Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

I also add my best wishes to Senator Ian Campbell for his future. We have crossed swords a bit over time, but I recognise that he has made a considerable contribution to the operation of this chamber.

Today I want to refer to the so-called answers given by Senator Scullion. Senator Scullion’s bluster and defensive responses to Senator Kirk’s and my questions provided no comfort to people with disabilities or older Australians who care for people with disabilities or elderly loved ones. It is not the style that that group of people are looking for, and it is not the way that they will feel they should be considered by this government. These are the facts that I tried to ask Senator Scullion about today: a person who is on an age pension who is caring for an elderly partner or an adult child with a disability will not receive the $1,000 one-off payment that a person under the age of 65 will receive—a person on carer payment. Senator Scullion acknowledged that in a roundabout way today when he said there were two demographics. I am sorry, Senator Scullion; there are three. There is a group of people who are on the age pension but who do exactly the same job; they do exactly the same task as that of a person receiving a carer payment: they care for a person who is severely or profoundly disabled or an elderly person and they are not in receipt of the carer payment.

There is a large group of people who feel as if they have missed out, and rightly so. They will get $600 as a carer allowance recipient. That is the truth, and that is what this government has to deal with. The fact is that the application of this policy is discriminatory. It does discriminate on the basis of age. They do the same job, yet they get different treatment. Older people know that they are being treated differently. They know discrimination when they see it or feel it, and they will not be duped by Treasurer Costello’s patronising rhetoric that this is an acknowledgement of the fine work that they do.

I draw the government’s attention to a media release from Carers Australia in which they state:

Carers Australia is surprised and disappointed at the apparent disregard of recommendations it made for the 2007-08 Federal Budget.

They called for improved financial security for carers, for carer health initiatives, for strategies to assist carers to remain in the workforce and for a national carer framework. These are just a few of the recommendations Carers Australia say were overlooked in the budget. Mr Chodziesner said:

We were expecting a budget that would be family friendly. We thought we would hear announcements that would look to the future. There is nothing for family carers in this regard.

Now I want to go to the question that Senator Kirk asked. Senator Scullion said that the one-off payment was very well received. That is only partially true. It was very well received by those who will receive it. People with disabilities feel as if they have been overlooked in this budget. They feel forgotten. Leanne who rang the ABC in Adelaide said: ‘What are we? Are we nothing?’ Those questions are resonating across the sector. People with disabilities and people who provide services to people with disabilities feel that they have been overlooked and forgotten in this budget. I am sure that the government knows of their concern. The reason for their fury and their concern is that the budget has no indication of growth funding for the CSTDA, which is currently being negotiated. It is my understanding that the ‘negotiations’ that were held on 3 April could hardly be called that. Also, the outcome of those negotiations must be a multilateral agreement, but it looks as if we are heading toward bilateral agreements, which will not be useful. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.