Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Prime Minister for Social Inclusion) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Scullion, we had a long conversation about this. You might not have been in the chamber. At the time of the original explanatory memorandum it was estimated that about 22,000 seniors would be affected. We now know, given the impact of the global financial crisis, that it is probably going to be significantly fewer than that. We know that because of the trend of increases in age pension claim rates. What I outlined was the rough figures that we have available already.

So there has been a substantial increase since October, from 3,500 pension claims in mid-October to around 5,500 occurring per week into December 2008, and 4,600 age pension claims were lodged in the week ending 16 January 2009. The challenge for the government is that we cannot clarify the specific numbers because the finalised impacts of superannuation payments will not happen until the end of the financial year. So we are very clearly focused on closing this loophole as soon as we can, because it is about fairness and consistency, and they are important principles for us in ensuring that the social security system supports all Australians.