Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Self-funded retirees make a significant contribution to our nation and its finances. However, their interests are often overlooked by government, and they often become the targets for revenue raising to prop up budgets. In contributing to the adjournment debate, I wish to advocate for the interests of fully and partly self-funded retirees living in my electorate, who have made prudent choices to provide for their financial security in retirement.

I wish to thank Mr Ron de Gruchy OAM, representing the WA Self Funded Retirees Inc. and the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers' Association (WA) Inc., who met with me earlier this year to discuss the 2018-19 prebudget submission in detail. The first recommendation in the submission is that all Commonwealth superannuation pensions be indexed consistently, using the same formula as is used to adjust the Centrelink age pension. This problem of inequality of the method of indexation of the CSS and PSS pensions as compared to the method used for the indexation of the Centrelink age pension has been in existence for many years.

A second recommendation is that the Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme safety net thresholds for single retirees be restructured so that access to them becomes available at 65 per cent of the levels applicable to couples and families. Currently, a single retiree needs to spend the same amount on pharmaceutical prescriptions before reaching the safety net threshold as does a couple. A similar situation exists for the Medicare safety net. There is obvious discrimination, in that one person needs to incur the same total expenditure as does a couple before any concessional treatment is allowed.

A third recommendation is that retirees be enabled to transfer funds into superannuation at the prescribed contribution levels without having to meet any work test. Retirees aged between 65 and 74 who wish to contribute funds to a superannuation fund are required to pass a work test before they are permitted to do so. In order to qualify, this test requires them to be gainfully employed for a minimum of 40 hours in any consecutive 30-day period throughout the relevant tax year. This test is considered to be an outdated, arbitrary hurdle with negligible practical value.

A fourth recommendation is that retirees be enabled to transfer funds into superannuation at the prescribed contribution levels irrespective of their age. Those people over the age of 75 and still in the workforce are now eligible to have the superannuation guarantee levy, currently 9½ per cent of their salary, paid into a recognised superannuation fund of their choice. However, anyone not employed is prohibited from contributing any funds into a superannuation fund if they're over the age of 75.

A fifth recommendation is that the deeming rates be reduced to one per cent up to the current levels of $50,200 and $83,400, with two per cent for the remainder. Deeming rates commenced in July 1996 and have been adjusted to accommodate changes. They were last changed in March 2015. Since then, there have been at least three reductions in the Reserve Bank cash rate but no changes in the official deeming rates.

The sixth recommendation is that consideration be given to widening the scope of the National Disability Insurance Scheme or DisabilityCare Australia parameters so as to include all Australian citizens, including those aged over 65.

The seventh recommendation is that the interest rate of 5.73 per cent currently being charged for the nonpayment of a refundable accommodation deposit be reviewed with the intention of bringing it more into line with either the Reserve Bank's cash rate at 1.5 per cent or the consumer price index.

I commend the 2018-19 prebudget submission by the WA Self Funded Retirees and the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers' Association (WA) to the House. (Time expired)

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition are not far off finishing their fifth year in government, and we have seen them deliver their fifth budget. Strip away the fluff and the blowhard noises and we find yet another attempt by the coalition to trick Australians into believing that the Turnbull government cares about anyone other than the top end of town. I have some bad news for you, Treasurer Morrison and Prime Minister Turnbull: I have worked you out, the Labor Party has worked you out, and I think the people of Australia have worked you out. We remember your debt and deficit disaster, yet the government's fiscal strategy unveiled in 2014 is failing completely. We see federal government debt has surged from $310 billion in 2014 to $534 billion this year.

So while the Turnbull government pretend to be competent economic managers, we are onto you. Under this mob, we've seen a worsening of the budget's position, and it's all built on a foundation of unfairness. I have a lesson for the government: fairness isn't just a rhetorical device you get to dish out when it suits you politically; it's actually a set of values—a belief that informs every decision you make. Australians know that this out-of-touch government doesn't care about fairness for working Australians and their families, for jobseekers, for pensioners or for students.

Before we heard all the hoopla and rhetoric from the Treasurer, I sat down and wrote a speech about what I knew the government would forget to put in Tuesday night's budget. I sealed it, and I have brought it with me tonight. I will now unseal the envelope and see how I went.

In this budget, the Turnbull government missed the chance to restore the $17 billion cut from Australian schools. 'Is that correct?' I ask the member for Blair. Yes, of course it is. Here's the bottom line: it's simple; Labor will restore every cent. Of this funding we'll restore, nearly 90 per cent will go to public schools, the schools that are doing most of the heavy lifting. In my electorate of Moreton, $15 million has been ripped from public schools, and this budget will not restore it. Shame! These cuts will mean fewer teachers and support staff, less one-on-one attention for children and less help with the basics like reading, writing and maths. The Turnbull government are economic vandals masquerading as economists. They want to talk about how the economy works for big business, but how does our economy work for everyone if our kids can't get a decent education? It's short-sighted and ignores the productivity gains that flow from investing in education.

