Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Senator Evans) to questions without notice asked by Senators Fisher and Brandis today relating to single age pensions and to terrorism trials.

It must be particularly galling for the myriad listeners out there who listen to the Senate during question time for a serious question to be posed to the Leader of the Government in the Senate about how pensioners are doing it tough only to get a flippant answer that simply belittles the inquiries and the efforts the coalition are making to redress the cost-of-living problems for pensioners. How belittling it is to have the Leader of the Government in the Senate talking about pensioners and saying this is a stunt. This is not a stunt by the coalition. We are simply advocating that cost-of-living pressures are crippling many pensioners. Two million of them are on the age pension in this country; two million of them need a cost-of-living pay rise of at least $30 a week in their pensions.

While Senator Evans and his merry band of men who occupy the ministerial wing are in complete denial about this and are refusing to do anything about it, what are the backbench of the Labor Party doing? Fortunately there are some advocates in Senator Evans’s very own faction who are out there in caucus—I read in the Australian today that Labor backbenchers are pushing for a one-off bonus payment because they understand, just like the coalition understands, that pensioners are doing it very tough. This is the Labor Left, of which Senator Evans purports to be a member. They have been ignored in caucus and in cabinet, and we understand that because we know who really rules the roost for the Labor Party.

But what about the priorities of some of the other Labor members of parliament? How galling must it be, in a week where we are talking about pensioners being forced to eat jam sandwiches and tins of baked beans and reports of some of them eating dog food—as abhorrent as that is—to have Mr Murphy in the lower house saying the portions of beef stroganoff are not large enough for his wife. That is occupying the time of the government in the lower house. They are saying, ‘My wife’s portion of beef stroganoff from the staff cafeteria in Parliament House is not big enough and there’s not a big enough selection of food.’ If that does not indicate that this is a government with its priorities completely wrong, then I do not know what does. The simple facts are that pensioners are doing it very tough in this country. We have had a few ministers say: ‘Yeah, we couldn’t live on $273 a week. Yeah, we couldn’t do it but we’re not going to do anything about it pending a review’—another review! We have had enough reviews; what we need is some action.

Later on we are going to hear from Labor about how, in 12 years, the coalition government did not do anything, which is absolute nonsense. They are trying to reinvent history and are going to get another member of the Labor Left faction—in fact, the Socialist Left faction—come out and belittle the economic achievements of the former government. Mr Deputy President, it is complete nonsense over there. No matter what Labor say, the coalition did a great deal for pensioners. In the two minutes I have left, I accept the fact that there has been an increase in the utilities payment and that there has been a one-off bonus paid under this government, but they have still done nothing significant to redress the fact that people cannot afford to eat, they cannot afford to put petrol in their cars—they cannot survive on the single pension.

The Labor Party are resting on their laurels already: after six months of doing very little, copying a few coalition election promises, they still have not done anything because they have not got an idea. But what will we see? We will probably see the portions of beef stroganoff increased before they increase the age pension. That is a shame on this government. I do not know how they can live with themselves, because in their electorates their own backbenchers know—maybe the Labor senators are in denial about it because they are so removed from things—just like the coalition know because we are in touch with the community, that pensioners are doing it very tough. So, rather than play petty politics and the blame game and talk about all of these things that are irrelevant, why doesn’t the government address the issue of giving pensioners more? Let them live on more. They need more money to simply survive. When are they going to stop being in denial about it? I am interested in hearing the answer, because if the contributions from the Labor Party this afternoon are going to be the denial and the mocking shown by their leader in the Senate, then Australian pensioners are in for a very rough ride. (Time expired)