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

In the short time I have available, I will respond to the motion brought forward by the member for Fisher. It is important that those opposite understand the true meaning of what one-off programs are and what pilot programs are. While I am glad for the bipartisan support that comes from the opposition on many measures that support our veterans, it is important that they understand the program that they set up to increasing capacity payments for a short period while a veteran was undertaking education was just that; it was a pilot program. They committed to extending it but they didn't deliver on it. They left that to us going into government. We did that. We also said we would evaluate the program. That was critical. We undertook the evaluation of the pilot and what we found was that it was not encouraging more people to undertake the program, to undertake education or to go on to employment. So while the goals and objectives were positive and good and we supported those, what we found was the program didn't deliver on those outcomes, and that is why the pilot came to an end, as we said it would when we did a one-year extension, as we said it would when we communicated early to all those veterans that were participating in the program.

We, like any government, I hope, undertake pilots so we can see if things work. If they don't seem to deliver outcomes, we want to make sure we are focused on the things that do actually deliver the positive outcomes that we all want to see for our veterans by doing things like responding to the interim report of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, by doing things like delivering the rollout of our veterans and family hubs across Australia and by doing things like delivering on housing for homeless veterans by supporting a Housing Australia Future Fund, something that those opposite, the Liberal Party, the National Party and the Greens have continued to fail to do. When they come in here with a motion about us not supporting veterans, when we've done the right thing, they need to look at themselves and at what they are not doing in the Senate, right now, which is harming veterans. We're committed to a better future for our veterans and families, and all I ask is that those opposite in the Senate do the same.

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