Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise also to speak today on the Social Security and Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Allowances) Bill 2008. This bill honours the Rudd Labor government’s $4 billion election commitment to assist older Australians, people with disabilities and carers—some of the most vulnerable members of our community—to make ends meet. The government understands the increasing financial struggle faced by older Australians, people with disabilities and their carers when it comes to paying the bills and making ends meet. Like many other Australians who have been hit hard with rising petrol and grocery prices and increased interest rates, these people have been doing it tough. But unlike other Australians, many older Australians and those suffering from a disability rely on the support of others, including the government, for financial assistance. The Rudd Labor government recognises this.

Indeed, during the election campaign the Rudd Labor government recognised the need to provide further, sustainable long-term support for those in need, including older Australians, those with disabilities and their carers, as a priority. This is why during the campaign we announced a four-point plan to provide increased financial support to over three million eligible Australians to help them with the struggle of making ends meet. The plan included increasing the utilities allowance to $500, to be paid quarterly rather than biannually; $50 million to establish a national reciprocal public transport entitlement to ensure state government seniors card holders can travel at concessional rates anywhere in Australia; increasing the telephone allowance by 50 per cent, from $88 to $132 a year, to help with the cost of internet connection at home; and establishing a seniors internet fund to provide grants of up to $10,000 for 2,000 eligible community organisations to set up free internet connections for their members.

This bill begins the process of delivering on the government’s commitment in these areas. This bill delivers on our commitment to increase the utilities allowance and telephone allowances for eligible seniors, carers and people with a disability. It does so in several ways. The bill will operate to significantly increase the utilities allowance currently offered to older Australians receiving income support pension payments such as the age pension and veterans’ affairs service pension. This measure will see the current utilities allowance increase from $107.20 to $500, to be paid quarterly to singles and couples combined. This measure alone is set to benefit over 1.7 million aged income support recipients, 250,000 Commonwealth seniors card holders, 700,000 disability support pensioners and 120,000 carer payment recipients. I am sure that this increase, to be paid quarterly, will come as a welcome relief to many of those Australians already eligible to receive the utilities allowance. The Rudd Labor government understands the practicalities of keeping up with incoming bills, which is reflected in the decision to make the payment quarterly rather than biannually in a bid to assist in budgeting for such expenses.

In addition to this increase for those Australians already eligible for the allowance, this bill also extends the qualification criteria for the utilities allowance to cover people under pension or qualifying age and receiving a carer payment, a disability support pension, an invalidity service pension, a partner support pension, an income support supplement, a bereavement allowance, a widow B pension or a wife pension. This extension will ensure that even more Australians in a position of need receive extra moneys to cover their quarterly expenses. The bill also operates to significantly increase the rate of the seniors concession allowance, which is paid to self-funded retirees, from $218 to a total annual payment of $500 for each eligible individual. This will also be paid on a quarterly basis on the same days as the utilities allowance.

Finally, the bill also delivers on another of the government’s election commitments by providing a higher rate of telephone allowance to older Australians, carers and people with a disability if they receive income support and have an internet connection. The rate will be lifted from $88 a year to $132 a year for those that have an internet connection. The higher rate will also be provided to veterans and their dependants that have an internet connection at home.

The government recognises the importance of communication for older Australians and those with a disability to be able to stay in touch with family and friends. Contrary to suggestions by the opposition in the past week, these are not the actions of a government that does not care about older Australians and those most in need. I would suggest quite the opposite: the bill and its contents are the actions of a government that recognises the financial burden on many older Australians and people with disabilities and that is committed to assisting them to make ends meet.

The measures contained in this bill come on top of the Prime Minister’s commitment to guarantee the retention of the one-off bonuses paid to carers and seniors in this year’s budget and future budgets by placing them in the forward estimates, putting an end to unnecessary speculation and uncertainty in this area. This is the action of a government which is committed to establishing long-term financial security and support for the most vulnerable in our community to assist them with the ever-increasing family budget.

Our carers and seniors deserve to be treated with respect, and by making this announcement that is what the Prime Minister has done. The former government never provided certainty and never provided for carers and seniors into the future. The stark fact is that the former government did not have a long-term plan for our carers beyond the budget cycle. The fact that the carers and seniors bonuses were dependent on the economic circumstances of the time and the former government deliberately chose not to include them in the forward estimates is evidence of this.

The Rudd Labor government is committed to bringing to an end the lack of surety and genuine commitment shown toward older Australians, carers and those people with a disability by the opposition while it was in government. By guaranteeing the continuation of this payment as well as the introduction of the contents of this bill, the Rudd Labor government has shown genuine commitment to provide seniors and carers within our community with certainty for the future. It proves that the Rudd Labor government is committed to establishing financial certainty and spending habits to build for a sustainable future.

There are 2.5 million carers in Australia who look after family members or friends with a disability or other chronic condition. The contribution that carers make to our community is not denied by anyone in this chamber. It is estimated that carers save the Australian economy approximately $20 billion annually through unpaid work. We on this side appreciate, as I am sure those on the other side do, the work that seniors and carers do and the invaluable role that they play in our community. What the Rudd Labor government have done to show that we understand the stress and the work that they do is to provide certainty and security where the former government did not. They used the one-off bonuses as some sort of carrot for carers and seniors to beg for each year. This bill, and our commitment to retaining the bonus payment, proves the Rudd Labor government are 100 per cent committed to looking at ways in which to provide our carers and pensioners with greater financial certainty and security into the long term. This bill will see over three million Australians better off, and I commend it to the Senate.