Macklin still misleading on Energy Supplement

Jenny Macklin will no doubt continue Labor’s misleading of the community when she visits Bennelong this morning.

If Ms Macklin and Labor is so opposed to the scrapping of the Energy Supplement why did it include the savings in its costings at the last election?

Is Ms Macklin announcing a reversal of Labor’s position?

If so, she needs to explain to the people of Bennelong and the Australian community where Labor will make up the $933 million over four years.

What programmes and services will Labor axe to make up for this loss of revenue, which it is relying on in its policy costings?

The Energy Supplement was introduced by the former Labor Government to compensate for the introduction of the Carbon Tax – a tax scrapped by the Coalition in 2014.

Kristina Keneally backed the scrapping of the Carbon Tax http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/gillard-should-dump-carbon-tax-says-keneally-20120501-1xxwk.html

The Turnbull Government is committed to ensuring Australia’s welfare system provides appropriate support to those in need, while remaining sustainable for future generations.

The Government’s legislation currently before Parliament scraps the tax for future welfare recipients.

Existing recipients will continue to receive the supplement as long as they have remained continuously eligible from 19 September 2016 for an income support payment that attracts the Energy Supplement.

It is simply not sustainable to continue to compensate people who have not yet even entered the welfare system for a tax that no longer exists.

Labor has previously supported the principle of closing the supplement to future income support recipients when it backed closing it to new recipients of Family Tax Benefit A and B as well as holders of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card from 20 March 2017 Minister said.