Dr JENSEN (6:40 PM) —Pensioners who are on the single age pension are being discouraged from working if they earn more than $3,400. When their income exceeds $17,600, they are penalised 40c for every extra dollar they earn. In effect, these people who only want to do some productive work and improve their meagre financial means are being ‘taxed’ at a very high rate. Many pensioners in my electorate who work part-time as school crossing guards have given the game away. In my electorate there are now quite a few unguarded crossings.

Times have changed. With near full employment, we need to enable willing people on the age pension to work if they want to. I encourage the government to lift the amount that an age pensioner can earn above the single person pension from $3,400 to $10,600 before seeking to tax their earnings. This would be consistent with the senior Australians tax offset of $24,800. The provision I suggest should apply only to pensioners who work—not those who have other sources of income—so that there would be no extra cost to taxpayers from currently means-tested pensioners getting an increase in their pension. (Time expired)