Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Australian Participants in British Nuclear Tests (Treatment) Bill 2006 and the Australian Participants in British Nuclear Tests (Treatment) (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2006. The Australian Participants in British Nuclear Tests (Treatment) Bill 2006 is an important step forward because it does represent justice to people who have served this nation—there is a social justice dimension to recognition of that service that this bill goes part of the way in addressing. Our problem with the bill is that it does not go far enough. We support it to the extent it goes, but our concern is that it refuses to implement the recommendation of the Clarke review to grant nuclear veterans’ non-warlike hazardous service, which would have brought them under the Veterans’ Entitlement Act.

I heard the interjection between the minister and the member for Shortland, who spoke previously. I point out that when he was a member and not a minister back in August 2002 he supported the very thing I think he was accusing her of being sanctimonious about.

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