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West Australian Government supports British Pensioners |
The following message has been
received from John Hyde, Member for Perth in the WA Government. How about
asking your local State member to table a similar motion. The more politicians
who call upon Britain to abolish the freezing of our pensions the better,
particularly as we approach the House of Lords hearing of the Carson Appeal and
the imminent General Election in the UK.
If you approach your local member please send me a copy
yeomanoz@yahoo.co.uk .
(The motion was passed - 42 in favour, 6 against).
Saturday, 30 October 2004
Perth MLA John Hyde has introduced into State Parliament a
Private Members Motion calling on the UK Government to grant pension parity for
all former UK residents living in Australia.
While Britain has introduced indexed pensions for those British residents now
living in the US, the European Union and some other countries, Australian
ex-pats and the very many Australians who have worked in Britain but now have
returned home, are not granted an indexed pension, said Mr Hyde.
Given the larger number of British ex-pats living in Perth as well as
Australians who have worked in the UK at various times and paid into the
compulsory UK pension funds, this is a major issue for WA.
Getting the UK to meet its pension obligations can mean the difference between
WA seniors struggling or having a fair retirement. I'm delighted my Labor
colleagues have supported this Bill.
This is an imposition on Australian taxpayers, and directly affects the amount
of Commonwealth funding that could be diverted to WA and other States.
Britain is costing Australian taxpayers over $100 million a year by denying its
pensioners living in Australia annual indexation for their UK state pensions
which they have already paid for by their mandatory contributions in what is a
state superannuation system.
When Britain grants equal
treatment for all its pensioners the Australian economy will also benefit by an
additional annual input of $500 million.
Despite Britain's
intransigence on this issue, the Australian Government indexes the pensions of
its nationals every six months, wherever they choose to live.
New
Zealand, South Africa and Canada are other countries where British pensioners
are similarly disadvantaged, yet those in Europe, the United States, Turkey,
Israel, Bosnia and the Philippines and many other countries receive the same
indexation as pensioners in the United Kingdom.
Mr Hyde said he would also be using links through WAs membership of the
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, to lobby Commonwealth Secretary-General
Don MacKinnon for a united Commonwealth position to achieve equal British
pension treatment for British migrants and Australian UK workers now living in
Commonwealth countries.
There are over
220,000 British Pensioners in Australia.