Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

() (): I want to pick up on an issue discussed today in question time with respect to the views put forward by the Prime Minister about what is occurring to pensions under the proposed policy of this government. Let us be very clear. There will be a cut to the value of pensions into the future; there will be a cut in the rate of growth of pensions into the future; there will be a cut in the living standards of senior citizens in this country who rely on those benefits. The hypocrisy has been highlighted by the position of the Prime Minister and has been highlighted very clearly by legislation with respect to military superannuants, which I had spoken on before and which was passed just a few weeks ago. The government, in honour of their commitment before the election and before the election before that, actually changed the policy for military superannuation under two schemes to a much fairer indexation—their own words, 'fairer indexation'—to include not only CPI but also male total average weekly earnings. Having changed that just a matter of weeks ago, the circumstances are that the government has flagged very clearly that it is going to change everything else back the other way with respect to payments, whether it be for service pensions, disability pensions or aged pensions, right across the board. There will be a cut in the standards of our elderly citizens as a result of this change. (Time expired)