I wonder how health went. In this budget, the Turnbull government have missed the opportunity to ensure health care remains affordable for all Australians—check. They're continuing to put at risk our universal healthcare system. Alongside GPs, Australia's public hospitals are the workhorses of our health system. In my electorate of Moreton we have the QEII hospital and, sitting over the border, the Princess Alexandra Hospital. On Tuesday night, the Treasurer failed to restore the $160 million the government have ripped from Queensland's hospitals, including from the QEII and the PAH. The cut is the equivalent of 240,000 emergency department visits, 44,000 cataract extractions, 6,150 knee replacements or 26,500 births. The omission from the budget will affect every Queenslander and every Queensland family.

This budget again failed to fund Cross River Rail—check—a critical piece of infrastructure for all who live in South East Queensland. The existing inner city rail crossing over the Brisbane River, the Merivale Bridge, is at full capacity; we all know that. The federal Labor Party committed $2.24 billion to partner with the Queensland Labor government to get this project done. On Tuesday night, the government failed to take up our offer of bipartisanship to deliver this critical congestion-busting public transport infrastructure that will serve Queenslanders.

There was no mention of the Coopers Plains rail crossing. I recently wrote to Prime Minister Turnbull and urged him to find money in the budget to commit to a solution for the Coopers Plains level crossing mess. Last night, that fell on deaf ears, and the government missed another piece of critical infrastructure for southsiders. There are real safety concerns and major traffic congestion. This crossing is used by as many as 1,000 vehicles an hour in peak periods. In the absence of leadership from the Turnbull government, I will continue to work with the state government and the Brisbane City Council to get this dangerous mess sorted. Prime Minister, you are still welcome to join me. It is something that was highlighted by the former member for Moreton, Gary Hardgrave, in 1998.

So how did I go? It's not hard to guess what's going to be in a budget from a government that is so committed to delivering for the top end of town and that has a track record of ignoring middle- and working-class Australians. Labor will continue to fight for as long as necessary to get working Australians, families, young people, jobseekers and pensioners a better deal and help create a fairer, more egalitarian Australia.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last night's budget was a turning point for Canning. After years of lobbying, advocacy and community support, the coalition government committed $824 million of federal funding to build major road and rail projects in our region. This is going to have a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people. The largest of these three projects, over half a billion dollars worth of investment, will extend the Tonkin Highway south into the heart of the Peel region. Presently, the Tonkin Highway ends abruptly at Thomas Road. Commuter traffic and heavy transport spills out into the streets of Byford, posing a danger to pedestrians, cyclists, horseriders and drivers. We will extend the Tonkin Highway south through the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale and connect it with the South Western Highway south of Mundijong. It's going to make a lot of local roads much safer for people, reduce congestion and open up access to the centre of the Peel region for both commercial and industrial development. This will expand the opportunities for business owners and provide an easy and direct route to the airport for people in exports. Importantly, all of this investment is going to grow local jobs in our region.

We have also secured funding that will extend the Armadale train line to Byford—and this is big news. The Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale has weathered serious change over the past 10 years. This train line and station will help ease population pressures by providing easy access to employment in Perth and beyond. For many, it will mean a shorter trip to work and less time on the road. For students and young people, the Byford train station will mean better access to education and other opportunities in the city. It will also draw together old Byford in the east and new Byford in the west, giving the town a heart and a centre.

Finally, we have commenced our journey to building a second train station in the City of Mandurah. This is seriously needed for WA's second-largest city. Now, the long-awaited Lakeland railway station is set to become a reality. We have $2 million for the required business case, and further funding has been set aside for the station's construction. Lakeland's residents have been waiting over a decade for this to happen. In that time, Lakeland's population has tripled. When this is done, people travelling to the city will get there in less than an hour instead of being stuck in traffic or struggling to find a park when they arrive at their destination.

These projects aren't just fantasies or empty promises; they are happening and they are vital to the future of our region. This is going to draw investment to Peel because, where you build roads, where you build rail, people want to live, start a business and make a life. Government investment in infrastructure is known to have a multiplying effect on the local economy and so we are unlocking the potential of our region with this investment. A perfect example is Bells Engines. For 30 years, Ron Bell has built his engine reconditioning business from the ground up into a big operation with a global market. He is exporting all over the world and has enough demand to expand and take on at least 10 new staff, but the sprawl of Mandurah has meant there isn't enough space in the city for further expansion of Ron's business. Ron Bell wants to stay local, but this restraint has made it very difficult. The Tonkin Highway extension will activate land for a planned business park in West Mundijong, which is perfect for people like Ron, who want to stay local and invest in the Peel region. I also think of people like Mandy and Patrick Faulkner of Lakelands. They contacted me this week, thrilled to hear the train station is finally coming to their town. They shared just how much it will benefit them and their fellow residents, who will soon have easy access to Perth, all within walking distance of their front doors.

Last night was an important moment for everyone in Canning. I commend the many local people who have helped us make this happen by attending town hall meetings—30 last year—filling out surveys, signing petitions and sharing their stories with me. We have delivered historic infrastructure investment into Canning, and I thank the federal government for showing leadership in this.

House adjourned at 19:59