Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak for a while longer on the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill 2011. I will not delay the House too much. When my contribution was suspended last week, I had spoken for some time about the privations and the adversity that our former prisoners of war had endured in the Second World War, with particular emphasis on the prisoners of the Japanese Imperial Army. I also spoke, as everyone has in this debate, about the need to acknowledge and express our appreciation of those veterans, those prisoners of war. The privations and the suffering that they have endured make them noteworthy of such considerations, as we have provided in the past as a coalition government and as the parliament should see passed today.

When we look upon the contributions made to this country, it is right that we have a special regard for all those who have served in uniform. Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his country. And it is perfectly true of those who have served and those who continue to serve in uniform for our nation that they were prepared, and our current soldiers are prepared, to lay down their lives for our nation. It is therefore right that they should get appropriate consideration for the commitment that they have made. Serving in the Navy, the Army and the Air Force is not a normal job; it is taking up a life where the risks are greater than in other sectors within our community.

It is therefore important as well that, when we speak of the entitlements of our veterans, we must also have regard for everyone who has served our country. What last week revealed was that, although we may have bipartisan support for measures such as those that apply for prisoners of war, when it actually comes to the need for fairer indexation of military superannuation pensions, the comparison is very stark indeed. There are some that oppose fair indexation. The government, the Greens and Independent Senator Xenophon oppose fair indexation. Unfortunately, the Greens live in a fool's paradise where you can get by in the modern world without a defence force, when the reality is that sometimes you just have to fight, like those diggers, sailors and airmen did in past wars, because there is just no other option. So there are those who are opponents of a fair and just military superannuation system. Again, unfortunately it seems as though the government has failed to deliver what it promised in 2007 in the time since. It is really about time that fair indexation is introduced. We have learnt. We are committed to the course. I am committed to fair indexation.

I thank my constituents for their advice and their feedback on these sorts of matters. I thank particularly a regular email contributor to my knowledge, Mr Terry 'Maddog' Malligan, from Madeley. I thank the members of the Ballajura RSL, who are holding their annual quiz night this coming Saturday night. I wish them all the best for that event and I will see them there. I thank the members of the Wanneroo-Joondalup RSL. In fact, I thank all the veterans and the ex-service men and women who have contacted me to tell me of their views on this matter.

I have looked through this bill and I have looked at what it aims to achieve. I say that we certainly owe a debt of gratitude to those who have served under the most hideous of conditions as prisoners of war. I also acknowledge all those who have worn the uniform and have been prepared to do what needs to be done for this nation's best interests. When I look at what has happened in the past and at the debt of gratitude that we really owe to all those who have served in uniform, not just prisoners of war, I look forward to fair indexation of superannuation being addressed. Unfortunately, it would appear that it will not be addressed until we are returned to government. I look forward to that at the earliest opportunity so that the coalition can provide full and fair indexation, in accordance with our last policy and in accordance with the wishes of the uniformed community, past and present, within our great country. This is what we owe them. This is what we need to come through with. We look forward to delivering that in the future.

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be speaking on this bill before the House today, the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill 2011, which gives effect to the government's budget commitments to the veterans community through three measures. The first measure is the new $27.2 million prisoner-of-war recognition supplement, which provides former POWs with an extra $500 per fortnight in recognition of their very special sacrifice and service. The second measure consists of amendments to compensation-offsetting provisions in the Veterans' Entitlements Act. This measure will help ensure equity for a claimant who is entitled to compensation for a level of incapacity under two schemes. The third measure will rationalise the temporary incapacity allowance and loss of earnings allowance to improve targeting of allowances for veterans and members who lose wages during periods of short-term incapacity.

I am very proud to speak in relation to this bill, to speak about this government's record in honouring our veterans and also to speak today about honouring all of those service men and women for the sacrifices they have made for our country. I particularly commend the measure to provide the prisoner-of-war recognition supplement. This measure is an acknowledgment of the commitment and obligation we owe to former Australian POWs for the sacrifices experienced by them in the service of our country. The POW recognition supplement is a $500 fortnightly payment made to all surviving Australian POWs of Japan and Europe from the Second World War and from the Korean War. It is estimated that approximately 900 former POWs will benefit from the payments.

The Australian experience of imprisonment during times of war dates back over 110 years to the time of the Boer War. Whilst individual stories vary greatly in the level of hardship and deprivation faced during times of internment across all conflicts, all of our POWs have some shared common experiences from their impris­onment, particularly including isolation from family and friends, the constant struggle for life, and the need to depend on their mates and comrades for daily survival and to maintain hope in such horrendous circumstances.

