HANSARD EXTRACT
| Veterans'
Affairs Legislation Amendment (2007 Measures No.1 ) Bill
2007 Second Reading |
| 9 May 2007 |
Mr HAYES
(Werriwa) (12.52 p.m.)—I am
happy to rise on the
Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (2007
Measures No. 1) Bill 2007. Firstly, I indicate that I
support the bill. However, in doing so, I reserve the right to make
some criticisms of the way it appears that administration of certain
claims relating to a departmental undertaking relating to veterans
has occurred, particularly when looking at the clients of that
department. The clients of that department are people who have
served this country well. They have taken upon themselves the
security of this nation, in a range of different capacities, in
various theatres overseas. I think veterans expect probably no more
or no less than to be treated decently.
It
is of concern when we find that, under the Veterans’ Entitlements
Act, the processing of veterans claims is taking in the order of 106
days, with the target position being 65 days. That is a difference
of about 40 per cent between the targeted time for processing and
the actual time taken. For most businesses, that would be of
concern. However, in a business that is there to service the
veterans of this nation, I think it is not simply a concern; it is
unjust. Without putting too fine a point on it or weighing that
criticism, I think that is one of those things we need to do better
for the people who have performed such a wonderful task for this
country.
By
the way, it is not just veterans who have served in the armed forces
overseas. Do not forget that, since 1964, something like 2,000
police officers have served in peacekeeping operations overseas,
starting with operations in Cyprus and more recently those in East
Timor and other locations. Having been seconded from the police
forces of the various states, territories and, indeed, the
Commonwealth and serving in those theatres, those officers were also
covered by the Veterans’ Entitlements Act for their period of
operations while overseas. So it is not just military people who are
only too deserving of being treated appropriately under the
Veterans’ Entitlements Act but also those police officers who have
served this country well, as they have taken a lead role in many
respects in peacekeeping operations.
From my discussions with
Vietnam
vets from my electorate, the Ingleburn RSL sub-branch and Mr Max
Chin from Dredges Cottage in Campbelltown, you would not class
veterans as whingers. They are people who are there to support their
colleagues—they are very collegiate in the way they approach that.
They are very forthright and no doubt the department will recall how
forthright these guys can be but, quite frankly, they stick up for
one another as they probably did in times of hostilities. They are
not whingers. They simply want a fair go and they want to be treated
with respect and dignity. One of the things they have laboured is
the delays in processing claims by the department and that concerns
not only them in terms of the operations they provide locally but
the support mechanism they afford to their members in those
respective locations.
I
take it that most people are across the fact that last night the
government announced that there will be an increase in the TPI rate,
the special rate and the intermediate rate for veteran disability of
$50 and $25 per fortnight respectively. I have to say that is
welcome. I also draw the attention of the chamber to the fact that
the pension entitlement for these people has not been indexed; it
has been eroded and, as a consequence, has very much affected the
purchasing power—to use a crude term—of these veterans. It is
something that they have been quite critical of. Bear in mind that I
am speaking of people who have served this country in the Second
World War, the Korean War, the Malayan and the
Vietnam
engagements, the Gulf War, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. We need
to be sensitive to this.
When veterans go on a veterans entitlement pension, they should not
be seen as out of sight, out of mind. They are people who deserve
the highest respect that we can give them as a consequence of the
service they have provided, and it is only proper that we reward
them appropriately. That is why Labor have announced only very
recently that, from our first budget, we will be indexing the
pension entitlement for these people, which will make sure that
their pensions are not eroded and that they are treated with dignity
and respect. I think that is something that should stay very much at
the front and centre of the mind of the legislature when we are
talking about making laws affecting people who have already
committed themselves rather heavily for this country.
It
pains me to report that in 1997, for instance, the special rate for
a disability pension represented 46.3 per cent of the total average
male weekly earnings. Now a person on that same pension is earning
only 42.9 per cent of the total average male weekly earnings. It has
regrettably been allowed to simply fade away—out of sight, out of
mind. Whilst I welcome what occurred in the budget last night to
make some redress to that, this must be taken into the future and
must be subject to indexation. I support the initiatives taken by
Kevin Rudd and Alan Griffin, the shadow minister for veterans’
affairs, in committing Labor to a position of restoring that
fundamental aspect of dignity and respect for the veterans of this
nation.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Bronwyn Bishop) adjourned.
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