Election 2022: Shorten’s ‘Jesus defence’ of Albo gaffe as PM pokes fun
Bill Shorten has defended Anthony Albanese’s failure to recall Labor’s six point plan for the NDIS using a Jesus reference. Scott Morrison was less charitable.
Federal Election
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Bill Shorten has defended Anthony Albanese’s failure to recall Labor’s six point plan for the NDIS, saying the ‘last person who never made a mistake was up on a cross 2000 years ago’.
It comes as Scott Morrison used a major leadership event in Perth to launch a new attack on Mr Albanese as a ‘small, weak’ leader who would put Australia’s economy and national security at risk.
Mr Morrison earlier refused to say whether his predecessor as prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, should be booted out of the Liberal Party for suggesting a vote for moderate independents would send a strong message.
The PM has faced intense questioning over his former leader’s extraordinary intervention in the election campaign and whether he intends to stay on as leader in a hung parliament.
Mr Albanese is campaigning in Sydney, where a feisty press conference was gatecrashed by a small child and it emerged that the Labor leader had a cheatsheet of scripted notes about his mother’s battle with disability.
A Coalition candidate in Queensland has been caught misleading voters and the Electoral Commission over where he lives, while another in Victoria faces a police probe for the same alleged offence.
Early voting kicks off on Monday, May 9, at more than 500 pre-polling locations across Australia (more details below) ahead of the May 21 election.
Read today’s rolling coverage of the federal election campaign below.
ALBANESE HAD MUM’S STORY IN NOTES
An agitated and emotional Anthony Albanese launched into a passionate defence of the National Disability Insurance Scheme by sharing a story of his mother’s struggles which was scripted on a sheet of talking points.
After copping criticism for receiving notes from an adviser during a press conference on Thursday, Mr Albanese arrived at a media conference in his own Sydney electorate of Grayndler carrying several pages of paper on Friday – with the NDIS policy at the centre of his stumble written down.
The Labor leader took questions about his failure to remember the NDIS policy and spoke of the struggles of his own mother’s experience.
A snapshot of the notes captured after they blew off the lectern included his mother’s story.
“If I sound passionate about that it’s because I remember all too clearly what it was like for my mum, crippled and bedridden and without an NDIS that would have made life that crucial bit better,” his notes said.
Mr Albanese used a visit to the Addison Road Community Centre in his Grayndler electorate to pack boxes of food and promote Labor’s plan to ease cost of living pressures.
He was surrounded by familiar faces, community members and volunteers who heckled journalists questioning the Labor leader’s policy knowledge.
One question about whether Mr Albanese would fess-up to not knowing his NDIS policy or if he stood by comments he simply didn’t get a chance to answer the question was met with howls by Labor supporters.
“What kind of a question is that … move on,” one shouted.
A visibly agitated Mr Albanese declared “I’m in charge” of the press conference amid a shouting match over who would receive a question.
He defended the stumble on Thursday and wouldn’t respond to claims members of his own team had questioned his attention to detail.
“My own colleagues are part of a cohesive, strong, united and experienced team,” he said.
PM LASHES ALBO AS ‘SMALL, WEAK’ LEADER
Mr Morrison has lashed out at Anthony Albanese for being a “small, weak leader” during a speech in Perth.
Addressing the 600 strong crowd in Crown’s conference centre, Mr Morrison issued a stinging assessment of the Labor leader.
“I want Australia to be strong and secure in a difficult, turbulent world. I don’t subscribe to the ‘small target’ philosophy of leadership that others do. You can’t as Prime Minister.
"You can’t hide behind someone else when you don’t know the answers. You’ve got to know the details.
“Small target means a small leader. A small leader is a weak leader. And a weak leader is a risk to Australia – our economy and our security.”
The ramped up rhetoric comes as Mr Morrison heads into the last final two weeks of the campaign.
Sharpening his pitch to West Australian voters – where the Coalition could be at risk of losing up to three seats off the back of a thumping state election victory – the Prime Minister announced a $1bn investment in Project Greyfin.
“This will ensure our Special Forces, particularly the SASR here in Perth, have the cutting-edge world-class kit they need to support our national interests and keep our nation safe,” he said.
“This builds on the first tranche of $499 million I announced in 2019 and will continue to offer significant opportunities for innovative Australian companies.”
He also championed his economic credentials, harking back to his role in the GST carve up that saw WA receive a bigger share of receipts.
