Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Repatriation Commission were born out of the Great War 90 years ago. Since then we have seen the department and commission adapt to the changing needs of the veteran community. The demands of the Second World War were enormous and the department grew to be one of the largest departments of the Commonwealth. In the 1990s, Labor sold out the repatriation general hospitals in the stated belief that community hospitals could provide appropriate support for veterans. Some still hotly contest that. Although this reduced the department from 13,000 to 3,000 people, no-one could argue that there was a subsequent reduction in services to veterans.

This government recognises that the DVA and the Repatriation Commission must remain flexible, dynamic and responsive to the needs of veterans. As those heroes of the Second World War and their spouses age, service delivery will obviously have to be adjusted. But with good government and a committed staff, the DVA will continue to meet the needs of our veterans. Over recent years, the coalition has carefully considered the adequacy of the TPI pension and its means of indexation to ensure it achieves its intended purpose. The Clarke review of 2003 said:

Overall, the current special rate disability package is broadly adequate when considered over the veteran’s lifetime.

Having said that, I was one of those who called for improvements to the government’s response to the Clarke review, and my strong support for veterans is well known. I will not wear the charge that I am disrespectful to veterans, as the veterans in my electorate well know. So it angers me that Labor is looking to use veterans as a quick headline by peddling redundant policies and telling untruths about this government’s record of indexation for veterans’ payments. I might point out there were no MTAWE payments under the Labor government, no MTAWE payments at all.

Since 2004, the above general rate component of the TPI pension has been indexed with reference to both the CPI and MTAWE, as it is considered compensation for loss of income. The general rate component of the TPI pension is paid as compensation for pain and suffering, not as compensation for loss of income. As such, it continues to be indexed in line with increases in the CPI to ensure that it retains its value and is not eroded by inflation. They are two separate things. It is important for members to note that veterans who are eligible for the veterans disability pension are also eligible for the service pension, meaning that a large proportion of veterans receive both payments each fortnight.

No government in the world has taken its responsibilities more seriously in its commitment to the care, compensation and commemoration of its veterans and war widows than the government of this country. I know that to be true because of the contacts I have had and the number of functions I go to to honour veterans. More interestingly, a number of people from other Commonwealth and allied countries who come into my office are trying to get the same benefits now that they live in Australia. If our benefits were not the best, why would people be wanting to transfer from overseas entitlements to ours?

The introduction of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Scheme in 2004 has given us a modern, military specific compensation scheme that will meet the needs of a new generation of service personnel and their families. The coalition is spending $6.1 billion on compensation and income support for veterans—an increase of 36 per cent since 1996 and that is well ahead of inflation.

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