Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question and say to him that I am not aware of any plans to cut back further on regimental bands or their participation in ceremonial activities. I thank him for his participation in the Centenary Local Grants Program. I think it is a very important initiative and we want every local member in the country to be engaged with it. We know from the previous commemorative events we had in the nineties that this can be very successful. But it does rely on the local community taking ownership along with the local member and getting the right outcome for the community. I do thank the member and I understand the importance to Wagga of Kapooka and the triservice arrangements which exist there.

There is now a general acceptance, I think, that we are entering a period of very important commemorative events which will last until Armistice Day 2018. That is important to us, but it is going to create a lot of demand for things like ceremonial banks—because there will be a lot of activity. One of the things that Defence is doing is planning how to use its personnel in an appropriate way. The Federation Guard, as you know, is a very important part of this and has been working consistently at a very high level at all the ceremonial events I have been present at, including smaller events we have taken veterans away to—for commemorative services in Crete, Singapore and elsewhere. The Federation Guard have been fundamental to that, as they were at Anzac Day at Gallipoli and Anzac Day at Villers-Bretonneux—and that will continue to be the case.

I can give you an assurance that, from my perspective, there are no plans to diminish or deny the opportunities for these bands to be participating. But they are operational issues. At the end of the day, these people are service personnel who are required to work at the direction of the chiefs of the various services, which is as it should be. We will not be interfering in that process.

I do want to come back to the last point you made—around DFRB and DFRDB. I am affronted by what you said. More importantly, I am affronted by the way the opposition has been peddling this. I am affronted by it because my door is always open for genuine discussion and dialogue. But I am sick and tired of the vitriol which is coming from some quarters of the ex-service community and which has been promulgated and stimulated in part by the shadow minister. Giving encouragement to people to vent their views in such an extreme way is, I think, an insult to me, particularly, as well as to the government and to all veterans.

When you sit down and discuss this thing reasonably with veterans, they understand that they are treated specially. They appreciate that the superannuation arrangements they entered into when the joined the Defence Force were as they were and that they have been substantial beneficiaries ever since. I think it is important that the opposition actually go and explain to people precisely what DFRDB recipients who are currently serving will get once they retire and then ask them, 'Do you see that as being the same as a pension?'

I mentioned earlier what a colonel would get after 30 years. I mentioned what a major would get after 20 years of service. Let me just go to a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, who retired at the beginning of 2012 after 30 years of service with a final salary of $47,000 per annum. He would get a lump sum of around $240,000, exchangeable for an annual payment, indexed to CPI, of $38,000.

Those in the private superannuation market have, since the GFC, seen their returns plummet. The returns for those people whose superannuation is indexed to CPI have increased and those people were, for a period, well in front of the commercial market. The returns for those people on CPI have increased and for a period were well in front of the commercial market. Why is it that there was no explanation by the opposition that this is a superannuation scheme guaranteed by taxpayers? (Time expired)

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