He acknowledged that as Prime Minister he hasn’t got “everything right” but he’d learned to “quickly correct” issues and get on with the job.
Mr Morrison doubled down on his warning that Mr Albanese wasn’t across the details, telling the crowd the Labor leader was “no Mark McGowan”.
“You gotta sweat the small stuff to make the big calls. We can’t risk it with a man that makes it up as he goes along. Because the country depends on you knowing your stuff,” he said.
“Anthony Albanese is no Mark McGowan. Federal Labor is not State Labor.”
Rattling off his list of achievements as Immigation Minister, Treasurer and now Prime Minister, Mr Morrison vowed to not be a small target.
“I didn’t subscribe (to a small target strategy) as Minister when we actually stopped the boats and put the people smugglers out of business,” he said.
“As Treasurer, I didn’t play small target when I held the bank executives to account and made multinationals pay their fair share of tax, while repairing the Budget before the pandemic and cutting taxes.
“I didn’t seek to be a small target when we landed the biggest defence agreement since ANZUS, and secured access to nuclear propelled submarine technology from the US in our AUKUS agreement.
“And there was no small target in the earliest days of the pandemic when we made the unprecedented decision to shut the nation’s borders to the rest of the world, or when we agreed to the biggest economic rescue package in Australia’s history with JobKeeper.”
SHORTEN’S ‘JESUS DEFENCE’ OF ALBO ON NDIS
Bill Shorten has defended Anthony Albanese’s failure to recall Labor’s six point plan for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, saying the ‘last person who never made a mistake was up on a cross 2000 years ago’.
Mr Shorten, Labor’s NDIS spokesman, said Mr Albanese had done a ‘great job’ and had been a ‘giant supporter of mine’ and the NDIS.
He said people relying on the NDIS were more worried about the fact that the $30 billion scheme had become a ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ with many receiving supporting fearing they would be cut off in the next review.
“I am dreadfully worried about the NDIS if this current crowd get back into office. It will be a disaster.”
“NDIS is top down, it’s out of control, it’s run by the lawyers,’’ Mr Shorten told the ABC.
He accused the government of wasting money on high paid lawyers to fight people getting their entitlements.
Labor has promised to hire 380 staff for the National Disability Insurance Agency, costing $157.8 million over four years, to ensure people with disability issues had a human to talk to rather than trying to navigate an online portal.
And he vowed there would be changes to provide more security for people with existing plans. “If you are currently on a good plan you are up at night worrying it will be cut in the next review.’’
He claimed there were thousands of people having their plans reduced because they did not spend their full entitlement that year. “You are sending a perverse message that if you don’t spend it all you lose it.”
Mr Shorten claimed instructions had been sent out by the government to stop people with conditions like autism from getting funding.
The claims have previously been denied by NDIS minister Linda Reynolds who said the government was providing record funding for disability services.
Ms Reynolds has accused Labor of planning to add even more bureaucracy which would mean more uncertainty for participants and providers.
MORRISON’S REGRET ON BUSHFIRES HOLIDAY
Mr Morrison has poked fun at Mr Albanese's fumbles on the campaign trial, laughing at the suggestion the Labor leader could be suffering from post-Covid brain fog.
"If that's what he wants to believe, if that helps him get through the day," the Prime Minister said. "Can I tell you being in a campaign is nothing compared to governing."
During a Q&A in Perth, Mr Morrison used every opportunity to highlight his ability to recall his policy details, in a subtle dig of the Labor leader.
He repeatedly pointed to his numerous five point plans -- to much delight of the audience.
Asked if he regrets going to Hawaii during the black summer bushfires – which he pointed out had been raging since September – Mr Morrison responded: “of course, we (Jenny and I) do”.
He also said he considered parliament a safer place than it was two years ago.
But if he would prefer to sit down for a beer with Donald Trump or Joe Biden, Mr Morrison said he had a good relatoionship with both men.
The Prime Minister also reaffirmed his commitment to net zero by 2050, pushing back on the influence of China in the Indo-Pacific, and that interest rates would stay lower under a re-elected Coalition.
However, he refused to provide his personal view on abortion.
"In this country, no one is making any changes," he said, referring to the divisive debate over Roe v Wade in the US.
Mr Morrison was again given the opportunity to outline what he would do should the Coalition win a majority on May 21.
Instead, he joked that he plans to stay in parliament because he plans on winning the election, to a rousing response from the audience.
