Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Engraved in the centre of the sanctuary in the heart of Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance are the words, 'Greater love hath no man.' Once a year at 11.00 am on Remembrance Day, a ray of sunlight shines upon the word 'love'. Although brief, this inscription captures the immensity of the contribution made by Australian service men and women in times of war and peace. Indeed, there can be no greater sacrifice, no greater love, than to knowingly put yourself in harm's way for your country, for your family and for the ideals and values which underpin our way of life.

My electorate of Hawke is home to a strong and proud veterans community. They are greatly served by the Melton, Sunbury, Ballan and Bacchus Marsh RSLs and the Vietnam vets organisation in Melton. It is one of the great privileges of my job to spend time with these veterans, hear their stories and be part of the great camaraderie they share for one another, regardless of who they are or when and where they served. I know they and so many of our active duty and returned service personnel see their contribution to our country in such a humble light. For them, it's about getting a job done, getting it done right, and doing it because it is the right thing to do. But, as we stand here in this place, where government is burdened with the solemn power to send Australian men and women into danger abroad, we cannot lose sight of the heft of our veterans' sacrifice. We cannot forget the personal cost of their great love, and our commemoration of them cannot end with the purchase of a poppy or attendance at a dawn service.

The test of the truly grateful nation is how we support our service men and women when the battles are over and the parades have ended. It is about assisting them in their transition to life after their military service. It is about providing comprehensive and accessible care for those who have returned with scars, seen and unseen. It is about how we support the families of our defence personnel, whose challenges can be unique and complex. It is about putting veterans and those who love them at the centre of the systems we build to support them.

This bill makes minor and technical amendments to existing veterans affairs legislation. These measures will address anomalies and make improvements to the operation of the legislation to better support veterans and their families. The bill comprises amendments in five key areas.

One, it will require the Repatriation Medical Authority to provide an annual report for tabling in parliament. This legislates an existing practice to ensure accountability beyond convention. I'm pleased that the Repatriation Medical Authority have been consulted and they support this measure.

Two, it makes amendments to section 330 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act and section 58 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-Related Claims) Act to use language which better reflects the actual and existing practice of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission when handling incomplete applications. This change is greatly important in reassuring veterans and their families who are navigating claims with the MRCC that their claims are being deferred, rather than rejected, when the commission requires more information to be provided. Words that the government uses matter, particularly when dealing with the sensitive claims managed by the MRCC. This amendment will ensure no veteran or their family is left distressed by inaccurately being led to believe that their claim has been rejected because of the language previously used.

Three, it will fix incorrect references in the Veterans' Entitlements Act to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act. Four, it will amend the Defence Service Homes Act to clarify the determination, revocation, replacement, variation and content of the statement of conditions—a type of product disclosure statement.

Five, it will align the private vehicle allowance rate in the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act to the MRCA and the DRCA. This will create ongoing administrative efficiency and provide consistency and certainty for veterans, their families and the department through a legislated and transparent set rate.

These changes are technical and minor, but this government is in the business of improving and supporting veterans, no matter the size of the change. Our duty to our returned service men and women requires a whole-of-government commitment to fixing errors in legislation and process where we see them. Indeed, it speaks to the Albanese government's commitment to delivering for veterans and their families, as we said we would at the election.

In a year when we commemorate 50 years since the end of Australia's involvement in the war in Vietnam and 20 years since the beginning of our involvement in the war in Iraq, our humble offering to serving and former defence personnel must be to answer the call of the royal commission and continue our support for them. This bill will legislate small but important changes to improve the lives of our service men and women, our veterans and their families. I yield the rest of the time to the honourable member for Menzies and, in doing so, I note his great service to our country.

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