PENSIONSERS IN COOK RALLY AGAINST MORRISON'S OWN PENSION CUTS

MEDIA RELEASE 

THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITIONSHADOW MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRSAND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTMEMBER FOR SYDNEY

 THE HON JENNY MACKLIN MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FAMILIES & PAYMENTSSHADOW MINISTER FOR DISABILIESMEMBER FOR JAGAJAGA

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Pensioners in Cook Rally Against Morrison's Pension Cuts 

Hundreds of pensioners in Scott Morrison’s electorate of Cook have today joined Labor’s Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek and the Shadow Minister for Families and Payments, Jenny Macklin, to rally against Scott Morrison’s cuts to the pension.

The message from pensioners in Cook today was loud and clear: they never voted for Scott Morrison’s cut to the pension.
Before the last election, Tony Abbott said there would be no change to pensions.
But in June this year, Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott did a deal with the Greens to cut the pension.
Pensioners in Cook know that they were lied to before the last election.
Across Australia around 330,000 pensioners are set to lose all or part of their pension.
Over the next ten years, around half of all new retirees will be affected.
There are around 9,000 part pensioners in Scott Morrison’s electorate of Cook, some of whom will lose all or part of their pension because of Scott Morrison’s cuts.
Singles will lose as much as $8,000.
Couples will lose as much as $14,000.
These pensioners are not all millionaires as Scott Morrison would have you believe. Pensioners on as little as $15,000 a year will begin to lose.
They are middle income retirees who have worked hard all their lives and saved for their retirement.
Now they are being punished by Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison and the Greens for doing the right thing.
These pensioners deserve certainty in their retirement. Instead, Tony Abbott is attacking their savings.
Let’s not forget that Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott still want to increase the pension age to 70 – meaning Australia would have the oldest pension age in the developed world.
It is clear that Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison cannot be trusted to stand up for pensioners.
Only Labor will protect the pension.
Only Labor will fight for Australian pensioners.