Sue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also seek to take note of the answers from Senator Evans. It has been heartrending to hear all these comments about the government listening to the concerns of pensioners and others on fixed wages. We even had Minister Evans tell us that pensioners are doing it tough. In that, he is completely agreeing with the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Minister Macklin, who on Sunday wrote a newspaper column to tell the world the revolutionary piece of information that pensioners are doing it tough. So we have all this wonderful listening and empathising going on. What we do not have is any action.

I was somewhat concerned when Minister Macklin told the 4½ million Australians whose lives are affected by the pension system that we need to think about what the system will look like in 20 years. That would be wonderful—let us find out what the system will look like in 20 years—but what does that do for the pensioners and others on a fixed income who are struggling right now? As Senator Moore pointed out when we did the Senate inquiry into cost of living pressures on older Australians—whose report we actually brought down in March this year—we knew then that pensioners were doing it tough; it was very obvious that pensioners were doing it tough. Five months later, the minister announces to the no doubt breathless media that pensioners are doing it tough and says: ‘But just wait. We’re in the middle of a process. It’ll all be all right. The Harmer review will’—