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

Then I stand bemused and will look further into the matter with respect to that. The point I would make in the context of the Reserves is that the Reserves play an incredibly important role within the modern ADF in terms of what they provide as part of the overall matrix of service provision across the ADF. That is acknowledged quite clearly in the Defence white paper. The government has committed to a better integration of part-time and full-time service in the ADF and to removing the factors which can impede the contribution that part-time forces can make to ADF capability. There have been some reports—and I think this was mentioned by the member for Fadden—about funding cuts to the Reserves. They are, in my view, misleading. In fact, the Reserves salary funding for 2009-10 has increased from 2008-09 for all three services. It is true though that in the past the Reserves have been able to exceed their allocated training budgets due to a necessity to backfill permanent roles. Due to improved recruitment to and retention in the permanent ADF—outcomes that I am sure the House is very pleased with—there are in fact fewer opportunities to do this. As a result some of the Reserves have had their training budgets limited. But the government is committed to ensuring that every reservist deployed overseas undertakes all the required training prior to the deployment, and we do not apologise for prioritising funds for this purpose. The government considers the Reserves an essential element of defence capability and is committed to ensuring effective funding for the Reserves into the future.

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