Liberal MP Andrew Laming told Fairfax Media yesterday that a group of government backbenchers have been pushing for Prime Minister Tony Abbott to reconsider legislation changes which may reduce the pension. The change in the indexation of the Age Pension is the last of four policies that the small group of backbenchers identified to the Coalition leaders in January as policies requiring change. The introduction of a Medicare co-payment, the paid parental leave scheme and defence pay rises below the inflation rate, have all been axed.
“It’s no secret that over the last two months a group of Coalition backbenchers have been squarely putting a couple of policies in front of the leadership – four of them in fact, and this is one of them.
“It’s also the last of the policies that backbenchers demanded to be changed over the last month and the fact that it’s in [Social Services Minister] Scott Morrison’s hands means most of us believe he will find a way to fix it.
“I’m not speaking on behalf of the backbench. I said that a very small number of people who first identified the issues back in January put this as one of the top four issues to be addressed and it’s the last one to be addressed.” Mr Laming said.
Mr Abbott indicated on Monday that it wasn’t his intention to back down on pension changes, “We flagged in MYEFO [the Midyear Economic and Fiscal Outlook] that the CPI indexation of pensions would not be something that would continue indefinitely, it would be something that would be in place until the budget returned to strong surplus,” Mr Abbott said.
Read more at www.theage.com.au
Opinion: Backbench identify bad policy
It’s refreshing to see members of any political party care more about creating strong, responsible policy, rather than toeing the party line. Liberal MP Andrew Laming and his small group of fellow backbenchers who continue to exert pressure on their party leaders, are symbols of moral progress and sense.
It’s clear from the dysfunctional nature of the political scene since, that this Coalition government took power, that the views of the party have come second to the beliefs of those in the core leadership group, with the Prime Minister constantly reverting to ‘Captain’s calls’ on key decisions. Hopefully, the last few months’ decisions signal a change in the way this federal government finishes its first term in power.
Why not tell the Prime Minister how you feel about the planned changes to the age pension and join more than 47,000 Australians that have already signed the YourLifeChoices-GetUp petition to protect the age pension. Please add your name by signing the petition.
