Today Tasmania will be unveiling their state budget plans for the next few years. And, a big component of these plans is to give back to seniors that lost concessions in the federal government budget cuts earlier this year.
The federal government stopped a number of national partnerships with organisations that were supporting pensioner concessions through Seniors Cards and other ways. This left a huge amount of Australians in the dark when it came to spending availability.
Yesterday, the Tasmanian Premier, Will Hodgman of the Liberal party announced that the budget to be handed down on Thursday (today) would include provisions to make up the shortfall in the federal governments scheme. By how much exactly we aren’t sure, but according to Yahoo, of the total $300 million, $180 million will be spent on reducing the cost of living for the Tasmanian people and especially the pensioners.
Yahoo also reported that the opposition also supported the government’s plans to make up the shortfall in the concession schemes. So should this set the precedent for how state governments handle their obligations and responsibilities to older people throughout the country?
The federal government very openly made the senior population our “sacrificial lambs” through this years’ budget, so is this the end of true commitment to older Australians on a national level and like Tasmania, should all of the states be recovering these funds?
The Queensland and New South Wales budgets both supported seniors, however the “loud” voices of the budget news were all about infrastructure, medical and education support. The Tasmanian government’s approach is different and it sounds like it will prove more beneficial to the people that actually live there. Welfare has traditionally been a responsibility of the federal government with state governments contributing when it was necessary. But could the hands have finally changed and Tasmania is taking the first step?
We want to know, what do you think? If the federal government isn’t standing up and supporting seniors, does the obligation fall on the states? Should all state governments be making up the shortfall in senior concessions? Have your say today…