Australian pensioners to get electricity bill help from gov't

Australia's pensioners will be given a one-off payment from the government in an attempt to ease the pain of rising gas and electricity prices, Treasurer Scott Morrison confirmed on Sunday.

The measure, which was agreed upon by crossbench Senator Nick Xenophon in exchange for his support with the government's small business tax cuts plan, would ensure that pensioner don't feel the pinch of rising electricity prices this coming winter.

Pensioners living alone will be given a one-off payment of 75 Australian dollars (56 U.S. dollars) while couples will receive a 93-U.S. dollar bonus before the end of financial year - which coincides with the middle of Australia's winter season.

Morrison said the measure would ensure that pensioners are not left behind by rising gas and electricity prices while pension payouts remained stable.

"That's there to support (pensioners) going into winter electricity prices," Morrison told the Nine Network on Sunday.

"Hard-working Australians haven't had a pay rise for a long time. When your pay is not going up you're far more sensitive, rightly so, to things like services like Medicare, you're also sensitive to things like energy prices, you're also sensitive to things like cost of childcare.

"We're acting across all those issues to put downward pressure on the rising costs of living, because we understand that families and households and individuals are under a lot of stress because they haven't seen the wages going up."

Later, when asked what the government's long-term solution to low wage growth, with house prices continue to break records, Morrison said the government would continue to stimulate the economy by giving small businesses - which employ everyday Australians - tax breaks to grow.

"Every budget we've delivered has been about growing the economy," he said.

The federal budget will be handed down by Morrison on Tuesday. Endit