QUESTION: The position of British pensioners in Australia seems to be about to change and I understand up until now you've been topping up their pensions for the increases they ought to have got, but you are changing that policy. Why is that?
MINISTER: Well, Australia has been carrying its fair share of the burden, but perhaps more than its share of the burden, in relation to British pensioners over the years. We've been indexing the pensions that the British Government has been paying but has refused to index. So what we are doing is saying enough is enough. We've been carrying the indexing burden for some years now. It is now time for the British Government to support its own citizens.
QUESTION: Right, okay. These are people who have made their contributions in the UK and not in Australia. So what, effectively, you're giving them money?
MINISTER: We have been. We have been supporting people who have contributed to the British Pension Scheme, but the British Government has not been doing the right thing by them and it has not been, in the case of Australia, paying the indexing each year. We've been picking up the bill. Now in other countries like the United States, the British Government has been paying the indexing and we're saying, well, if it's good enough for British pensioners in the United States, why isn't it good enough to support British pensioners in Australia?
QUESTION: Do you think they are basically letting down their own pensioners, the British Government?
MINISTER: Well, I think the writing is on the wall that they have been letting down their pensioners. It is quite a sad story that it takes other governments to support British pensioners offshore. We're saying from the 1st March next year, we will continue to support those existing pensioners in Australia but anyone who does move from Britain to Australia cannot expect future support from the Australian taxpayers.
QUESTION: Thank you very much.