Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to wholeheartedly support a bill that makes sure we support veterans who are studying to make a better life for themselves, for their families and, in turn, for our communities. I'm on the record in this place as speaking time and time again about the support we must provide veterans and, in particular, about the lack of support veterans have felt over the past 10 years. I'm not going to labour the point, but the actions of the previous government and the sheer lack of appropriate support for veterans really did bring shame on the previous parliaments in our nation. Fortunately, though, a lot of that has changed with the new Minister for Veterans' Affairs. We are seeing a breath of fresh air in the way veterans are treated and the respect they're given. We are taking a hard and serious look at what needs to be done, and we all know there is a lot that needs to be done.

In this bill, the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment (Incapacity Payments) Bill 2022, and in others soon to be debated there are real changes for veterans and their families. We on this side of the House know that it is a solemn duty of government to support our veterans. In this bill we are supporting veterans and their families as they leave the Defence Force, enabling them to continue their commitment to service in civilian life in different ways. It's not an easy transition for anyone, but for those who are injured there are additional challenges, and that means support is critical, necessary and, generally, urgent. Here we are extending a four-year pilot program which has supported eligible veterans into full-time study. It's disappointing that the former government failed to introduce this legislation before the dissolution of the last parliament, resulting in inconvenience and uncertainty for 370 Australian veterans. Sadly, it was what we learnt to face over many years.

I've heard it firsthand. Veterans have told me of the pain of waiting for a thousand days just to get their claim heard—not sorted, not done, just heard—and it really troubled me that they were in that situation. I've got to say that Darren Chester, the member for Gippsland, was very good to speak to and deal with. He's no Matt Keogh, by any stretch of the imagination—

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