Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

We must do everything we can to support our veterans, which is why I second this motion this morning. This motion calls on the government to undo its reckless decision to cut incap payments for veterans who are studying. When the original bill to extend the scheme came before the House last year, we gave Labor our support. This scheme should be bipartisan. But now the Albanese Labor government has quietly axed it. This was a program that provided 100 per cent of a veteran's pre-injury earnings for them to undertake full-time study as a part of their DVA approved rehabilitation plan. Without the bipartisan extension of the 100 per cent incap payments, they would be phased out. Providing a financial support during study takes away a significant barrier which might otherwise discourage a veteran from study and building a life after service.

There is nothing more important when transitioning out of the military than meaningful engagement and/or meaningful employment, and I'm living proof of this. After my deployment in Afghanistan, I was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, with being deaf in one ear from an IUD blast and with post-traumatic stress disorder. With many months off work, being disengaged from both Army and civilian life, things got pretty tough. Eventually, with significant support from my family and friends, I picked myself up and signed up to a number of educational programs. Over time, the meaning of life returned. I had purpose, responsibility and accountability. Being meaningfully engaged led to employment and the path to my new normal. If I hadn't begun my education, I could have been in a very different place.

You don't need to look too far into many studies that show defence and veteran suicide rates to realise that one of the root causes is a lack of meaning and purpose. Gaining meaning and purpose doesn't always take the form of study, and that's fine—we're all very different—but it is definitely one way we can try and make a difference in the lives of those veterans who feel called to further education and a new chapter in their life.

Townsville is the largest garrison city in the nation, so you can imagine how many of my constituents will be significantly impacted by this cut. A number of veterans have contacted me specifically about this issue, mentioning their incredible sense of pride, achievement and self-betterment through study. One of them is John Lay. He wrote to me explaining that without the incap payment he will not be able to complete the final year of his four-year degree, missing out on the potential job opportunities it would have created for him. In an open letter regarding the end of the program, Veteran Advocacy Australia said:

Veterans have made life changing and financial decisions based on their enrolment in this program. And it would be terrible to see Veterans now withdraw from study, some close to completion, as they can no longer afford to participate.

The government has not released any data to justify this decision, but these testimonies are evidence of the program's success.

I'd also like to point out that I have written to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs on this very matter, on behalf of my constituents and veterans nationally. That was at the start of the year, and I still haven't received a response. What's changed? Our veteran community's need for this scheme certainly hasn't, which means we can only assume that this is a cost-cutting decision that is going to impact our veteran community—those who put their lives on the line for the safety of our country. I'd like to remind the Labor government that the bill to extend the scheme was passed with bipartisan support. Our veteran community is already in a state of crisis, and, by axing this program that alleviated financial stress, fuel is only being added to the fire.

The extension of the 100 per cent in-cap payment would provide our veterans with short-term financial aid for long-term and potentially life-saving gain. I implore the government to reconsider the axing of this program, and I commend this motion to the House. In doing so I'd like to acknowledge the member for Braddon, a veteran, who is here today; the member for Fisher, for bringing on this motion; and, of course, the previous minister for veterans' affairs, the member for Gippsland. In this place, on both sides, veterans affairs should be bipartisan. We haven't seen that of late, and I call on the government to return to that position.

See this speech in context