Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to congratulate all the Defence Force service men and women and their families who live in Darwin and Palmerston. I note that the previous speaker, the member for Fadden, served in the ADF—with distinction, he informed me! I also note the presence in the chamber of the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement. In my electorate of Solomon we have several thousand service men and women who do a fantastic job. These service men and women and their families actively participate in the community. They go to work and school and they support the local shops. The play sport and go fishing on the weekends.

Defence personnel play a vital role in our community and they are essential to our vibrant city. That is why I am extremely happy that it was our government that recently delivered an appropriate Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme. This scheme will make a positive difference for the Defence men and women and their families in Solomon. Personally, as a coach of the combined services footy team up there, I know that many of the young guys in the team and their partners are looking at setting themselves up financially and planning for their future. That means they are thinking about making one of the biggest purchases they will ever make: a home. The scheme provides a subsidy on interest payments on a mortgage after four years of full-time service. Loan limits will in-crease after eight years and again after 12 years. There is also provision for those in the Defence Force Reserves to access the scheme.

The Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme provides up-to-date and appropriate home ownership assistance that reflects both current and future home loan markets. The new scheme is available to members of the ADF who were serving on or after 1 July this year. The take-up rate of the new scheme has been outstanding. Some 5,620 applications have already been received. In fact, it has been so popular that additional staff have been allocated to improve the application process.

There is a longstanding acceptance that home ownership assistance is provided to ADF members because of the difficulties they experience as a result of the important career they have chosen. The scheme retains many of the eligibility criteria that applied to previous schemes. However, there have been some notable improvements. To qualify for the scheme, permanent ADF members need only to have been in the service for four years rather than the previous requirement of five years.

To make sure it does not become out of step and ineffective, our scheme gives the capacity to keep up to date with changing housing and home finance markets by using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and assessing home loan interest rates as they vary from time to time. Furthermore, the scheme provides ADF members with flexibility and choice on home finance. Rather than one sole supplier, ADF members now have access to a panel of three home loan providers. The three selected providers are the National Australia Bank, the Australian Defence Credit Union and the Defence Force Credit Union. Along with providing better lender choice, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has been selected, through a competitive tender process, as the administrator of the scheme. This year’s budget provided almost $1 billion for the scheme up until June 2017. It should also be noted that the ongoing operation of the scheme will be subject to an implementation review after four years, with Defence reporting on the outcomes.

Having just had the privilege of being involved in the 2008 Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program at Robertson Barracks with the member for Stirling, I briefly experienced firsthand the challenges many of my constituents are confronted with every day both at home and abroad. I am extremely proud of the contribution the men and women of the ADF make to the peace and security of Australia. I encourage anyone considering a career in the Australian defence forces to do so knowing that it provides you with an opportunity to serve your country and to develop a career and a network of friends that will be with you for the rest of your life. In the current climate of skills shortage it is essential that both our existing service men and women and potential new recruits are given every incentive to enjoy a career and prosper in the ADF.

I will continue to work closely with the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and the relevant parliamentary secretaries to deliver for Defence families in Darwin and Palmerston. I will work to deliver programs which address some of the issues facing the ADF, such as recruitment and retention. In the words of my friend Brigadier Michael Krause, Commander, 1st Brigade: ‘Recruit the soldier, retain the family.’

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