Pensioners caught in aerial standoff

PENSIONERS in public housing could be left out of pocket after a standoff over who will replace aerials for the digital-TV switchover.

SCORES of pensioners living in public housing could be left out of pocket after a standoff between federal and state governments over who will replace aerials for the digital television switchover.

The Gillard government has vowed it will not pay for repairs to external aerials in housing commission dwellings under its $308 million Household Assistance Scheme because the pensioners are tenants, not home owners.

They say it is the responsibility of landlords -- private or state governments -- to maintain and upgrade antennas and therefore those pensioners living in "detached" public-funded houses will not be eligible.

But the Victorian government says it will not cover the cost of aerials because it believes it is the responsibility of the tenant if they live in a detached house and not in a high-rise block.

South Australia also believes it is not responsible but will look at it on a "case-by-case basis", and Queensland is considering "meeting the cost" of upgrading antennas when required.

"The Household Assistance Scheme is targeted at the most vulnerable and needy pensioners . . . it is not about subsidising landlords, whether public or private," said a spokesman for the Department of Broadband and Communications.

Under the scheme, pensioners are entitled to the installation of a free set-top box and any aerial repairs if required for the switch from analog to digital television.

But the government has only provided "internal antennas" for public-housing residents in regional Victoria and South Australia because of the rule not to provide any external aerial repairs to landlords.

The department spokesman said the government "will continue to discuss the issue with each state government housing agency" as the rollout continues.

Regional Victorian and Coalition MP Dan Tehan said this provided little comfort to many pensioners who will have to pay for external aerial repairs.

He said local MPs had received at least half a dozen calls about the issue.

"You would think the Gillard government would have the detail clear before rolling out a $300m program," the member for Wannon said.

Isobel Bell, a 75-year-old pensioner who lives in Port Fairy, said she had to pay $370 for someone to fix her external aerial so she could get the digital television signal.

She said she bought a digital television with Kevin Rudd's economic stimulus payment and knew she was not entitled to a free set-top box. But she thought she may have received some assistance to fix her aerial, given she was on a full pension.

"The aerial I had just wasn't working for digital television," she said. "So I rang the number for Centrelink, and they told me that only people who own their own homes get it, not in housing commissions."

A spokesman for the Victorian Department of Community Services said there was no "onus" on the state government to provide an aerial.