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Welfare Rights Centre is a member of the National Association of Community Legal Centres™
Media Release
28 September 2009
States’ grab for pension increase is heartless
The Welfare Rights Centre supports the Minister for Families, Housing and Community
Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCHSIA) Jenny Macklin, who has called on the State
governments to ensure that pensioners in public housing have the full, ongoing benefit of
the September pension increase.
“This is a heartless decision by the most State and Territory government’s which will see
hundreds of thousands of Age, Carer and Disability Support Pensioners lose about $7.50 a
week, said Maree O’Halloran, Director, Welfare Rights Centre, Sydney today.
“Rents in social and public housing are linked to pension levels, set generally at 25%.
Around 9% of age pensioners rely on public housing, as do about one in five people on the
Disability Support Pension, and 16% of carers.
“There is no reason why State and Territory Governments should not provide a long-term
exemption for the entire $30 per week increase. The Commonwealth contributed $5.5
billion in new community and social housing funds to build 19,200 new homes and repair
2,500 existing dwellings in the nation building stimulus package. Despite this extra
housing investment most have agreed to only quarantine the recent $30 pension increase for
single people for one year.
“A spokesperson for the NSW Housing Minister, David Bolger, said that the pension
increase could be used to build homes for the State’s homeless. It is ridiculous for the
Minister to blame struggling pensioners for the circumstances faced by the State’s
estimated 25,000 homeless people, and use this as a justification for gouging any of
pensioners’ much deserved increase.
“Pensioners should be very unhappy with the State government for undermining the
financial security that the Commonwealth provided in the recent Budget. State
governments should get their hands out of pensioners’ pockets.
“When you’re on a pension every dollar counts. To a pensioner, $7.50 means two litres of
milk and a loaf of bread, or public transport for three days. Public housing tenants often
have very high costs associated with illness, disability and caring and can ill afford any rent
hike.
“Our message is that it is unacceptable for the State governments to only exempt the
pension increase from rental assessment for 12 months.”
Maree O’Halloran, Director, Welfare Rights Centre: 0417 672 104.
Gerard Thomas, Policy and Media Officer: 0425 296 882.
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