Aussies to receive $250 cash handout

Pensioners will secure a one-off cash bonus of $250 in the federal budget next week to help with cost of living pressures.News.com.au has confirmed that Services Australia is putting in place systems to pay the money within weeks as Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepares to call an election.The one-off cash bonus will not be paid to parents on family payments but will be provided to other low income families that rely on income support including aged pensioners.Government pensions and allowances are the most common main source of income for millions of retirees in Australia. It’s not clear if the payment will be delivered to anyone on part-pension or only those who qualify for a full pension.The one-off payment being discussed of $250 is designed to ensure the cash bonus is not so generous that it puts pressure on inflation.In an exclusive interview with news.com.au last week, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said cost of living relief was his top priority and the assistance would be targeted at low income earners.“I understand that prices have been going up. And my focus right now is to address those cost of living pressures,’’ he said.Mr Frydenberg revealed he has relatives who are living on the pension and he accepts that “prices are high”.“Firstly, we are focusing on low and middle income earners. And that’s important with the cost of living pressures,’’ he said.“You will see that on budget night. We’re going to look in this budget at how we can provide temporary income support, which doesn’t overstimulate the economy that actually tries to alleviate some of the pressures.”Fuel excise to be slashedNews.com.au revealed on Monday that the Treasurer is considering a temporary cut to the 44-cent fuel excise that could deliver immediate relief to motorists before the election.In an exclusive interview with news.com.au, Mr Frydenberg officially ruled out a freeze to the automatic indexation of the fuel excise that comes into force in August, arguing that approach would not deliver substantial cost of living relief for families.However, he made clear it was an option the government was considering as the price of petrol rises to $2.20 a litre.“The main thing I would say is what we will do will be temporary and it will be targeted and that’s all I can say,’’ Mr Frydenberg told news.com.au“A change in the fuel excise does affect people who purchase fuel.”Asked about the news.com.au report revealing the government was considering a temporary cut to the fuel excise, the Prime Minister told 4BC radio he was still putting the “final touches” on the budget.“We’re very conscious of the cost of living impacts, particularly caused by the war in Europe, which has obviously driven petrol prices (up) very significantly,’’ he said.“And we know that people are feeling that. We know that it won’t go forever, spikes in petrol prices, but we know they’re having a real impact on people right now.“What we’ll seek to do in this budget is to provide some cost of living relief. We’ll do that in a number of ways.” Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au