Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was intending to address something very different here today, but I have been so appalled and shocked by the Prime Minister's conduct today in question time that I just want to get on the record what could only be described as a massive misleading of this parliament. If we do not hear from the Prime Minister correcting the record then I hope that we will look further and go forward with a censure motion, because what the Prime Minister has done today is I think a complete betrayal of the obligations of that office.

People will be aware that today we were talking about the cut to the pensioner concessions. I think it is around $1.3 billion over the forward estimates that has been cut from the pensioner concessions. And the Prime Minister was trying to tell us, 'Well, it's not going to be a problem at all'—that this is a responsibility of the states. He goes on and says, 'I am pleased to say that, so far, every single state has undertaken to continue to maintain the value of pensioner concessions.' But perhaps I could just quote from the Western Australian parliament two days ago, when the Hon. Colin Barnett, the Premier, had this to say:

The commonwealth has decided—it is its decision—to cut its share of the funding; therefore, $25 million has gone. The Western Australian government will not replace that; that is a federal government decision.

He makes this absolutely clear, beyond doubt. On several occasions the Premier of Western Australia has said this very publicly—it has been very well publicised in Western Australia—and now we have the Prime Minister telling us and telling the pensioners of Western Australia and indeed telling the pensioners around Australia that they need not worry, because the state governments have all agreed to step into the breach. It is very hard to see that this is anything other than a deliberate misleading of our parliament. And I hope we can get the Prime Minister to come back in here and correct the record, because this is very, very much a misleading of the community.

We know that in a number of other states, like New South Wales, their agreement to fill the breach has of course been for only one year. But at least that can just fall within the basic—

Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It gets them past the election.

Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, and it can conform with the basic spin we hear from the government about this budget. But what has happened here to the pensioners of Western Australia, who tomorrow morning will be rallying against this budget and the very, very unfair way it impacts upon pensioners and retirees, will be grist to their mill: to learn that the Prime Minister has come into this place and said that every single state has agreed to maintain the value of pensioner concessions when he must know—it is inconceivable that he does not know—that the Premier of Western Australia has made it very, very clear that that $20 million is gone, dead and buried, and he has no intention of replacing that. So, who is going to cop the cut? Who is going to cop the reduction in their concessions? It is the pensioners of Western Australia. This is most unfair, and I call upon the Prime Minister to come in here and be honest and correct the record.