Judith Troeth (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

No, I do not think so, Senator O’Brien. They will have woken up well and truly before then.

A few days ago the ABS released data on the cost of living. This is from the Herald Sun online on 27 August 2008 and an ABS report dated June 2008. Mr Rudd’s working families—and this is about the cost of living generally—are paying nearly 20 per cent more for some household items compared to last year. Financial and insurance services have risen 19 per cent; housing costs and transportation, seven per cent. Pensioners experienced an increase in the cost of living by 4.3 per cent over the past year.

We already know that both Mr Rudd and Ms Macklin feel very sorry for the pensioners, who must be finding it a great struggle to live when they have a pension of some $270 a week and who expect the Rudd Labor government to do something. Approximately 77 per cent of Australians over the age of 65 receive income support. The Rudd government intends to set up a pension review. But that pension review board will not report until February 2009 and this will then fold into Labor’s overall review of the taxation system which is due to report in late 2009. So, already, we are looking at a delay of some 12 months.