HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS Reference: Concession card availability and eligibility for concessions HOBART Friday, 23 May 1997 OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT CANBERRA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS Members: Mr Slipper (Chairman) Mr Quick (Deputy Chairman) Mr Ross Cameron Mr Kerr Ms Ellis Ms Macklin Mrs Elson Mr Allan Morris Mr Forrest Dr Nelson Mrs Grace Mrs Vale Mrs De-Anne Kelly Mrs West Matters referred for inquiry into and report on: The current array of concessions available to low income Australians, with specific reference to : the adequacy and efficiency of administration of the current system with a number of concession cards issued by different agencies, including the use of concession cards to provide concessions by Commonwealth, State and Local Government agencies; the adequacy and desirability of current means testing for eligibility for concessions; and the desirability of greater consistency in the concessions available to concession card holders in different regions and suggestions on standard core concessions. WITNESSES GUY, Mrs Etheleen Veronica, State Secretary, Tasmanian Pensioners Union, 152-156 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania ...................... 419 HARMER, Mr William, Assistant Secretary, Tasmanian Pensioners Union, 152-156 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania ...................... 419 HODGE, Mr Philip Malcolm, Member, Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of Tasmania Inc., P.O. Box 1528 NSD, Glenorchy, Tasmania 7010 ............................................ 450 LANGFORD, Mr Owen Charles, Advocate and Policy Officer, Hobart Community Legal Service, 166 Macquarie Street, Hobart, Tasmania .... 434 ORME, Mrs Zuzana, Home and Community Care Worker, Migrant Resource Centre, 49 Molle Street, Hobart ............................... 442 PARKER, Mr Robert Peel Laurence, President, Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of Tasmania Inc., P.O. Box 1528 NSD, Glenorchy, Tasmania 7010 ............................................ 450 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS Concession card availability and eligibility for concessions HOBART Friday, 23 May 1997 Present Mr Slipper (Chairman) Mr Kerr Mr Quick Mr Allan Morris The committee met at 9.00 a.m. Mr Slipper took the chair. 417 FCA 418 REPS Friday, 23 May 1997 CHAIRMAN—I am pleased to open this fifth day of public hearings on the Committee’s inquiry into concession card availability and eligibility for concessions, as referred by the Minister for Social Security, Senator Jocelyn Newman, in June last year. The Committee is looking at several matters, including the range of concession cards currently available, the level of access to these concessions, the complexity of the administration of the current system both for recipients and for those delivering services, as well as how State and local governments are using the cards for the delivery of their own concession services. This inquiry is being conducted against the background that the Government has a commitment to reducing the administrative complexity of the current arrangements in order to improve and simplify the administrative process. The Committee will address expressed concerns that some people may be using a concession card which they are no longer entitled to or which was not issued to them. The terms of reference for the inquiry also require the Committee to examine the current means tests for concession eligibility and the degree of consistency applied in different regions of Australia. As this is the last in the series of capital city public hearings conducted around Australia before the final hearing in Canberra next month, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have made a contribution and whose cooperation has greatly assisted our efforts to come to grips with the complex issues being considered by this inquiry. I am pleased to be able to canvass the views of organisations based in Hobart and to consider issues raised at this hearing as part of the Committee’s deliberations in framing its report. The Committee’s report will be prepared at the conclusion of the hearings and tabled in Parliament early in the Spring period of sittings in August-September. I would now like to welcome representatives of the Tasmanian Pensioners Union who are appearing before us today. