Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

We also have Medicare, very important for all Australians, and something I thought the opposition also had some interest in, but obviously not by the look of them today. From 1 July we are rolling out a new online service for customers so that they can assess their status with Medicare. That is a very important thing for those people who are approaching the Medicare safety net—and it is something that Senator Evans should listen to carefully. Needy families in this country do look out for that and they need online access to Medicare to assess their position. That is being rolled out from 1 July—a very good initiative indeed. We also have other initiatives. From 1 July we have additional support for the Murray-Darling Basin. If you are there and you are experiencing the difficulties that many people are experiencing, this is something which will help make your life a bit better. We are rolling that out with the Farm Help program changes, which will also be implemented from 1 July 2007.

While we are talking about benefits to more Australians and more good news from the Howard government, we do note that from today Australian seniors can lodge claims for increased pension payments. It is expected that around 320,000 age and service pensioners will benefit from 20 September this year, when existing pension recipients receive an automatic increase in payments. As well as that, people who previously have been unable to receive the age pension because of the value of their assets also become eligible. This all has to do with the change in the taper rate and will benefit many Australian age and service pensioners—around 320,000 pensioners will benefit from this. This is more good news from the Howard government, again demonstrating the social dividend that we can deliver to Australians as a result of strong economic management.