CLEAN ENERGY SUPPLEMENT

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (14:42): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Social Housing a question about the government's intention in relation to the clean energy supplement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON: I have been contacted by a number of concerned citizens about the clean energy supplement because earlier this year this government encountered severe criticism from pensioners and members of our community in receipt of government payments for increasing the rent for government social housing, which, in effect, stole the long-overdue and hard-fought-for increase in their pensions. For years we heard of the continual struggles of pensioners to afford just the basic necessities, with many forced to go without or delay the purchase of medications, avoiding heating or cooling their homes and giving away loved pets because they were unable to afford them.

Finally, in 2010, the federal government recognised this hardship and announced an increase in the pension. Despite promising pensioners and the federal government that this increase would be quarantined, this state government—the Rann government—to the dismay and criticism of all promptly backflipped and increased the rent on public housing, absorbing the pension increase. Now that the package of carbon tax bills have been passed by the federal parliament—and members are well aware of my view on that—pensioners and others in receipt of government payments are being promised from May next year a clean energy advance and later a clean energy supplement to the tune of $218 per year to assist in meeting the cost of this pointless tax.

Constituents are fearful of the true cost of the carbon tax and whether their budgets will extend to cover the increases in cost of everyday items, even with the promised supplements. Those pensioners living in public and community housing have also expressed their concerns to me that the meagre assistance promised may very well be stolen from them, just as was the 2010 pension increase, by what we believe to be a greedy and callous state government. On behalf of these constituents my questions to the minister are:

1. Will the minister assure pensioners in state housing that the government will not increase housing rents to steal away the meagre supplement promised to them to help cover the cost of the carbon tax?

2. Will the minister provide the number of people who have been unable to pay their power bills in South Australia in the past 12 months?

3. Is the government intending to increase the energy concession to assist pensioners and low income earners to meet the spiralling cost of electricity and other utilities?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:44): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. Whilst I have not been briefed exactly on the topic that she has just raised, it is my understanding that increases to tenants or members of the public who are in our Housing Trust tenancies or who are receiving some federal assistance, if that increase is paid as a supplement as opposed to an increase in the pension that it will be quarantined from being assessable for Housing Trust rental.