5 years ago
PM MUST RULE OUT MORE CUTS TO PENSION
LINDA BURNEY MP
The Prime Minister needs to rule out further cuts to the Age Pension after the Minister Anne Ruston, Kevin Andrews and Tony Abbott joined forces to raise the spectre of further cuts to the pension and social security in media reports today.
We know that when the Government says things like keeping social security spending “under control”, “targeted” or “sustainable”, that it is code for further cuts.
Anne Ruston appears to be cryptically paving the way for her Payment Integrity Bill which will cut the pension by increasing the residency requirements and cutting the Pensioner Supplement – a bill currently before the Parliament.
And her comments come as the Prime Minister stubbornly refuses to adjust the deeming rate after the Reserve Bank dropped the cash rate to record low levels, shortchanging pensioners.
We know the Government’s record of attacking the Age Pension:
We know that when the Government says things like keeping social security spending “under control”, “targeted” or “sustainable”, that it is code for further cuts.
Anne Ruston appears to be cryptically paving the way for her Payment Integrity Bill which will cut the pension by increasing the residency requirements and cutting the Pensioner Supplement – a bill currently before the Parliament.
And her comments come as the Prime Minister stubbornly refuses to adjust the deeming rate after the Reserve Bank dropped the cash rate to record low levels, shortchanging pensioners.
We know the Government’s record of attacking the Age Pension:
- In 2014 the Liberals and Nationals tried to cut pension indexation – a cut that would have meant pensioners would have been forced to live on $80 a week less within ten years.
- In that same 2014 Budget, the Liberals and Nationals slashed $1 billion from pensioner concessions – support designed to help pensioners with the cost of living.
- In 2015, as Social Services Minister, Scott Morrison did a deal with the Greens political party to cut the pension to around 370,000 pensioners by as much as $12,000 a year by changing the Pension Assets Test.
- In 2016, the Liberals and Nationals tried to cut the pension to around 190,000 pensioners as part of a plan to limit overseas travel for pensioners to six weeks.
- For two years the Liberals and Nationals planned to scrap the Energy Supplement, cutting the Age Pension for 1.5 million pensioners.
- For four years the Liberals and Nationals tried to raise the pension age to 70.
- The Government has cut and outsourced over 2,500 jobs from Centrelink. This has coincided with a blowout in call wait times to Centrelink and wait times for the pension. It is now too hard to access the pension – with many people waiting months for payments.
Labor fought tooth and nail against each and every one of these Liberal and National cuts to the pension.
Once again Labor calls on the Prime Minister to rule out further cuts to the pension.