[size=3][/size]Pensioners, the forgotten Australia
May 26, 2008

Forgotten by the government that was going to do so much for us all. All the talk by Mr. Rudd before the election regarding pensioners but now that is just a memory. Yes the forgotten Australian, forgotten in the years they worked to built this country and the children they raised

But what has changed. Governments in this country always sell the older generation short. I remember my parents in their declining years living on the pension. Winter was the worst time. They would sit at home with blankets wrapped around them trying to keep warm because they couldn’t afford the cost of electricity.

My dad, a Second World War Veteran, wounded on the fields of France by a German shell burst that killed his mate. My parents lived a very simple life and were never well off and those post war years were a struggle for us all. During the early years after my dads returned from the hospital in England my mother tried and tried to get war benefits for him.

She was repeatedly refused or put off time and time again. So much so that when I wanted to join the Army Reserve and being under age she would not sign for me. I had to wait till I was 18. The point I am trying to make here is that no matter who the government is that when Australians need help the government look’s the other way.

I remember in the movie, A Christmas Carol, Scrooge the charter referred to the “Surpluses Population”. No doubt Scrooge and Mr. Rudd have something in common. Possibly Mr. Rudd is looking for a Final Solution to the ageing population, Adolph Hitler had his own solution for the people that were of no use to him. But he was more direct. Never the less the outcome may well be the same.

Pensioners sitting in freezing homes with their buying power diminishing daily. And when we all use less water and less electricity as we are asked to the cost to us quickly increases.

Because they are making a short fall so we are hit with higher bills. The cost of electricity was increased this year, water is set to go up, and fuel continues to rise each day with petrol approaching $1.70 a liter. And no more money for the pensioners.

The government talks about a fuel watch to keep the oil companies honest. But who is watching the government. There are four taxes on petrol in this state of NSW. Some of these are taxes on taxes. The 3 X 3 tax is a good example. Three cents a liter for three years and that was well over 15 years ago. Was this tax ever dropped after the three years? I don’t think so in fact I believe it was increased.

Nearly a third of the cost of a liter of petrol goes in the government’s pocket. Stop this dishonest practice and drop some of the taxes. We are not all stupid and we know who is making a bundle and it not the oil companies.

And as we all know fuel costs go directly onto food in the supermarkets. Seems as if Mr. Rudd is only interested in increasing revenue to show the liberal government he can. I guess we have a new name for Mr. Rudd, “Mr. Scrooge”.

Mr. Rudd and Mr. Iemma try living on $237.00 a week. That wouldn’t pay for you coffee and tea for a week. Pensioners need a minimum increase of $130.00 a fortnight otherwise they will continue to sink below the poverty line. Don’t keep them sitting around waiting and hoping that they don’t starve or freeze to death. Remember the story Oliver, the children in the workhouse getting gruel while those large fat principals sitting around eating at their table feasting and getting fatter. Much like the many rich politicians.

Most pensioners have lived and worked and paid taxes in this country all their lives. They built the country so Mr. Rudd take off the blinders, don’t wait till an election year to throw the pensioners a crust hoping that grey power will get you in again. Give them increase they need and well deserve. And to all the pensioners at next election time, remember what the Rudd Government didn’t do for you. I am very close to pension age myself and look to a very bleak future.