He also did not provide a clear answer on if he would resign as leader if that was the condition of the teal independents – should a minority government eventuate.
HANSON TOLD TO PULL DOWN SATIRICAL VIDEOS
Pauline Hanson has been ordered to remove her satirical political videos from social media after failing to comply with rules applying to electoral content.
The Australian Electoral Commission has sent a letter to the the One Nation leader informing her that her South Park-style videos featuring caricatures of politicians and posted on YouTube and TikTok, “do not contain compliant authorisations”.
The stern warning comes a week after The Australian revealed the AEC told social media platforms to investigate one of Senator Hanson’s videos dubbed, “Please Explain voter fraud”, which was deleted hours later.
There were concerns it misrepresented the ease of electoral fraud, which was discussed in the two-minute clip featuring caricatures of Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Labor Senator Penny Wong.
Senator Hanson has so far released 25 satirical episodes, and they have attracted millions of views across social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
After receiving the letter Senator Hanson told the Australian, “look, it’s no skin off our nose”. “We’ll rectify the cartoon series and relaunch them in a commemorative weekend special,” she said.
PM SHOWS HIS BETTER AS PM THAN AFL PLAYER
During a short visit to Salter Point on the banks of the Canning River in the electorate of Swan, Mr Morrison promised $22m to restore Perth's waterways.
But it soon morphed into Mr Morrison playing footy for the second time in as many days.
The PM tried his best to lure Attorney-General Michaelia Cash into the game but she politely declined.
"I'm worried my shoe will fall off," she responded, referring to her embellished black leather heels.
Staff from the PMO tried several times to end formalities but the PM kept returning to the fun and games and almost kicked the ball into the river bank.
He was joined at the picture opportunity by Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt, his right hand man Ben Morton, and Swan candidate Kristy McSweeney, who is hoping to succeed Liberal MP Steve Irons following his retirement.
Mr Irons has held the seat since 2007 and currently has a 3.2 per cent buffer.
But a thumping state election victory last year means the seat could fall to Labor's Zaneta Mascarenhas if a swing is on.
LABOR FACES TOUGH FIGHT FOR PARRAMATTA
Labor’s candidate for Parramatta, former Rudd advisor Andrew Charlton acknowledges he’s in for a “tough battle” to win the western Sydney seat and insists he’s the right man for the job despite a major gaffe this week.
Mr Charlton was parachuted into the seat which is being vacated by Labor’s Julie Owens.
The Coalition hopes to win the marginal seat, believing the Labor’s move to endorse a multimillionaire for the working class seat will alienate local voters.
The Coalition’s chances were boosted this week when Mr Charlton, who sold his $19m Bellevue Hill home to run for the seat, was unable to name three local restaurants.
Ahead of Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s first visit to the seat this campaign Mr Charlton said people would forgive his blunder.
“I think what people are focused on here is the plan for the future,” he said.
“I’m excited to represent the people of Parramatta.”
He noted his business experience and said it would be a “long campaign”.
Mr Albanese is on his first visit to the electorate to make a speech to the Hindu Council of Australia – during which Mr Charlton left early.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has visited Parramatta five times during the campaign.
LABOR BACKFLIP ON LIVE SHEEP EXPORTS
Federal Labor has made a stunning backflip on a decision to shut down the live sheep export industry after push-back from West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, whose state had the most to lose from the move.
Labor announced the industry, worth about $100m annually and employing 3000 people, would be phased out. Labor hadn’t committed to a timeline for the change.
“No, we won’t (commit to a timeline) and we haven’t in our policy,” Mr Albanese said on Friday.
“Our policy’s changed. “The amount of live exports has halved in recent times and we will continue the summer ban, but we’ll consult with state governments, in particular the West Australian state government, but we will also consult with the agricultural sector about the issues around live sheep export.”
Mr McGowan said on the same day the federal policy was announced he felt safeguards including suspension of exports in the northern summer and additional vet checks had proved successful.
The majority of the 600,000 sheep exported annually were from Western Australia. Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud seized on the “policy confusion” from Labor.
“This is a window into how they are going to treat Australian farmers.’’
PM ON TURNBULL, HUNG PARLIAMENT
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has taken a swipe at the chaos in Canberra by saying he is the first PM to recontest a second election in 15 years.
“I’m the first prime minister that has been able to stand for election at the last election and then stand for an election again,” Mr Morrison said on Friday when asked if he planned to resign in the event of a hung parliament.
