Disability Pensioners Living Overseas

[icyfroth]

This was being discussed on the breakfast show this moring:

THOUSANDS of Australian disability pensioners are receiving taxpayers' money to live overseas, many in places best known as holiday destinations.

Australians are paying $100 million a year to fund 7300 recipients of the disability pension living overseas.

Official figures show the greatest number, more than 1200, live in Greece, while hundreds more live in Turkey, Croatia, Thailand and New Zealand.

The Philippines and areas of Indonesia, including 83 people in Bali, are among the other destinations where Australian disability pensioners are living at a cost to the taxpayer of $99.9 million a year, News Corp reports.

Social Service Minister Kevin Andrews has told News Corp he has asked for information clarifying residency requirements for such pensioners, saying he's concerned some pension recipients may be choosing to live overseas for lifestyle reasons at the expense of taxpayers.

The federal government now disallows the pension for those who are overseas for more than six weeks.

From Here

The consensus of callers invited to comment felt that disability pensioners should be living in Australia. That is my opinion also. $100 mil for aussie pensioners living overseas permanently is money that's not going back into the Aus economy.

[lakeland27]

and i'm fairly sure he won't find many who don't fit the guidelines . once he reads them.

[cherry*135]

Quote from the OP - Social Service Minister Kevin Andrews has told News Corp he has asked for information clarifying residency requirements for such pensioners, saying he's concerned some pension recipients may be choosing to live overseas for lifestyle reasons at the expense of taxpayers.

That is ridiculous.... Lifestyle reasons .. On a DSP income. They may most likely return to their country of origin...going by the countries listed..e.g. A small poor village in the Phillipines... They aren't living it up in Beverly Hills or the French Riviera.

[bluecat*dancing]

Those of us on DSP should be locked in a little box and never let out.

[icyfroth]

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am*3 wrote: Quote from the OP - Social Service Minister Kevin Andrews has told News Corp he has asked for information clarifying residency requirements for such pensioners, saying he's concerned some pension recipients may be choosing to live overseas for lifestyle reasons at the expense of taxpayers.

That is ridiculous.... Lifestyle reasons .. On a DSP income. They may most likely return to their country of origin...going by the countries listed..e.g. A small poor village in the Phillipines... They aren't living it up in Beverly Hills or the French Riviera.

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Who said anything about Beverly Hills or the French Riviera?

 Quote from the OP:

"Official figures show the greatest number, more than 1200, live in Greece, while hundreds more live in Turkey, Croatia, Thailand and New Zealand.

The Philippines and areas of Indonesia, including 83 people in Bali, are among the other destinations where Australian disability pensioners are living at a cost to the taxpayer of $99.9 million a year, News Corp reports."

I'd think you could live quite comfortably on a pension any any of those countries. Not so sure about NZ.

[icyfroth]

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@bluecat*dancing wrote:

Those of us on DSP should be locked in a little box and never let out.

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Why?

If you're genuinely disabled and living in Aus you have nothing to worry about.

[cherry*135]

If DSP beneficiaries are living Oseas in accordance with the law, they have nothing to worry about at all either.

The story in the op has factual errors in it. Designed only to stir up people.

Centrelink is advised by immigration every time a person in receipt of a Govt pension or benefit leaves the country and/if they return.

If they are out of the country longer than allowed for the benefit they recieve, they cut off their benefit, with no notice.

Youth allowance is paid to Aust uni students living & studying overseas for a specified amount of time (13 weeks, plus the 6 weeks that applies to all). Think of all those students living it up on Govt money overseas..shocking .

To say as it does in that news story ALL Govt beneficiaries are only allowed to be out of Australia for max of 6 weeks is incorrect.

[bluecat*dancing]

Its just a beat up to demonise those on DSP in an attempt to justify the upcoming budget measures.

[cherry*135]

The ministers comment is what I was referring to.. Moving overseas for lifestyle reasons... Also the mention of them living in popular tourist destinations ... Tripe. They have moved back to their home country. Nothing in that article states what town/ city they live in. The whole of , for example, NZ or Greece aren't 'popular tourist' destinations.

Not forgetting as someone posted above, these people would not be a burden on Aust health system if they live permanently oseas.

They are allowed to live oseas, if the meet the condition... That is the main point, the journalist should have mentioned that. The Minister should have found that out before commenting.

[cherry*135]

I guess with redundancies etc in media outlets, they are left with the low abilities of those remaining to write articles ( like the uniformed person who wrote this story).

[freakiness]

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@bluecat*dancing wrote:

Its just a beat up to demonise those on DSP in an attempt to justify the upcoming budget measures.

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It looks like demonising people and inciting hatred within the community is all this Loony government is capable of.