ELDERLY Santas and HSC supervisors will be able to keep their jobs - and income - after the federal government bowed to a grey uprising and changed pension rules.
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The Herald reported last year on singing Santa Ted Carver, 81, who had threatened to hang up his red suit after rules introduced by Labor in 2009 meant his pension was cut once he earnt $4000 over six weeks at Christmas.
This was despite his annual earnings falling below the $6448 threshold that previously applied.
School exam supervisors who similarly work for a short stint, typically each October, were also hit by the rule, which reduced their pension when earnings hit $250 each fortnight.
Mr Carver has been fighting Centrelink over his 2010 Christmas wages, and received the latest rejection letter from a review officer just 14 days ago.
''I'm disgusted,'' he said yesterday, when told legislation had been introduced to Parliament to allow pensioners to again earn $6500 a year without a pension cut - from July.
''I believed it was completely wrong, but everybody has knocked me back on everything I have said. It would be nice for them to backdate it. They must be admitting their legislation was wrong, it was discriminatory against older Australians.''
Mr Carver said he worked, and sung, as a Santa again this Christmas, despite knowing he would lose hundreds of dollars in his pension, because he loved children and it would not be Christmas without this ''wonderful'' community ritual. But he believes it is unfair he has lost at least $1000 in his pension over the past two Christmases.
The federal government yesterday extended its election pledge of increasing the Family Tax Benefit A payment by $160 a fortnight for 16- to 18-year-olds in school or training, to also cover 19-year-olds.