“So I’m going to the Australian people at this election, and that’s the first time that has happened in about 15 years. And that has provided great stability and certainty, I believe.”
Mr Morrison refused to say if he will resign in the event of a hung parliament, as he emphasised the stability of his government as a reason not to vote for independents.
Heading into the final two weeks of the election campaign, the Coalition is facing a tough battle from two sides – Labor and independents – in several traditionally Liberal seats.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly claimed that a hung parliament would result in a “cavalcade of chaos”.
Speaking at a defence manufacturing facility in Perth, Mr Morrison was pressed on whether that meant he would resign as leader in the event his government does not win a clear majority.
“This is a choice for the Australian people,” Mr Morrison said.
When pressed for a clear answer, Mr Morrison responded: “You get to ask the questions, you don’t get to say what the answer is. My answer to that is – that answer lies in the lap of the Australian people.”
Earlier, his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull called on moderate Liberal voters to consider voting independent on May 21 because it would send a message.
Asked if he would join calls for the former PM to be ejected from the party, Mr Morrison declined to weigh in.
“I have always treated former prime ministers of both political persuasions with the utmost of dignity and respect. I don’t share his view,” Mr Morrison said.
“The chaos of a Parliament driven by the daily musings of independents, who haven’t had the experience to deal with the serious security and economic challenges our country faces, is going to hurt people’s incomes.”
The Prime Minister was also asked if he would consider adopting Labor’s call for a royal commission into the handling of the pandemic.
Just weeks ago at a press conference in Adelaide, Mr Morrison told reporters “the pandemic has now passed”.
But on Friday he conceded Australia was “still in the pandemic” and new variants were emerging from South Africa.
Mr Morrison’s campaign stop in Perth is designed to promote his plan to train more Australians to fill skill shortages in the defence manufacturing industry (read the full details further down this story), and bolster his national security credentials.
It’s the second time the Prime Minister has visited WA on the campaign trail amid concerns the Liberals could lose up to three seats there.
Cowan is held by Labor’s Anne Aly on a wafer-thin 0.9 per cent margin. She is facing a battle from current Stirling MP Vince Connolly, who was forced to make the switch after the AEC abolished his seat.
SMALL CHILD PHOTOBOMBS ALBO
Anthony Albanese avoided fully answering a question about welfare payments after his press conference was momentarily derailed by a small child.
On a visit to his own Sydney seat of Grayndler, which he holds with a 16 per cent margin, the Labor leader was asked why he won’t commit to raising the JobSeeker rate if he becomes prime minister.
Mr Albanese said the rate – currently about $46 a day – would be considered as part of the budget process.
“That’s what Labor governments do,” he said. “When we had our last term in government, we had the largest ever increase in pensions in Australian history, the largest ever increase in pensions …”
But he was then cut off as a young boy wandered in front of the press pack and said “hello” to the man who wants to be Australia’s next prime minister.
Mr Albanese bent down to greet the tiny gatecrasher, who told him his name was Sammy.
“Hello. How are you going? Where is your mum or dad?” Mr Albanese said.
Sammy’s mum was standing nearby.
“There’s your mummy!” Mr Albanese said. “Thanks very much for that contribution.”
He then moved on to another question without completing his answer.
Mr Albanese seized on the comments of former PM Malcolm Turnbull suggesting people angry with the Liberal Party should consider voting for teal independents – describing the government as “divided”.
He insisted he was “match fit” after his battle with Covid, despite running a quieter campaign schedule than Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
VOTE INDEPENDENT, SAYS TURNBULL
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has made the stunning call for voters to back independents to send a message to the major parties.
In a move that is likely to leave his former Liberal colleagues seething, Mr Turnbull said during a speech in Washington that “even if the members of a political party cannot escape from the thrall of the dominant faction, their traditional supporters in the electorate can do so by voting for an independent who has a real chance of success”.
It is the first time Mr Turnbull – who Defence Minister Peter Dutton has previously said is “totally consumed by hatred and this desire to bring down the Morrison government” – has entered the election campaign after earlier refusing to say if he’d vote for the Liberal candidate in his old seat of Wentworth.
Mr Turnbull addressed the Washington Harvard Club on Friday morning Australian time, and said moderate voices in the Liberal Party have become increasingly marginalised on key issues like climate change.
