Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. How is the Albanese Labor government providing more support in the safety net for pensioners, and are there any threats to this support being provided?

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Adelaide for his question and for his advocacy for seniors in his electorate. The Albanese government is proud to continue the strong Labor tradition of supporting older Australians. We know Australians, including our seniors, are under pressure and we are providing more cost-of-living relief.

We are strengthening the safety net for pensioners by continuing the freeze on deeming rates for a further 12 months. This means part-pensioners may earn more on their investments without it affecting their payments, benefiting around 450,000 aged pensioners. Our government is also increasing the maximum rates of rent assistance by a further 10 per cent. This is our second consecutive increase and means that on 20 September the maximum rates of rent assistance will have increased by more than 40 per cent since our government was elected. This will assist 200,000 aged pension households.

Our freeze on co-payments for PBS medications means that six million pensioners and other concession card holders will pay a maximum of $7.70 per script for the next five years. Our energy bill relief will provide every Australian household with a $300 rebate for their power bills. These measures are providing significant additional assistance to pensioners and are in addition to the indexation of the pension, which ensures pensions keep up with the cost of living. It was Labor, when last in government, who increased pensions and introduced the more generous indexation arrangements.

I'm asked if there are any threats to pensioners and for more support for pensioners. Unfortunately, there is. It is those opposite. Those opposite have a record, when it comes to cutting support for pensioners. Despite promising no cuts to the pension, the former coalition government did exactly the opposite. The former coalition government, in which the Leader of the Opposition was a cabinet minister, tightened the pension asset test, kicking thousands of older Australians off the pension and reducing pensions for many others. For older Australians, they axed the seniors supplement. And let's not forget that those opposite had a plan to lift the pension-qualifying age to 70 and remove the better-off indexation that we put in place.

Now the member for Hume is leading the charge again to attack the pension. It's time for the member for Hume, and indeed all of those opposite, to come clean about their plans for the pension. We know the member for Hume has labelled indexation on the pension as 'unrestrained spending' which he will claw back. Labor will stand up for pensioners, unlike those opposite.