Peter Garrett MP
Member for Kingsford Smith
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Reconciliation and the Arts

“Under the Howard Government’s proposed extreme industrial relations laws the less well-off in the community may face a decline in their living standards”, the Member for Kingsford Smith, Peter Garrett, said today.

“In Kingsford Smith alone this means that almost 13,000 aged pensioners, almost 4,000 disability support pensioners and almost 2,000 single parents will be worse off under these changes.”

Many Social Security and Veterans pensions are benchmarked at 25 per cent of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings. If, as occurred in New Zealand following similar changes to the industrial relations system, wages growth stalls then pensioners will feel the pinch.

“This would be another hit to pensioners who have also had to deal with the rising cost of living with increased health costs and soaring petrol prices.”

Contact: Andrew Palfreyman 02 9349 6007