The Fair Go For Pensioners (FGFP) Coalition, Victoria Incorporated, is calling on federal and state governments make better provisions in their 2020-21 budgets for pensioners and other recipients of social security payments who are falling deeper into poverty.
In a letter to federal and state leaders the president of the FGFP, John Speight, rejected claims that increased costs were due to Consumer Price Index adjustments alone were responsible “for the huge rises in the cost of living, in energy, food, housing health and aged care”.
The FGFP, a not-for profit coalition of community-based organisations, retired unionists and concerned individuals, called on the Federal government to increase the age pension rate of the Male Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) from 27.7 percent to 35 percent over the medium term (four years).
In his letter to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Mr Speight called for income payments to be indexed on a quarterly basis and that the retirement age revert to 65 years of age.
He said Medicare should include optical, hearing and dental and all pharmaceutical services and that these services and Centrelink information be made readily available in person to person and was delivered in the appropriate languages.
The FGFP called on the federal government to also raise the Newstart Allowance to to at least $100 per week for the single basic rate.
“We note in particular the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report Pensions at A Glance that Australia spends only 4.2 percent of its GDP on publicly funded pensions as against the OECD average of 7.5 percent. There are nearly 2.5 million aged pensioners and that one in three of these pensioners are bong in non-English speaking countries.”
“The FGFP calls on the Government to withdraw the proposed ‘Integrity Payment’ legislation to increase the period of Age Pension eligibility from 10 years to 15 years, double the waiting time for payment to those with small bank savings from 13 weeks to 26 weeks and to cut pension allowances to pensioners visiting country of birth and loved ones. These measures intend to ‘save’ the Government $300 million at the expense of the most vulnerable people in Australia,” said Mr Speight in his letter to the Prime Minister.
In a letter to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, the FGFP president called on the state government to reinstate the 100 percent fee reduction on the pensioner motor vehicle registration fee.
Mr Speight said: “That all concession rates be standardised throughout the year, in recognition that cooling systems in the summer are as important to seniors’ health and well being as heating systems in winter.
“That all utility concession rates – electricity, gas and water are increased from 17 percent to 20 percent and council fees be waived for pensioners and other concession card holders.”
Mr Speight said that public transport should be free to pensioners and other concession holders “or at least free during off-peak hours.”
He also called on the Victorian government to revise its Home for Victorians plan to “ensure ongoing funding for the growth of secure, accessible and affordable public housing to address the current and future, accessible and affordable public housing to address the current and future housing needs of eligible pensioners and other people on low to middle incomes.”