Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Fraser should learn to come into this House and be more than an apologist for a lacklustre Labor government. In fact, it could be argued that the Rudd government in 2007 was elected on the back of a promise to the members of our Defence Force. In fact, their 2007 election policy document said that they would:

… maintain a generous and military superannuation system in recognition of the importance of the ADF and the immense responsibility placed on personnel in securing and defending Australia.

So I say to the member for Fraser, there is more in caring for and having concern about the members of our Defence Force than simply laying wreaths. That is the easy way out. The tough way is developing up a policy and looking at a costing that truly reflects the unique nature of their service. I would also point out to the member for Fraser, who has talked about the cost at some length, that the wastage on the pink batts program could have well and truly funded this program—not the total cost, just the waste. The waste in the Building the Education Revolution would have funded this program twice over. But the member for Fraser, like his Labor colleagues, has no respect for the unique nature of service contribution by the members of our military. I agree with David Jamison, the President of the DFWA, who summarised the uniqueness of service in this way:

In volunteering for military service, the individual accepts the surrender of his or her basic rights under Article 3 and places his or her life, liberty and security of person in the hands of the State. This surrender is not conditional, though in extremis, it is absolute.

These people give more than is asked of them. With our diggers, their word is their bond. They stand by their mates—and they lay down their lives for their mates—so how do you think they feel when they listen to the mealy-mouthed excuses of government members like the member for Fraser? That promise made in 2007, which the Rudd Labor government surfed into power on the back of, I suppose is no different from the promise laid down by the current Prime Minister just days before the federal election, when she said there would be no carbon tax under a government she leads.

I and the member for Fadden were the architects of our policy going into the last federal election. We checked the numbers with the actuaries in briefings. We came up with the assessment that it was going to cost $98 million over the forward estimates for four years. How do you think our service men and women feel when $10 million is given out of the budget this year for the development of union websites, but there is not a cracker for increasing the pensions of those who have served our nation, or indeed for the wives of those who have lost their lives for the nation? The reality is that you are prepared to use the military personnel for your own benefit but when it comes to standing up for them it is another matter—and remember it was the Labor government who made the promise in 2007 that they would address this issue.

Here we are, 3½ years on, tomorrow, from when the report was tabled. What has been done? Short of an excuse from the former minister for finance that nothing could be done, this government has failed to address the requirements of service men and women. The cost of living has gone up. In fact, it was the Labor government who, during 2007, identified the cost of living increases and said that they would result in downward pressure. Madam Deputy Speaker, I say this to you: there is no downward pressure when you do not increase the pensions. The reason that the move was made to go from CPI to CPI MTAWE or PBLCI was to make sure that the cost pressures that are borne by the ex-service men and women of our community are more able to be met.

I get sick and tired of hearing speeches like that from the member for Fraser, who will come in and talk about the uniqueness of service and the sacrifice of the many—there are so many on the Labor side—and how they are working through the issue. Three and a half years after the promise was made, it is time to deliver. Our policy going into the last election was to do exactly this.

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