Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Social Services, Senator Fierravanti-Wells. Minister, can you confirm that it remains government policy to make pensioners who were born overseas wait longer to get the age pension by increasing the residential requirements from 10 to 15 years, to increase the pension age to 70, to axe the energy supplement to two million Australians, including around 400,000 age pensioners, and to take away the pension supplement from pensioners who go overseas for more than six weeks, which will see around $120 million ripped from the pockets of pensioners?

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, that's a bit rich, coming from the Labor Party after your announcements of last week about how you're going to disadvantage retirees, to go after those people who have worked hard, who have saved all their lives to look after themselves and not be a burden on our welfare system. And you're going after them.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why don't they support our changes to welfare?

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's right. Thank you, Senator Cash: support our changes to welfare. Now, the Turnbull government is committed to ensuring that Australia's welfare system is well targeted to support Australians in need. The 2017-18 budget reinforces the residency based nature of Australia's pension system by increasing the resident requirement to qualify the age pension and disability support pension. Currently, to qualify for the Australian age pension or DSP, a person must be an Australian resident for a total of 10 years, with at least five of those years being continuous at any age. There is no requirement for the 10 years to be during a person's working lifetime—16 years of age to age-pension age. From 1 July 2018, to qualify for age pension or DSP, a person will be required to have 10 years continuous—

Senator O'Neill interjecting—

Senator O'Neill, if you listened you might learn something, so stop interrupting. So 10 years continuous Australian residence, with either five years of that residence during their working life or greater than five cumulative years residence not in receipt of an active test income support payment. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Moore, a supplementary question.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, I am listening, and isn't it also the case that the coalition government has also tried to cut $1 billion from pensioners' concessions, axed the $900 seniors supplement to self-funded retirees receiving a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, reset the deeming rates threshold—a cut that would have seen 500,000 part-pensioners made worse off—and cut the pension to around 190,000 pensioners as part of a plan to limit overseas travel for pensioners to six weeks?

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, this is about ensuring that our welfare system is well targeted to support those Australians in need. And there is an expectation that Australians who are in need—and we are the country of a fair go—are given assistance. But those people who do not deserve or are rorting the system or who aren't doing the right thing by other Australians should not be getting welfare.

As I said, our pension measures are better targeted to those who have resided in Australia for an extended period, including during their working life, or who have been self-reliant while in Australia. Approximately 98 per cent of pension claimants will be unaffected by this measure. Access to special benefit will remain for those people who experience financial— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call Senator Moore for a final supplementary question.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given this government's persistent and continued attacks on pensioners, in making it harder to access the pension and cutting pension payments, to quote you, Minister: isn't it a bit rich for the government to try to pretend it's now on the side of pensioners?

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my left! Senator Payne, Senator Collins, Senator Wong—order!

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The person who's attacking pensioners is Bill Shorten. Don't come in here with a holier-than-thou attitude when your leader has been out there attacking pensioners for the last week. It's their money, and you're going out there and taking it away from them. But then, of course, you have absolutely no respect whatsoever for people who have worked hard in this country to save for their retirement. Lots of self-funded retirees have worked very, very hard, and now you are coming along and you are going to take away that money from them. Don't come in here and accuse us of having a go at pensioners, because you are the biggest enemy to the pensioners of Australia.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of course, there you go, you go off, and what's it going to be next? What are you going to come up with next? Negative gearing on the family home? Death duties on the family home? What else are you cooking up? If it's pensioners one day, who else will it be tomorrow?