Harry Quick (Franklin, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

It was a great program. Sadly, the momentum has not continued. I want to mention three people. The first one is a war widow, Maree Brownlie. She is my second mum. When my parents left Tasmania to wander around Australia with Dad’s work, Maree was a second mum to me. Her husband, Bob, served in the Second World War as a pilot. Her family is spread around Australia, as many of our families are. Occasionally I get phone calls from her elder son, John, asking, ‘Can you check up on Mum?’  I recently received a phone call saying that Maree had moved out of her house and that she needed extra care. She had moved into a complex; she bought a unit there. She expected DVA to look after her as a war widow. Sadly, DVA have tendered out services for widows, and an organisation in Tasmania called OneCare now have that tender. When I spoke to Helen Watling in DVA in Tasmania, who does a wonderful job, she used the term ‘no liability’. She said: ‘The department don’t have a liability. They have tendered it out to OneCare and it is OneCare’s responsibility.’

The reason John Brownlie rang me about his mum, Maree, was that OneCare had provided some home care for her in her unit and, sadly, this person somehow got her credit card and PIN, went to the south Hobart post office and withdrew some money. Then, foolishly, this person went to the Caltex service station opposite and used the card, not knowing that there was a surveillance camera. I rang DVA and said: ‘Maree, a war widow, has lost $600. What can we do to recompense her? It is a fair amount of money. She is in her eighties. Maybe through some carelessness on her part, she has lost it.’ The response was, ‘No liability; it is OneCare’s problem.’ So I rang OneCare, and asked, ‘What are we going to do?’ OneCare said: ‘She let the person into her house. It is her responsibility.’ So I said to them: ‘There’s an easy way and a hard way. I would hate to stand up in front of a television camera and give you guys a hard time. Think about recompensing Maree that $600.’  And, to their credit, they did. I think it shows that, in some way, ‘their name shall liveth forevermore’ rings a bit hollow.

Jack Sheppard, 94, captured at Crete, was a German POW. Bruce Scott as the minister went to Crete and unveiled a wonderful monument. He made all these effusive statements about how wonderful the service was by Australian servicemen over there, and how tragic it was that so many of them were captured. Jack was a German POW and lived in appalling conditions. Ten years later he has finally got his $25,000. I congratulate the government, but I could not understand—Japanese POWs got it, I think the 13 Korean POWs got it, but we had to wait until this year to give Jack his $25,000.

See this speech in context