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS Friday, 23 May 1997 REPS FCA 419 [9.02 a.m.] GUY, Mrs Etheleen Veronica, State Secretary, Tasmanian Pensioners Union, 152-156 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania HARMER, Mr William, Assistant Secretary, Tasmanian Pensioners Union, 152-156 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania CHAIRMAN—I wish to thank the representatives of the Tasmanian Pensioners Union for their submission. Would either of you wish to make a brief opening statement to open proceedings? Mrs Guy—This submission was only written because we have had a lot of problems along the way with people who do not have concession cards, and that is basically the young people, the children, the people on widows’ allowances and the like, who could really benefit from being able to use the concession card. They just do not have the opportunity. They are some of the lowest income people but they do not have the opportunity of being able to take advantage of that benefit. CHAIRMAN—Could you outline for the Committee the function and objectives of the Tasmanian Pensioners Union, and in particular whether you focus on age pensioners or on all people in receipt of a benefit? Mrs Guy—The Tasmanian Pensioners Union is a voluntary group that is worked solely by volunteers, except for my office assistant. We open 9 a.m to 5 p.m in common with every other business, and we work purely for the benefit of pensioners across the board, regardless of what type of pensioners they may be. We work for pensioners who are intellectually handicapped, widows, supporting parents, age pensioners, superannuants—you name it. CHAIRMAN—So you are like a welfare lobby? Mrs Guy—We are like a welfare lobby, except that we possibly have closer affinities with places like Social Security, Health and things like that because we act as advocates for our pensioners, we fill papers in for them, we counsel them, we do all sorts of things for them. CHAIRMAN—Even though theoretically you represent everyone on benefits, would you say that the majority of your client base would be age pensioners? Mrs Guy—Yes. CHAIRMAN—And what kind of relationship do you have with, say, the Association of Independent Retirees, the National Council for the Ageing, the Australian Pensioners’ and Superannuants’ Federation? Mrs Guy—I am the Chairman of the Australian Pensioners’ and Superannuants’ FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS FCA 420 REPS Friday, 23 May 1997 Federation. CHAIRMAN—So obviously you personally have an excellent relationship with that organisation? Mrs Guy—Yes, exactly. Independent retirees I would say are fifty-fifty because while we are working for very low income earners, as I state in the submission, in some cases they are missing out on things because of the higher income earners who are getting some benefits that are not available to low income earners. CHAIRMAN—How do you define a high income earner? Mrs Guy—You mentioned the independent retirees and an independent retiree cuts out of the pension when they pass $1,300 a fortnight, which is more than twice the amount of pension for a married couple. CHAIRMAN—A lot of independent retirees, according to the evidence we have, are feeling the pinch because they planned their retirement in anticipation of a certain level of income and interest rates— Mrs Guy—Haven’t we all? CHAIRMAN—Oh, indeed, but they of course don’t receive the pension. Mr Harmer—An average of 75 per cent of age pensioners are only on the basic pension. In some cases recently—since your Government got in—their pension has depreciated 50 per cent. When the pensioners have paid for all the home helps and everything else under the home and community care program, they are waiting on the next pension to pay bills that they had at the time of the last pension. You do not understand until you see poverty. CHAIRMAN—Well, I have certainly seen poverty. I represent one of the poorest electorates in Australia. The point you are making, as I understand it, is that since the change in government last year, the value of the pension has depreciated by, you said, 50 per cent. I find that an incredible statement. Mr Harmer—I have a breakdown here. The total paid out for pharmacy is $15.70; transport, an average of $32; clothing, say, $25; utilities, $25; telephone, $25; basic spending on food per day is a figure of $10. Could you manage on that? CHAIRMAN—I am not suggesting that it is easy to manage on the pension but—- Mr Harmer—Then the figure there for the Hydro is $28. That comes to a total of $352.98 a fortnight. Mrs Guy—That is your pension. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS Friday, 23 May 1997 REPS FCA 421 CHAIRMAN—I am not saying that it is easy to live on a pension, but you were saying that the situation had deteriorated substantially since the change of government, and I cannot accept that. Mrs Guy—Yes, because of having to pay for home and community care programs and so on that were not paid for before. CHAIRMAN—I would be interested to receive a letter from you explaining exactly how you maintain that the pension has dropped by 50 per cent, because I think Senator Newman might dispute that. Mrs Guy—Monetarily, no. What he is trying to say is that with having to pay for the home and community care program that was not previously paid for, with the rising costs of some pharmaceuticals and what have you, this is the thing that is making the difference. He is not talking money as pension payment; he is talking cost of being on pension.