Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

This is the basis of the eligibility. If you understood anything about this issue, you would know what we are talking about here. The circumstances were that there was a study done into the life expectancy of members of the First AIF. It showed that there ought to be a premium as a result of service because of the impacts of service. That premium was recognised at that time and the premium was some five years. That gave service pensioners—those with qualifying service—access to the service pension, which is effectively the age pension in their case, some five years earlier.

However, the circumstances around partners of those service pensioners is such that they access it at 50. It is an anomaly. It is a situation where, by changing this anomaly, it affects somewhere in the region of fewer than 400 people in the next year. I share the concerns of the shadow minister with respect to the impact on those who are dealing with veterans who have severe disabilities. The usual way of noting the question of severe disabilities with respect to veterans is the disability pension rate that they receive. If you are a TPI or a partner of a TPI then you still get access to the service pension, as you do now. There is no change. If you are in a situation where you have dependent children and therefore there is a significant carer’s role in that respect, there is no change. If you are in a position whereby—

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