Reform warning

PENSIONERS in Greater Dandenong could suffer under new industrial relations (IR) reforms, according to a Federal MP.
Isaacs MP Ann Corcoran this week lashed out at the pending reforms, which she said “may impact on thousands of local pensioners as well as the workers of Isaacs”.
Ms Corcoran said slow growth of Australian minimum wages under the Fair Pay Commission would take its toll on pensioners because the pension was set according to 25 per cent of a male’s total average weekly earnings.
“This is one of the more insidious aspects of the Howard Government’s extreme IR legislation,” she said. “To think it will go unnoticed is an insult to pensioners.
“In Isaacs alone, we have over 20,000 residents who receive a pension that may be affected under the changes. This is a government that has been steadily unravelling the safety nets designed to protect the most vulnerable in our community.” Almost 14,000 people receive an aged pension in Isaacs, with roughly 4500 on a disability pension and just over 3000 on single parent payments.