Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Despite the interjection from Senator Minchin, we actually made bonus payments and new payments to pensioners in excess of what had been provided by the previous government. The best example of that is the utilities allowance, which was increased from a payment of $100 or so to a payment of $500—a $400 increase. That was made and paid in the budget. We also paid a bonus payment of $500, which had been paid the previous year by the Howard government—I concede that—but which had not been budgeted for in the out years. It was a one-off payment which had no budget allocation in the out years when we came to government. We had to find the money, because it was not budgeted for.

The average age pensioner was $893 a year better off out of the budget. That is effectively an increase of $17 per week. We did that as a down payment, but in doing that we acknowledged that it did not adequately address the concern that rightly existed about the income support provided to pensioners; that it did not fundamentally address the issue of the rate of the pension and the package of benefits that is paid to pensioners; and that more fundamental reform was required rather than just paying one-off bonuses. Within months of coming to government we paid the extra money in the form of the utilities allowance and the $500 bonus and committed to a major review of the pension, a major review of the fundamental underpinnings of that pension and the rate that is paid. We realised that serious public policy work needed to be done and we set about doing that serious public policy work.

As the Senate is aware, in February the report coming out of the review will be available—and the secretary of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is leading that work as part of the broader taxation review. When we get that information the government will then make a decision as to which way to move forward. As I say, in the meantime, we provided a down payment in our first budget within months of coming to office and we have undertaken the serious public policy work that will try to address the very justified concerns pensioners have about the standard of living that is affordable to them under the current income support payments.