Senator COONEY(3.30 p.m.) —I understood Senator Woodley was saying that people over 55, the disabled and the old, are going to be worse off under this budget. That is absolutely true. It is very true because that is what has been agreed to by the other side.

Senator Patterson, whom I have nothing but the greatest respect for, has said—and it is a legitimate argument—the country cannot keep spending, that there is a budget deficit and people have to tighten their belts.

Senator Patterson —You are the only one who understands that.

Senator COONEY —I understand. But Senator Woodley says the result of doing that has affected these people he has spoken about who are over 55, the disabled and people who have to have their pensions taken into account in the working out of what sort of pension they are going to get. He is absolutely correct and the argument is not about whether or not these people are going to be affected, but the reason why they are going to be affected.

The other side has spoken about the fact that this side of the chamber, Senator Woodley and the opposition which I am speaking on behalf of, are scaring these people. We are not scaring them in the sense of wanting to scare them. If they are scared, they are scared because of what has happened. What has happened, according to the government, has happened because of budgetary considerations. That might be so.

We say on this side of the chamber that those budgetary considerations should not be sufficient to cause the government to do what they have done. I must congratulate Senator Woodley on raising this issue because it is an issue that the people he has spoken about should know about. He has brought out that that has happened and that the reason for doing that is based not on social considerations but on monetary theory. That is the situation.

The argument really is whether or not it is reasonable to inflict the pain that will be inflicted on these people because of the budgetary deficit, as the government says. I must agree with people on this side and with Senator Woodley that the economic situation of this country is certainly not sufficient to inflict this sort of pain.