A group of more than a 100 pensioners took to the steps of parliament last week to rally for a rise in the fortnightly pension.
The group was made up of many ethnically diverse pensioners fed up at a lack of initiative by the government. The Greek community was represented by the Federation of Greek Elderly Citizen Clubs of Melbourne and Victoria Inc, that deals with over 20,000 elderly Greeks in the community.
The Federation’s President, Mr Theo Nomicos, spoke in Greek to the protesters to voice the community’s concerns. He told Neos Kosmos that despite the election’s close proximity, the State and Federal government’s have not voiced their opinion on the plight of pensioners.
“Both parties, none have said a thing about the pensioners. There is not one cent for us,” he says. “We are fighting for our rights. We’re letting the people know. We’re asking the government to look after us.”
The day after the protest, when asked by Neos Kosmos what a Coalition government would do to help pensioners, Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott said that an increase in pensions was unlikely beyond normal price index-linked calculations.
“The Coalition ‘get’s it’ when it comes to the pressure that families, households and pensioners are under,” said Mr Abbott, who added that the effects of abolishing the carbon tax, whilst keeping in place the compensation benefits to the tax, would lower prices.
“I don’t pretend for a second that pensioners are well off. If you are living in rented accommodation on a pension you are doing it very tough. Unfortunately we just don’t have the money right now to increase the pension,” he said.
The rally was orgainsed by the Fair Go for Pensioners Coalition and supported by the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV). Those that took part were calling for a 35 per cent increase in the pension rate and further concessions for utilities, transport and council rates. Those struggling on Newstart and supporters of all ages joined in the protest calling for a rise in rates.
The ECCV says the majority of pensioners that are struggling to pay for everyday costs are from an ethnically diverse background.
“Pensioners from non-English speaking backgrounds are amongst the most affected by cost of living pressures,” ECCV Deputy Chairperson Marion Lau OAM said.
More than one third of Victoria’s ageing population is from a non-English speaking background, 28 per cent of Victorians aged between 55 and 64, and 31 per cent of Victorians over 65, according to the 2011 census. The pension rate is currently $808.40 for singles, and $1,218.80 for couples per fortnight.
