Shayne Neumann MP MASSIVE CUTS TO VULNERABLE AUSTRALIANS FLAGGED BY ABBOTT GOVERNMENT The Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann warned residents in Ipswich and the Somerset Region that the Abbott Government has today flagged massive cuts to pension payments that would hurt some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews indicated several times this morning that the rate and indexation of the pension needs to be slashed, and that there will be more cuts to come: “There’s a growing gap between the amount of money that people get on pensions and the amount of money they get on, for example, Newstart. That’s because they’re indexed at different rates and it creates a perverse disincentive for people to want to get onto, for example, the disability support pension.” - Kevin Andrews, ABC AM, 21 January 2014 “The Commission of Audit has a remit to look at virtually anything.” - Kevin Andrews, ABC News 24, 21 January 2014 Our pension system is a vital safety net for Australians with disability, carers and the elderly. “Aged pensioners and carers in Ipswich and the Somerset region are rightfully worried they will be the next people to be hurt by the Prime Minister’s attack on pension payments,” Mr Neumann said. The Abbott Government has already moved to cut the Schoolkids Bonus, the Income Support Bonus and the Low-Income Superannuation Contribution, which will leave millions of Australians worse off. But they still want to cut some more, and it’s people living on low incomes who are still on their chopping block. “At the same time the Abbott Government is flagging cuts to the pension, it is, through its extravagant Paid Parental Leave Scheme, squandering $22 billion of taxpayers money to give incentives for millionaires to have babies,” Mr Neumann said. The last time they were in government, the Coalition oversaw a blowout in the rate at which people were granted the Disability Support Pension. It was Labor that took the tough decisions in government to support people from welfare into work, overseeing a drop by more than 22 percentage points in the rate at which people were granted the DSP. It was Labor that better targeted the family payments system to those that needed it, abolished the baby bonus and means tested the private health insurance rebate – all sensible reforms to keep our welfare system sustainable for the future. The Abbott Government’s only answer to welfare reform has been to start cutting the pension. Only Labor can be trusted to deliver a fair and sustainable welfare system that provides the necessary support for those who need it most.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 04:01:18 +0000
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