The Turnbull government is under fire from ethnic community leaders and the opposition over a controversial plan to limit the time pensioners can spend abroad before their pensions are cut.
This is a draconian measure, it’s devious, it’s discriminatory and it’s cruel
Under proposals being explored by a Senate inquiry, if adopted, pensioners who have spent less than 35 years of their working life in Australia will find their pensions reduced after just six weeks of overseas travel – reduced from the existing time limit of 26 weeks.
The new rule, which was announced in the last budget, is due to start in January 2017, but is yet to pass Parliament. The legislation is being put forward to save about $168 million over four years.
The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA), along with the Australian Council of Social Service, has urged the government to rethink the plan, saying about 40 per cent of Australia’s pensioners were born overseas.
“Once people [get] their pension, they’ve got certain rights,” FECCA chairman Joe Caputo said.
Mr Caputo added that pensioners born abroad often needed to travel for extended periods to stay in touch with family, or to care for a sick or dying relative.
A spokesman for Social Services Minister Christian Porter said the change was about making the situation “fairer for taxpayers”.
“The government believes a person’s retirement costs should be fairly distributed between the countries a person has spent most of their working life,” said the spokesman who added that Australia had 30 international agreements that allow people social security from more than one country.
“It is the expectation that where a person has spent a proportion of their working life overseas, they will be eligible to receive a pension from that country.”
Labor has vowed to oppose the change, with the opposition’s payments spokeswoman Jenny Macklin saying it would hurt “thousands of migrant pensioners”.
Victorian MP Maria Vamvakinou told Neos Kosmos Labor would seek to defeat the proposed legislation with the help of the Greens.
“This is a draconian measure, it’s devious, it’s discriminatory and it’s cruel,” said Ms Vamvakinou, who described the savings projected by the change as minimal.
“They’re already squeezing pensioners and we’ll defend people’s rights to reconnect with their family in their country of birth – whatever their age. This restricts their freedom.
“They deserve our respect and our compassion regardless of how long their working life in Australia is; a two-tiered system is un-Australian.”
Meanwhile Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said the plan to introduce “an arbitary six-week limit” was “a mean spirited penny pinching exercise” and one that he would not support in the Senate.
“If the government wants to save money it should look at making some of the biggest corporations in the world like Apple, Google and Microsoft pay their fair share of taxes.”