Our letter to the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd  -  Feedback  - page 3 9-8-08: My credentials are as follows, 69 years young, part self funded retiree living on a property north of Brisbane and loving being close to nature and being on my own. Having read some of the feedback on the website, the emphasis being on Diana T. and Ani's comments, can I add my voice to this.  I wrote to Kevin and Wayne but to date the silence is absolute. I have an idea! As a pensioner, I am doing ok, for those pensioners who are struggling I would like to ease their pain a little and one way of doing this is, the have's support the have not's. That entails a self generating fund, something on the lines of the government's "future fund". Tell me what you can buy for a dollar in today's World? Very little, yet if all those working people and retired people like me, agreed to put one dollar towards that fund every week, then considering the latest figures, that could come to a total of  $10 million a week. When added up that is $40 million a month and a whopping $480 million a year, all from one dollar nobody would even miss. The money could be used to look after the less fortunate amongst us. Simple? Yes, simple, and we are a clever species and there are people who could make this work, I rest my case. I will now step down from my soap box..................David S. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11-8-08: I saw this little reference to pensioners in a local magazine the other day and thought you might be interested. It stuck in my mind and really 'hammers home' what most Australians already know. ".........I don't like what is going on in the world. The population is so big but there will soon be nothing for them to do. We have already started to get rid of the old people in a way by not giving them enough money. They are starving and can't afford their own houses. In my culture it is a tradition to look after your elders. Sometimes I think if I could get some money, I'd build a few houses on my property - like a retirement village - for pensioners wjho have nothing..........." .............. George S. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30-8-08: We received an e-mail which we thought may help to explain why Queenslanders are complaining the most about the lack of an increase in pension payments since the Rudd Government took office. "Dear webmaster, this appeared in the "Courier-Mail" during the week and perhaps you may wish to place it on your web site to help explaining to Mr. Rudd that we are not just whinging for the sake of whinging but rather to point his nose in to the correct directions. Mr. Rudd may believe that Queenslanders (his home State) are complaining because he thinks we are greedy. No, Mr. Rudd, we are not greedy but we are the ones that hurt most and we need some extra money to survive. "Brisbane worst for pensioners   26-8-08 Premier Anna Bligh will be asked to use her leverage with the Federal Government to get a better deal for the elderly, as Brisbane emerges as the nation's toughest town for struggling pensioners. Lobbyists descended on Canberra yesterday demanding the Government not wait until next year's Budget to increase the pension. The peak organisation representing over-50s, National Seniors Australia, has secured the support of Western Australia's Labor Premier Alan Carpenter to lobby federal Labor for an increase in the single pension rate of $270 a week. Seniors boss Michael O'Neill said Ms Bligh would be approached to publicly back the cause. Pensions had fallen well behind CPI increases and National Seniors said Brisbane had recorded the highest CPI increase between June 2007 and June 2008." Thank you, Mr. webmaster, as you would know the case is factual. We need some extra help shortly and we can not wait for another 12 - 18 months for the government to open their eyes .................................." ...................... Robert T.C......... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3-9-08: We have received another "delaying" statement from the Federal Government. This one was written by the Office of the Hon Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and signed by Max Jeganathan (Adviser). Again, the letter repeats what the Treasurer had written previously and it also repeats a lot of 'hogwash' which we have known for months. The only new information is that pensioners will not be receiving any increases in their actual pensions until mid/late 2010, yes, 2010 !!!!!!!   (Hopefully, some of us will still be alive to see this miracle unfold!) Minister Macklin's three page letter has been copied hereunder. Please send us your feedback and further ideas how to convince the Government that we can't wait for another two years!    pages  2  and  3 will be on our next page! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to: HOME       Back to: Letters     Back to: Letter to PM (2)       Forward to: Letter to PM (4)