He said there is growing support for small-l liberal independent candidates who are progressive on climate.
“In many respects this may be the most interesting part of the whole election, because if more of these ‘teal’ independents win, it will mean the capture of the Liberal Party will be thwarted by direct, democratic action from voters,” Mr Turnbull said.
But he later denied he was urging a vote for independents, despite repeatedly refusing to say whether he would vote for Liberal Dave Sharma or independent Allegra Spender in his old electorate.
“In the federal party room, the tide has really gone out for the smaller ‘L’ liberals and the moderates,” he told ABC Radio.
“So the consequence is that people who were more comfortable with that side of the Liberal Party are … voting with their feet and supporting ‘teal independents’. That is their democratic right … I’m not encouraging people to vote for anyone, I’m encouraging people to vote.”
Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham said Mr Turnbull was his friend but was “dead wrong”.
“What we’ve seen over this term of parliament is that hardworking local MPs like Dave Sharma have represented the values of their electorate, and they are the ones who helped to secure the Coalition’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050,” Senator Birmingham said.
He urged Coalition supporters to keep the faith, and when asked if Mr Turnbull should be expelled said the Liberal Party had room for a diversity of views.
Former Liberal PM John Howard has said a vote for independents is “taking one off our list and giving it to the Labor Party”.
FORMER SOCCEROO BLASTS BOATS POLICY
Former Socceroos captain turned human rights advocate Craig Foster has attacked the major parties' pledge to turn back boats during an appearance at Mr Albanese's campaign event.
Mr Foster attended the Addison Rd Community Centre during Mr Albanese's tour on Friday morning but insisted he was only there as an ambassador for the charity and not to campaign for the Labor leader.
The former footballer, now a vocal advocate for refugee and asylum seeker issues, acknowledged Labor's support of the government's military-led Operation Sovereign Borders policy – which was crafted by then Immigration Minister Scott Morrison in 2013 to stop asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat – meant nothing would change at the election.
"All Australians need to recognise that what we've been doing is completely improper and that we have a long way to go until we can get to both sane and humane refugee policy," he said.
"Sadly, we have exported these harmful policies that so many politicians have been proud of."
EARLY VOTING STARTS ON MONDAY, MAY 9
Early voting will begin on Monday, May 9, with more than 500 pre-polling centres opening across the country. Almost 97 per cent of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote on May 21, but there has been a trend towards people voting earlier in recent elections.
People can vote at any polling place in their state or territory and plenty will open at local schools, churches, community halls and public buildings.
Voting opens at 8am on election day and closes at 6pm sharp, but not everybody will be able to do so on the day.
If that’s you, there are plenty of prepoll options available.
Before Wednesday May 18, voters are able to request a postal ballot from the AEC website (www.aec.gov.au) or from AEC offices.
In 2019 nearly one in three votes was cast before election day, but in 2022 the early voting period has been cut to two weeks.
You can find more details on pre-poll voting here
ALBANESE ON Q&A
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has come out swinging against “gotchas and game-playing” in a wide-ranging interview on ABC’s Q&A on Thursday evening.
He said the political landscape had changed in Australia, paving the way for a rise in the number of independents standing for office.
“That historical family base has broken down. Society is far more disparate than it was,” he said.
Mr Albanese said he hoped the election could move away from “gotcha” questions he believes are alienating public involvement in politics.
“You get down to sound bites rather than philosophies and values of driving issues forward. I think that is helping to alienate people and divide people into camps,” he said.
On Thursday, he was asked by a journalist to outline the six points of Labor’s NDIS plan. He failed to do so under intense questioning from reporters before stepping aside and receiving a briefing note from an adviser, then returned to the lectern and recited the policy.
Mr Albanese also went into detail about the rise of China and his policies on aged care and climate change, said he had no plans to change the date of Australia Day.
Key Labor frontbenchers are rallying around Mr Albanese, defending him not knowing policy details because the election “is not a pop quiz”.
His deputy, Richard Marles, said “this is not a pop quiz” on the Nine Network on Friday morning.
“At the end of the day, this election is a contest of ideas,” Mr Marles said.
Host Allison Langdon tried to press him on whether Mr Albanese’s inability to recall key policy – a problem he has faced a number of times during the campaign – would concern voters.
But Mr Marles doubled down, saying an Albanese government would do better than the Morrison government in every respect.
“Scott Morrison has a three-point plan for everything – he goes missing, he makes excuses and he blames everyone else,” Mr Marles said.
