$75 Free Kick Thanks To Nick Xenophon

It’s not a permanent solution to the problem of high power bills, but it’s better than nothing: pensioners are set to get a $75 cheque for the Government. 

The House of Representatives has adjourned until the May Budget but the Federal government has been continuing to negotiate with the Senate over company tax cuts.

Senator Nick Xenophon had supported a tax cut for companies with a turnover of up to $10 million, but the government had to persuade the South Australian-based party to back tax relief for companies with a turnover of up to $50 million

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and crossbench senators Cory Bernardi, Derryn Hinch and David Leyonhjelm are all supporting tax cuts for companies with turnovers of up to $50 million.

Why does this matter to the Fiftyup Club? Because Senator Nick Xenophon has agreed to support the government in exchange for a one-off $75 payment for pensioners to help with energy bills.

Aged pensioners, disability pensioners and recipients of parenting payments will receive one-off payments to help cover power bills. The payments will be $75 for singles and $125 for couples.

Senator Xenophon said he expected details of the agreement to be announced in the budget, but said he was confident the payment could be rolled out in the next few months.

We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. It will certainly come into effect long before any of the other big ideas from our politicians in recent months, which have ranged from a new gas pipeline from the NT, to billions more spent on the Snowy Hydro system and solar battery farms in South Australia. Whatever you think of those ideas, none of them will deliver results to hip pockets for some time to come.

In the meantime, don’t forget to shop around on your Energy plan to see if you can save some money.

Some of us are paying $500 more than our neighbour for the same electricity – such is the difference between good and bad plans in some states!