Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I ask that you ask that member to be quiet and give me the respect that I deserve, please.

As I was saying, the member for Lingiari could have fixed this issue. He could have sorted this out but he did not. Similarly, when he was the minister he could have sorted out the RAAF base houses but he did not. He chose to ignore Territorians and not do what they wanted him to do. They wanted him to save those houses and they wanted him to make it possible to repatriate people. As I said, Minister Ronaldson has done an exceptional job. He has righted a wrong, a 50-year wrong. It would have been a good coup for the member for Lingiari to be able to say that he had brought home one of his constituents. But he did not do that. Senator Ronaldson has righted a wrong, and I am very proud to be part of a government that has righted that wrong.

In terms of military rehabilitation, the government will achieve savings of $2.2 million over four years by simplifying the appeal process under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The new single appeal path to the Veterans' Review Board and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will rationalise the appeal process under the MRCA by aligning it with the appeal process under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. The savings from this measure will be redirected by the government to fund other measures to assist veterans.

Another important aspect of this bill is the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme enhancement. The government will provide $0.7 million over four years to expand the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme, to encourage workforce participation and to provide better outcomes for veterans through enhanced medical management and psychological assistance services. Changes will also be made to the workforce participation guidelines affecting eligibility for disability pension so that those veterans receiving a disability pension will not be disadvantaged by accessing the enhanced scheme.

The other very important part of this piece of legislation is the funding of the repatriation for those killed who are buried in Terendak. If the families choose to repatriate them, they will be able to work with the Australian government to make sure that we can do that. I just want to reiterate: when our servicemen return from the battlefield, we owe it to them to ensure that they have the best of care for their physical and psychological wounds. Another form of that debt we owe our service men and women is that, should they make the ultimate sacrifice, their service will be acknowledged and their memory will be honoured.

As I said, I have spoken in this place before about Reg Hillier, who was a jackaroo in the Northern Territory in 1961 when he enlisted in the Australian Army. Reg was the only Territorian who died in Vietnam. I am very pleased that, after this legislation and the amendments go through, Reg's body will be returned home to the Territory and will be buried in the Adelaide River War Cemetery. That will be a very special day for his family, particularly for Neil Bond, who is his surviving next of kin. Neil met with Senator Ronaldson and I, and it was a very emotive meeting. Mr Bond shared some of the family's stories about Reg, or Corporal Hillier, and both the senator and I were very moved by the stories that were relayed to us. We are very pleased that the right thing is being done, after 50 years. I cannot thank Senator Ronaldson enough for his determination in making this happen. I also want to thank the Prime Minister for giving Minister Ronaldson the opportunity to right this 50-year wrong. Thank you. I know that Neil Bond and other members of Reg Hillier's family also thank the Prime Minister and Senator Ronaldson for making sure this wrong was righted after 50 years. Thank you very much.

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