Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

We understand the importance of employment and the dignity of work. Many senior Australians want to work and continue in the workforce and play an active part. The pension increases delivered by the Labor government recognise that. But at the same time we introduced the seniors work bonus to make sure that pensioners benefit and are not penalised for contributing more to the Australian economy and to the workforce. This means that pensioners can keep more of their pension when they take on some part-time work. For example, if they decide to work during the Christmas sales season or to help out during the census, one of which recently took place, eligible age pensioners can now earn up to $250 per fortnight without it being taken into account as income. Over a year this could be worth up to $6,500. Almost 80,000 age pensioners with employment income stand to benefit from the work bonus. So again Labor is acting for pensioners, making sure that they can financially meet their obligations. The coalition is opposing— (Time expired)