Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday Harmony Day was celebrated in this parliament. There was a recognition, from the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Greens, of the contribution made to this country by migrants—those who have come to Australia and worked hard for their families, but also, through their actions and their work, have enriched our community.

It is right, of course, that these words were spoken by our political leaders, but such sentiments must also be matched by deeds and sadly—indeed cruelly—this is far from the case under the government led by Prime Minister Turnbull. This is demonstrated by the government's proposed changes to the pension, which are at best misguided and at worst cruel. The Prime Minister wants to make it harder for pensioners to travel to visit family and friends overseas. Presently, pensioners can stay overseas for 26 weeks without having their pensions impacted. The government proposes to change this to just six weeks in legislation which also seeks to carry through cuts from the Abbott-Hockey 2014 budget. This is a big difference, especially for older people looking at travelling great distances, and it is particularly important in electorates like Scullin where many people want, and often need, to visit brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and children living in different parts of the world.

The context is this: 40 per cent of Australia's pensioners were born overseas. The Prime Minister is effectively telling these people to rush important trips, not to go at all or to lose their pension and support. This does not, of course, only affect those who have family overseas. Labor are standing up for all pensioners by opposing these cuts to the pension and making it clear that, unlike the government, we do not treat pensioners with contempt. Labor would give pensioners the dignity they deserve. People who have worked hard their whole lives do not deserve this treatment. Our pensioners are not a burden and should not be treated as such.

This is a policy, like so many of this government's policies, that adversely impacts low- and middle-income earners. It does not take into account fairness and does not take into account the concerns of people we should be representing. In my electorate many pensioners were born overseas. These changes are sending to all of these people a negative message that carries more than just financial consequences. This has been made clear to me at senior citizens clubs, where great anxiety has been expressed to me. My office has been inundated with calls of concern from people with family overseas who want to spend more than six weeks with them. People are concerned they may not get the chance to see overseas family and friends again. People are angry: they have worked hard their whole lives and are entitled to receive a full pension. These people are entitled to their concerns but, more than this, they are entitled to be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Labor recognises this. It is time that the government listened and did likewise.