surplus and I certainly will be letting the pensioners of my electorate of Ryan know that I voted for the $30 increase in the House of Representatives yesterday and that the Labor government used its numbers to vote against the $30 increase.

The Rudd government say that they are for working families. It is quite significant and quite interesting that we never hear them say that they are for pensioners. They say one thing—that they are for a certain group in the community—but they do not say that they are for people such as pensioners. Mr Rudd, of course, is in New York attending meetings there. I suggest that he should be in this country attending meetings here, speaking to Australians less fortunate than himself and less fortunate than many others. I, for one, have no qualms at all in saying that this country should be a global nation and that we should have a Prime Minister that is global in outlook. I am certainly global in outlook and all my colleagues are global in outlook, but the point that we are making is that this is not the time to be going to New York to talk about Australia seeking a spot on the United Nations Security Council. This is not the time to be going to Columbia University and to be speaking to African leaders about trying to get their votes. Mr Rudd, as Prime Minister of this country, should not be speaking to African leaders. He should be speaking to pensioners throughout the length and breadth of this great country, and he certainly should be speaking to the pensioners of the Ryan electorate. I will be letting them know that his government voted against the $30 rise that we in the opposition proposed very, very strongly.