Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Riverina for his contribution. I'm pleased to have the opportunity to speak on the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2022. The Albanese Labor government is committed to ensuring that veterans who are impacted severely by their experience in the Australian Defence Force are supported fairly. Our defence personnel, veterans and their families deserve our respect, and they deserve to be well looked after. As our Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel, Mr Keogh, noted in his contribution on this bill—and I note he's sitting just behind me—looking after our veteran community 'is an important task and responsibility of government—a solemn commitment.' As with so many things, it has taken a Labor government to honour this commitment and take the necessary steps to ensure a better future for veterans and their families.

Before the 2019 election, the member for Cook, as Prime Minister, raised expectations that he would increase the rate of the disability compensation payment special rate, also known as the TPI payment, by committing to a review of the pension. He even told the TPI Federation that it had a compelling case. However, after the election, no increase was recommended by that review.

In response to this typical 'all announcement, no delivery' behaviour of the previous government, Labor senators took action to get the job done, initiating an inquiry through the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. That committee's report was tabled on 1 July 2021, recommending an increase to the TPI payment and suggesting it should be increased by a modest amount. Disappointingly—but not, perhaps, unsurprisingly—the Morrison government ignored this bipartisan recommendation and in fact did nothing in response to the inquiry for its entire term over 2019 to 2022.

This bill is Labor's response to that inquiry and the specific recommendation about increasing the rate of TPI. It implements the Albanese government's 2022 pre-election commitment to provide a $1,000 per annum increase to the TPI from 1 January 2023. This bill shows that the government is listening to the needs of veterans and their families. Specifically, this measure will (1) provide the increase of $1,000 to the annual rate of TPI under the Veterans' Entitlements Act, (2) increase the temporary special rate payment under the VEA and the special rate disability pension under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act and (3) ensure that TPI veterans and their families are provided greater financial support, recognising the impact of their ADF service.

Importantly, this bill also delivers on the Albanese Labor government's commitment to deliver responsible cost-of-living relief. The increase to the TPI payment means it will be comparable with the national minimum wage and greater than the after-tax national minimum wage that a wage earner would receive. This initiative recognises the importance of supporting veterans who have been severely impacted by their experiences in the Australian Defence Force.

I am proud to be part of a government that honours and supports our veterans and serving defence personnel. The recent passage of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment (Incapacity Payments) Bill 2022, which supports veterans who are in an approved rehabilitation program and undertaking full-time study to continue to receive incapacity payments at 100 per cent of their normal weekly earnings for an additional year, is just one example of this. Likewise, the introduction during the last sitting week of the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme Amendment Bill 2022 will boost homeownership for defence members and veterans by expanding the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme eligibility criteria.

I must also acknowledge the Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants Program, which provides funding for projects and activities that commemorate the service and sacrifice of Australia's military personnel in wars, conflicts and peacetime operations. The most recent round of the STS program provided funding for two very worthwhile projects in my electorate, giving funding to the Launceston branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association to install memorial bench seats at Lake Sorell and to the Westbury RSL to construct a panorama of wall-mounted commemorative steel silhouettes. I will note here that applications are currently open for an upcoming round of the Saluting Their Service program, and I would encourage ex-service organisations and councils within the electorate of Lyons to consider applying.

We all want our service personnel, veterans and veterans' families to know that Australia is proud of them and that our country will always be there for them.

One way we are doing this is by implementing the government's response to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide Interim Report. In doing so, the government will engage 500 new frontline staff at the Department of Veterans' Affairs to eliminate the backlog of compensation claims, develop a pathway for simplification and harmonisation of veterans' legislation, invest in modernising IT systems of the DVA, provide increased support to veterans who are having their claims processed and commenced $15.5 million to support DVA's continued and timely engagement with the royal commission. Under this Albanese Labor government, veterans and veterans' families are getting the support that they not only need but deserve, and this bill is one such practical measure that does just that.

Just before I commend this bill to the House, I'd like to remind the House that in two days we commemorate the service of veterans and those who served in World War I with Remembrance Day. Anybody who wishes to attend the services in Lyons or Tasmania is encouraged to get onto rsltas.org.au. All the services and the various start times for the day are listed there. We mark the day at 11 am, but a lot of services start before then. It's a very important day in the calendar: Remembrance Day on the 11th of the 11th. I commend the bill to the House.

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