Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Australians can have no doubt that supporting defence personnel, veterans and families is a key priority for the Albanese Labor government. Twelve months and two budgets in, we are seeing great progress. When we came into government, the Department of Veterans' Affairs was chronically underfunded and under-resourced. The former secretary of the department made clear in estimates last year that the department, based on the resourcing constraints from the previous government, would have never cleared the veterans compensation backlog. That has serious consequences for veterans and their families. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has made it clear that the Department of Veterans' Affairs claims backlog was unacceptable and could lead to suicidality and suicide in some cases. We've now turned that around. In September last year, the claims backlog was upward of 45,000. Despite the shadow minister's protestations, we're actually now down to about 36,000. That's a 20 per cent drop from the peak, and it continues to fall.

That is due to the investments made by the Albanese Labor government. After just one year, I can now confirm that DVA is better funded than it has been in three decades. We've allocated $322.3 million, across the last two Labor budgets, to employ and retain additional staff in DVA to get through the backlog and make sure it never happens again. There's $341.1 million to fund the modernisation and sustainment of ICT systems that the former government left to degenerate, $46.7 million to fund the delivery of 10 veterans and families hubs across the country—unlike the opposition, who announced hubs and then didn't fund them in their budget—and a $24 million veterans employment program.

It's important that we're supporting those who support veterans. When we came into government, there was a shameful backlog in paying invoices to those that provide services to veterans. Now, 90 per cent of invoices are being processed through DVA within 20 days. Since coming into government, we have increased the annual totally and permanently incapacitated payment by $1,000, which will better support some 27,000 veterans. Last year we introduced the Defence, Veterans' and Families' Acute Support Package to support working-age veteran families in crisis. Recognising that families look different all over the country, in this budget we announced the expansion of that to grandcarer veteran families. We've improved access to mental health supports, including $22 million to extend the PTSD therapy dog program and $2 million to continue mental health awareness and suicide intervention training to make sure volunteers that support veterans have the best training that they need.

In recent months, we've been hearing that some GPs have made commercial decisions to stop seeing veterans using veteran cards. Veterans will soon be able to better access GPs, with the tripling of the veterans access payment, and I'm pleased that we are hearing that GPs who had previously said they would stop servicing our veterans are now reversing that decision. This $33.3 million investment will come into force on 1 November and will make sure veterans aren't out of pocket while supporting GPs to treat veterans and balance their budgets.

We have also expanded defence homeownership for both defence personnel and veterans. Vitally, we've now acted on all 13 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide interim report, including fixing staffing and resourcing in the department, bringing the claims backlog down, improving access to information for loved ones and breaking down the barriers that were deterring people from giving evidence to the royal commission. We're reforming more than a century of veterans legislation—which has been an absolute nightmare for veterans, their families and their advocates—by simplifying this into a single scheme. We're developing a defence and veteran families support strategy.

One of the six immediate priorities identified in the response to the Defence Strategic Review is the need to grow and retain our ADF personnel. Notably, we've introduced a $50,000 bonus payment for ongoing service as part of the Albanese Labor government's commitment to investing in the growth and retention of our highly skilled defence workforce. The Albanese government is moving to immediately respond to the review by investing approximately $400 million to establish this continuation bonus initiative.

People are of course defence's most important capability, and this extends to the families who support those who serve. In the last 12 months, we've increased support for ADF personnel and their families with the formal recognition of contemporary family structures, expanding a number of health and lifestyle benefits to personnel and their families. The Albanese government is already delivering important reforms in this area, including through the $46.2 million expansion of the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme that was announced in the October budget. But we know there is more that can be done to improve these systems. We will undertake a review into the defence housing system to ensure that it is fit for purpose into the future.

The Albanese government deeply appreciates those who serve in our ADF. Investing in those members and increasing the value proposition will support our service personnel and ensure that Australia has the defence structure and posture needed to meet our strategic circumstances. We will ensure we're laying the strongest possible foundations for a better future for our veterans.

After a wasted decade under the Liberals, the Albanese Labor government is working hard every day and getting on with the job of creating a strong foundation for a better future. We know family budgets are under pressure. After nine years of cuts and neglect, the Albanese government is strengthening Medicare for all Australians, with the biggest ever investment in bulk-billing. This historic $3.5 billion investment will triple the bulk-billing incentive, making it easier for more than 90,000 people in Burt to access a GP. This is on top of the federal government's $3.2 billion contribution to health and hospitals in Western Australia. We will also make hundreds of medicines cheaper by allowing millions of Australians to buy two months worth of medicine for the price of a single prescription and we're also providing more than 26,000 aged-care workers in WA with a pay rise.

And we're delivering real cost-of-living relief through boosting JobSeeker by a minimum of $40 a fortnight, decreasing energy bills for households and small businesses in Western Australia, and expanding the eligibility of the parenting payment for parents until their youngest child turns 14. This will make eligible single parents $176.90 better off each fortnight. And we're increasing rent assistance for more than 6,000 households in Burt. The Albanese Labor government is also moving to help more people into homeownership sooner, by expanding eligibility for the Home Guarantee Scheme. The Home Guarantee Scheme has already helped approximately 1,100 people in Burt. Some 6,100 families in Burt will also be better off from 1 July with the delivery of our cheaper childcare package, and we're investing in the early childhood education workforce.

The Albanese government's NDIS budget initiatives include $73.4 million to better support participants to manage their plan within budget so that they can access their supports in a flexible way to better achieve their goals. This will help around 4,000 NDIS participants in Burt. We're investing in education, with a $400 million contribution to deliver an additional 300,000 fee-free TAFE and VET training places nationally. We continue to invest in nation-building infrastructure across Western Australia, including $3.7 billion towards METRONET and $125 million towards electric bus charging infrastructure. The Albanese government's $2.4 billion investment in the NBN in our last budget will see more than 30,000 premises in Burt have access to higher internet speeds.

We're committed to building a stronger future for our nation. This is about delivering for our country. After just one year in office we know there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of mess that needs to be cleaned up after a wasted decade under the Liberals and Nationals, but this is a responsible budget and a practical budget. We'll keep delivering reasonable, common sense initiatives that provide our community security and certainty while building stronger foundations for a better future.

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