Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Reconciliation) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Pension Loans Scheme Enhancements) Bill 2021. I move the second reading amendment on sheet 1588 circulated in my name:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate notes that the Coalition Government has repeatedly tried to cut the pension, including pensioner concessions, the assets test and indexation, and attempted to increase the pension age to 70".

The Pension Loans Scheme allows older Australians to get a loan from the Australian government to supplement their retirement income. This important social security program is a legacy of the Hawke government, offering older Australians the opportunity to tap into their home equity and unlock cash for an improved standard of living.

Despite the benefits of the scheme, take-up rates have been very, very low. Only around 5,000 participants currently access the scheme. This is against a potential four million senior Australians of pension age, including around 2.6 million age pensioners of which 80 per cent are homeowners. The lack of take-up is primarily because of the barriers to access. These barriers are well known and have been known for the nine years of this government. Labor welcomed and supported previous changes made in 2018, but clearly more needs to be done.

These latest changes have come too late. Pensioners won't be fooled by this government and its last minute attempt to support them. Pensioners know that this government has tried to cut the age pension and reduce their living standards at every possible opportunity. In the 2014 budget, they cut $1 billion from pensioners' concessions. They axed 900 senior supplements to self-funded retirees, and they tried to reset the deeming rates threshold and cut pension indexation. In 2015, they did a deal with the Greens to change the pension assets test, cutting the pension to around 370,000 pensioners by as much as $12,000 a year. In the 2016 budget, they tried to cut the pension to around 190,000 pensioners as part of a plan to limit overseas travel for pensioners to six weeks, and they tried to cut the pension to over 1.5 million Australians by scrapping the energy supplement for new pensioners. The government also spent five years trying to increase the pension age to 70.

Spiralling out-of-pocket healthcare costs are a bigger concern for older Australians. These have come about because of the Medicare freeze put in place by the Morrison government. Pensioners know—and they're not fooled—that they can't trust this government to protect their living standards and act to offset rising costs—