ANNE STANLEY MP
OPPOSITION WHIP
MEMBER FOR WERRIWA

STANLEY SLAMS PENSION FREEZE

Anne Stanley MP, Member for Werriwa, has slammed the Morrison Government for freezing Pensions at the height of a pandemic and during the worst economic downturn in three decades.

The Government this week admitted that the Pension will not be indexed until March 2021, at the earliest – the first time it hasn’t been indexed since 1997.

“We know that seniors and less well-off members of our community have been disproportionally affected by this pandemic. This move is cruel and heartless – it is the worst possible time to be squeezing already stretched household budgets,” Ms Stanley said.

Other payments, including the Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment and JobSeeker Payment, will not be indexed either.

“These vulnerable groups have already been hit hard during this pandemic; many were forced to miss out on essentials during the panic buying due to fixed incomes. This freeze will effectively leave them with even less.”

“It is deplorable that our parents and grandparents will now go without a rise in the pension for more than twelve months,” Ms. Stanley said.

The Government has tried to cut the pension or increase the pension age to 70 in every single budget since they were elected in 2013, they have also cut $1 billion from pensioner concessions.

“This is nothing new from Scott Morrison. When he was Social Services Minister, he did a deal with the Greens to change the assets test, which resulted in a cut to the pension of around 370,000 people.

“Scott Morrison can’t duck and hide from this one. He needs to front up and explain why he is allowing pensioners to suffer in the middle of a major health and economic crisis,” Ms. Stanley said.