James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment (Incapacity Payments) Bill 2022. I'll start by acknowledging my colleague the member for Braddon for his service to our nation and by acknowledging the other veterans who are members of this chamber. It was a particular privilege and pleasure to listen to the first speech of the member for Menzies earlier in the evening, and it of course reminded us of how lucky and honoured those of us who haven't served in uniform are to have their experience in this chamber and, more broadly, in this building when we're making these decisions. I think it's vitally important that we have their firsthand experience, and their contributions in these debates make these decisions all the stronger for it. So thank you very much for your service.

As previous speakers have pointed out this is a pilot program that's been in place for around four years and that came to an end on 30 June. It was never the former government's intention for that to happen, but, of course, the political election timetable meant that the extension this bill provides couldn't be enacted until now. That's a little bit disappointing that we're only getting to this in September, but I accept the challenge and appreciate that this will compensate those affected by the bill not being in place in time for it to be an ongoing extension. No-one affected will ultimately be out of pocket. It's regrettable that that's come to pass, but we're in a position to rectify that, and I'm confident of the swift passage of this bill through this House and the Senate so that we can get on with this important measure.

As a member of parliament, I deal, as we all do, with our veterans' communities. They're the most inspiring people in local community. All of them served our country, and some of them have come back from their service with various challenges but an enormous capacity to contribute, after finishing their service in uniform, in other ways in their community. Sometimes it's important to make sure we're supporting them through education pathways et cetera so that they can go on to have whatever career they want after the career that has been such an immense service to our nation. This bill, of course, ensures that they are not adversely financially affected by the short lapse in the incapacity payments they receive whilst they undertake the study needed for the next opportunity in their career.

We're no different to any other country: we haven't always had the best understanding of how to support the people that have served our nation when they return from that service. I think that has been the case for the entire history of this nation since Federation and before. It's the case in most nations—we haven't always properly understood the full impact of service in the armed forces, particularly from a mental health point of view. We're lucky to live in an era now where there's a much greater understanding of mental health challenges and, more importantly, acceptance and support for those challenges. That has regrettably meant that, in the decades and the generations gone by, although not out of intention, we certainly haven't done what we should have done for those who have served our nation and not received the support they should have in the period beyond their service.

This is really a good example of the opportunities we have in this chamber to keep doing better by our veterans, who have served this nation. We should be looking always for opportunities to better understand and support them so that the service they've given to this nation is properly respected and valued. This is clearly one of those opportunities. It would be regrettable if a program that had been successful for the past four years were not extended. I don't know what the new government's plans are beyond this financial year's extension, but I'm very pleased to be standing here now to support this bill. I know that it's got the support of the entire chamber. It's a great example of us finding another way to support those who have done so much to serve our country. I commend the bill to the House.

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