Post by Banjo on Jan 27, 2015 13:57:18 GMT 7
Move to block cuts to pensioner concessions on local government rates in SA
A plan to remove pensioner concession payments on local government rates in South Australia will be opposed by the Liberal Party in State Parliament.
Rates for pensioners and concession holders are set to rise by $190 from July, after federal funding, which the State Government used to subsidise rates, was cut.
The Local Government Association has begun sending letters to those affected, warning them to get ready for a 20 per cent increase in their bill.
It follows a Federal Government announcement last year that it would cut $30 million annually from a fund the State Government uses to subsidise council rates for pensioners.
"We've got the highest water prices in the nation, the highest electricity prices in the nation and now the government wants to remove the concession.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall"
The State Government had absorbed the cut for a year to allow local councils to reconfigure their budgets to cover the shortfall, however Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said South Australia was the only state removing the pensioner concessions.
"We understand that the Government needs to bring in a regulation to remove the concessions," he said.
"We'll do everything we can to use our numbers to block this from happening, to protect our pensioners, to make sure that their cost of living doesn't blow out because they've got a government which can't manage its own budget."
Mr Marshall said he would meet with the crossbenchers in the Upper House to seek their support.
"We've got the highest water prices in the nation, the highest electricity prices in the nation and now the government wants to remove the concession," he said.
Marshall accused of hypocrisy
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said the blame had to be laid with Canberra.
He said New South Wales and Queensland would only be subsidising the cuts for one year, while Western Australia said it would look at the situation at the next budget.
Mr Koutsantonis said it was not right for Mr Marshall to ask South Australian taxpayers to subsidise cuts made by the Federal Government.
"It is the height of hypocrisy that he wants the South Australian taxpayer, pensioners included, to subsidise cuts made by Tony Abbott," he said.
"He wants to reward Tony Abbott by stepping in and filling in the cuts he's made.
"Every year you step in for Tony Abbott, makes the South Australian taxpayer worse off.
"How many elections does Steven Marshall need to lose before he realises South Australians want him to stand up to Tony Abbott and not be his messenger boy in South Australia?"
Greens MLC Mark Parnell and Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire said they would support moves to block any changes to the concession scheme.
"Of course there's political point scoring going on, but the pensioners shouldn't be the meat in the sandwich," Mr Parnell said.
"We need to make sure that lower income people are protected from unnecessary cost of living price hikes, and that's what this concession is all about."
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-27/move-to-block-cuts-to-pensioner-concessions-on-lga-rates/6048060
A plan to remove pensioner concession payments on local government rates in South Australia will be opposed by the Liberal Party in State Parliament.
Rates for pensioners and concession holders are set to rise by $190 from July, after federal funding, which the State Government used to subsidise rates, was cut.
The Local Government Association has begun sending letters to those affected, warning them to get ready for a 20 per cent increase in their bill.
It follows a Federal Government announcement last year that it would cut $30 million annually from a fund the State Government uses to subsidise council rates for pensioners.
"We've got the highest water prices in the nation, the highest electricity prices in the nation and now the government wants to remove the concession.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall"
The State Government had absorbed the cut for a year to allow local councils to reconfigure their budgets to cover the shortfall, however Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said South Australia was the only state removing the pensioner concessions.
"We understand that the Government needs to bring in a regulation to remove the concessions," he said.
"We'll do everything we can to use our numbers to block this from happening, to protect our pensioners, to make sure that their cost of living doesn't blow out because they've got a government which can't manage its own budget."
Mr Marshall said he would meet with the crossbenchers in the Upper House to seek their support.
"We've got the highest water prices in the nation, the highest electricity prices in the nation and now the government wants to remove the concession," he said.
Marshall accused of hypocrisy
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said the blame had to be laid with Canberra.
He said New South Wales and Queensland would only be subsidising the cuts for one year, while Western Australia said it would look at the situation at the next budget.
Mr Koutsantonis said it was not right for Mr Marshall to ask South Australian taxpayers to subsidise cuts made by the Federal Government.
"It is the height of hypocrisy that he wants the South Australian taxpayer, pensioners included, to subsidise cuts made by Tony Abbott," he said.
"He wants to reward Tony Abbott by stepping in and filling in the cuts he's made.
"Every year you step in for Tony Abbott, makes the South Australian taxpayer worse off.
"How many elections does Steven Marshall need to lose before he realises South Australians want him to stand up to Tony Abbott and not be his messenger boy in South Australia?"
Greens MLC Mark Parnell and Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire said they would support moves to block any changes to the concession scheme.
"Of course there's political point scoring going on, but the pensioners shouldn't be the meat in the sandwich," Mr Parnell said.
"We need to make sure that lower income people are protected from unnecessary cost of living price hikes, and that's what this concession is all about."
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-27/move-to-block-cuts-to-pensioner-concessions-on-lga-rates/6048060