The opposition is calling on the state government to fast-track cost of living concession payments to 5,000 vulnerable South Australians still waiting for their one-off payment to be processed.
The government doubled the payment to $449 in 2022-23 for pensioners, veterans and low-income earners.
But Human Services Minister Nat Cook has told parliament that 5,000 people eligible for the concession are still waiting to receive it.
Pensioner Veronica Hellams decided to keep the heater off over winter and use blankets because the cost of electricity was ballooning, and she could not afford her bills going up.
She said her Cost-of-Living Concession payment had been delayed two months, so she tried to call Concessions SA to find out what was causing the delay.
But she said she spent 90 minutes on hold before her phone cut out because the battery went flat.
She said her daughter has a severe disability so waiting on the phone for that long was inconvenient, so she went to see her local MP who sorted it out.
"If people aren't receiving it, perhaps [the government] should do something about it," she said.
"As pensioners with no other income, it's very crucial, especially with the increase in food, and you've got your council rates … and petrol is very expensive."
"I felt the process wasn't flowing as it should be. There must have been a hiccup somewhere."
Shadow Communities Minister Jing Lee said she was concerned about thousands of vulnerable South Australians having to wait for the Cost-of-Living Concession payment.
"This is not good enough," she said.
"There are families with frustration, they're distressed, all this long delay.
"We've got Christmas coming up, we also have skyrocketing costs and families are just struggling."
'Blatant hypocrisy'
Ms Cook said the criticism from the opposition was "disappointing" and "blatant hypocrisy".
"The opposition did not go to the election with a policy to provide relief in the pockets of South Australians, which is in contrast to us committing to double concession payments," she said.
She said 205,000 people have been paid.
"We have already paid out more than $75 million worth of $449 payments to home owner pensioners – that is double the amount that they would have received under the opposition's policy or lack of," she said.
"That's a record amount of payment."
Ms Cook said the assessment process was "complex" and the government needed to ensure the right people were getting the Cost-of-Living Concession.
She said those eligible have until the end of the year to apply.
"Many thousands more will receive it, we would expect, by the end of the year because thousands more people will apply," she said.