DEFENCE JOBS TRAINING OVERHAUL
Australians will be trained to fill skill shortages in the nation’s booming defence manufacturing industry under a $108.5 million Coalition pledge, as Scott Morrison moves to “calm” tensions with the Solomons over security concerns.
The Prime Minister will be in Western Australia on Friday where he will announce training programs across 14 regions in Australia, from maritime skills in Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, Cairns or Adelaide to aerospace in the Hunter and Brisbane or land expertise in Geelong and Darwin.
Mr Morrison said the funding would support 1500 workers obtain a nationally accredited Certificate III in Defence Industry Pathways.
“Our investment in building the capabilities of Australia’s defence force is about keeping our country strong and secure and backing local skills and jobs,” Mr Morrison said.
“The skills and knowledge this program will give to graduates will set them up for a career in defence equipment manufacturing technology, and set them up for life.”
Mr Morrison said as Australia’s defence investments grew, so did the demand for skilled Australians to move into the industry.
“My government’s $270 billion investment in defence capability will boost Australia’s strong economy and help deliver a stronger future not just for the industry, but the thousands of workers it employs,” he said.
Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price said competition for skilled workers in defence industries was on the rise.
“We need to meet the growing needs of our defence industry workforce by skilling up new workers and new generations,” she said.
Thursday’s campaign focused heavily on national security after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare lashed Australia for its response to the Pacific nation’s security deal with China, amid concerns it could lead to a permanent Chinese military base just 1200km off Australia’s shore.
Mr Morrison previously said this would be a “red line,” but he refused to respond to Mr Sogavare’s latest verbal spray on the grounds it went against security advice to engage in a public back-and-forth.
Asked about Mr Sogavare’s claim Australia had effectively threatened “invasion” of the Solomons, Mr Morrison said “none of that is true”.
He denied the public stoush between the leaders had provided cover for the Solomons to have a deeper relationship with China, and insisted Australia remained the “security partner of choice” for the Solomons.
CANDIDATE CAUGHT OUT
The Liberal National Party candidate for Queensland’s most marginal seat apparently gave false information to the Electoral Commission, claiming he lives in his electorate at an address that is an abandoned, unfurnished and dilapidated house.
The Australian reports today that Vivian Lobo, who is standing in the ultra-marginal seat of Lilley in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, is actually living in a stylish home with city views in the upmarket suburb of Windsor – in a neighbouring electorate.
The AEC classifies registering a false address with them as being “enrolment fraud” which can carry a penalty of 12 months imprisonment.
Mr Lobo has insisted to voters in recent days that he lives in the Lilley electorate, and in response to questions from The Australian said he was “delayed moving in” to the rental property and planned to do so last night.
Another Coalition candidate – the Liberal contender for the Melbourne seat of Isaacs, Robbie Beaton – is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police after listing an incorrect address on his nomination form. He admits he actually lives 20km away in Camberwell.
DOOR OPEN TO HELP PENSIONERS
Anthony Albanese has left the door open to making it more flexible for older Australians to work without having their pension slashed.
Speaking at an Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry event on Thursday, Mr Albanese was asked if more could be done to entice Australians into work.
“One area, just for example, is whether we need to have a discussion about whether pensioners … can work additional hours without having an economic impact,” the Labor leader said. “Now for some, they’re out there with skills to do it.”
Mr Albanese said retired nurses went back to work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
National Seniors is driving a push to let pensioners work more hours in a bid to tackle rising cost of living pressures, taking out ads that say “don’t cut their pension, cut Centrelink red tape”.
The advocacy group wants the federal government to exempt employment income from the age pension income test.
“Australia needs more than 400,000 workers in health, aged care, hospitality, tourism, agriculture and more,” National Seniors claims.
“Pensioners want to work, but if they do more than one day a week their pension is 50 cents for every dollar earned.”
But Mr Morrison disputed the need for more flexibility when grilled over the concerns during a breakfast radio interview.
Asked if there were plans to change the threshold, the prime minister said: “No”.
He said the government had introduced the pension work bonus, which enabled people to earn $300 extra a fortnight on top of the $180 income free area.
“We put those measures in place for that exact purpose of providing more of those opportunities, and the take up has been relatively modest,” Mr Morrison said.
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Originally published as Election 2022: Shorten’s ‘Jesus defence’ of Albo gaffe as PM pokes fun
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