Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2017. In honour of our veterans, citizens and first nations people involved with the British nuclear tests in South Australia and Western Australia, I pay homage and respect to the battle these people have had to fight to get to this point today. I have the utmost respect for all veterans for the selfless service they have given to this country to ensure that we live in the democracy we experience today. I welcome this bill.

Between 1952 and 1963, the British government, with the agreement and support of the Australian government, carried out nuclear tests at three sites in Australia: Montebello Islands off the Western Australian coast, and at Emu Field and Maralinga in South Australia. Britain wanted attainment of nuclear power, and Australia was to be the dumping ground for Britain to get there. More than six decades later, the decisions of the then-Menzies government still cast a horrible shadow over our nation. These decisions were made by a government with a political agenda for national security and tapped in to the Cold War fearmongering. Menzies's decisions forever changed the lives of thousands of people, and they serve as a timely reminder in this place that political agenda must never be placed above the lives of Australian people.

What was referred to by the Anangu people as the puyu, meaning black mist, was a deadly cloud—as deadly as Hiroshima and Nagasaki. UK servicemen, Australian soldiers and civilians including our first nations people were exposed to radiation. Illnesses reported include cancer, blood diseases, eye problems, skin rashes, blindness and vomiting, which are all symptoms of radioactive poisoning. The decision by both the British and Australian governments to forcibly remove the Anangu people in Maralinga from their traditional lands in the lead-up to the testing was disgraceful. The forced relocations destroyed the traditional lifestyle of the Aboriginal families. The damage was radiological, psychosocial and cultural.

We can give compensation, but nothing will replace the land and the cultural connections, and no amount of compensation will make up for the loss of life that has occurred. Service men and women, citizens and our first nations communities not only had to fight deadly illnesses for their lives, but over the years have been forced to fight for recognition of what had been done to them and to continually fight for compensation. In 1984 a royal commission was established to inquire into these tests, and although the royal commission was welcomed it was still a long battle for those affected to reach this point today. In 2010 the then-Labor government provided additional assistance to British nuclear test veterans who were also members of the ADF by reclassifying their service as non-warlike or hazardous peacemaking service. This classification provided some nuclear test participants with access to some assistance under the VEA. But more needed to be done, and this brings us to the bill here today.

Approximately 1,800 British nuclear test participants and 1,100 British Commonwealth Occupation Force participants will benefit from these changes, which are intended to begin on 1 July 2017. Labor is supportive of all three measures in this bill which seek to deliver on legislative reform. The first item this bill seeks to address is to legislate treatment for all conditions to participants in the British nuclear test program in Australia, the British Commonwealth Occupation Force and civilians who were present at a nuclear test area during a relevant period. It was not only those servicing who were affected; it was also the people cleaning equipment, vehicles and aircrafts who came into contact with nuclear waste and later suffered major health issues.

The amendments in this bill build on those changes by the Labor government in 2010, extending treatment to veterans and civilians as well as providing full health coverage for all conditions. Schedule 1's amendments recognise that it is appropriate to provide treatment for all conditions for BNT veterans and BCOF veterans and civilians who were present at a British nuclear test area during a relevant period due to their possible exposure to ionising radiation. Changes have been included to contain a broader class of civilians to receive treatment, including our first nation people and other citizens in the vicinity of the nuclear tests. The amendments go a step further, by providing treatment for all conditions, not just malignant neoplasia.

Furthermore, this bill rectifies the current outdated work history restrictions for the special and intermediate rates of disability pension provided in the VEA to better reflect modern working arrangements. The final schedule inserts instrument-making powers to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, enabling the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission to determine a class of persons eligible to participate in early access to the rehabilitation pilot program.

As it stands SRCA and MRCA claimants have to wait until their initial liability claim is accepted before they can access rehabilitation services. This process can take around four months to be completed, and for complex cases even longer. By contrast, those covered by the VEA are able to access assistance under the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme without submitting a claim, as long as they meet service eligibility requirements.

Today's bill represents many years of campaigning for these veteran citizens and our first nation people. As the member for Herbert, whose electorate is home to the largest garrison city in Australia, with a large veteran population, I welcome these necessary changes. Any bill, amendment or necessary change which seeks to make life better for our veterans, I will always strongly support. This bill not only enables all people who were affected by the Black Mist to receive treatment they deserve but also acknowledges their experiences and the long-lasting consequences they have endured as a result of these tests.

Nothing will bring back lives, but this bill seeks to rectify those wrongs made more than six decades ago and to pay homage to the lives of those citizens. May governments never act on political agendas to the detriment of our Australian people but rather act in the best interests of the people they are elected to represent.

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