I turn first to the First World War. For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most costly conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted, of whom over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded. More than 4,070 Australians spent the war as prisoners. The Gallipoli campaign saw the first of 217 Australians captured by Ottoman forces. On the battlefields of the Western Front, 3,853 Australian troops were taken prisoner by German forces, most of them held in Germany. A third of these Australian prisoners were captured on 11 April 1917 at the First Battle of Bullecourt in northern France. A number of Australian airmen were also shot down and captured by the Germans. By the time of the armistice, signed in November 1918, a total of 395 Australians had died during their imprisonment in the First World War.

In the Second World War, from 3 September 1939 almost a million Australians, both men and women, served in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as against the Japanese in South-East Asia and other parts of the Pacific. Over 30,000 would never return home. More than 30,000 were taken as prisoners of war. One of the most significant differences between this war and the First World War was the number of Australian troops captured. Almost eight times the number captured in the First World War were captured in the Second World War, the majority of these as prisoners of the Japanese. The Japanese treatment of its POWs is one of the darkest chapters in Australia's wartime history. In fact, it is difficult for many of us to comprehend how incredibly tragic an experience it was. Of the almost 9,000 Australians who were held in Italian and German camps and experienced varying degrees of mistreatment and brutality, some 250 men died during the war. Over 22,000 Australians became prisoners of war of the Japanese in South-East Asia. Almost 15,000 of the Australians were captured in Singa­pore, while the other principal Australian prisoner-of-war groups were captured in Java, Timor and Ambon. The most notorious and well-known names in the Australia's World War II experience are Changi, Borneo and the Thai-Burma Railroad. In fact, the name Changi is synonymous with the suffering of Australian prisoners of the Japanese during the Second World War. More than 100,000 Allied POWs were crammed into the Changi camp after the fall of Singapore. From May 1942, large work parties began to be sent out of Changi to work on projects such as the Thai-Burma Railway and in other work camps throughout Asia. In February 1942 there were around 15,000 Australians in Changi. By mid-1943 fewer than 2,500 remained.

Australian POWs in Borneo were held in four main camps: Sandakan, Kuching, Labuan and Jesselton. Of these, Sandakan in North Borneo contained the majority of Australians. In January 1945, when the Japanese feared an Allied invasion of Borneo, they began a series of forced marches from Sandakan to Ranau—a distance of 260 kilometres along jungle tracks. Weak and sick mistreated prisoners starved to death on the way as food became scarcer and scarcer. They had no medical supplies and the terrain was muddy and treacherous. If a prisoner collapsed and could not get up, he was usually shot dead by the Japanese. More marches followed until all POWs had left Sandakan. By the end of the war only six Australians of the 2,500 Allied POWs held at Sandakan had survived this horrific ordeal.

Whilst Allied POWs were held across Asia, it is those camps along the Thai-Burma Railway during 1943 which remain most resonant for Australians in the Second World War POW experience; largely due to the fact that 9,500 Australians worked on the railway and nearly 7,000 survived to tell the story. The railway stretched 421 kilometres from Thailand to Burma, the aim being to provide the Japanese with a land access route from South-East Asia to supply their large army in Burma. Some 62,000 Australian, British and Dutch POWs, as well as a smaller group of American POWs and estimates of 270,000 Asian indentured labourers, occupied camps along the length of the line, moving from one site to the next as work progressed. The daily deprivations, misery and humiliation of this work are indeed impossible to comprehend. Some 12,000 Allied POWs died on the railway, including 2,646 Australians. The building of the railway exacted such a brutal toll due to the harsh treatment of the prisoners of war, the prevalence of disease, the terrible state of their health, the terrain through which they had to build, the climate of torrential monsoon rain, the extreme heat and the lack of adequate engineering tools and supplies. Though the railway was completed in mid-October 1943, it was never used. Almost as soon as it was completed it was damaged by Allied bombing. Today only sections of it survive.

My great-uncle Harry Staples, of the 8th Division, died as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway. A number of years ago I went to Kanchanburi in Thailand to the railway and walked through Hellfire Pass to see the site where he and so many of our POWs suffered and died. Visiting the war graves highlighted for me how important it is as individuals, families, communities and a nation that we never forget the sacrifices that so many have made, and how important it is that we come together not just on days like Remembrance Day and Anzac Day but at all times to remember their sacrifice.

When we turn to civilian POWs, almost 1,500 Australian civilians spent the war in captivity, out of about 130,000 civilians interned by the Japanese. Australian army nurses were another group imprisoned. On 14 February 1942, following the fall of Singapore, 65 nurses were attempting to return to Australia on the ship Vyner Brooke. Twelve drowned when the vessel was torpedoed and 21 were massacred after reaching Bangka Island. The sole survivor from that was Nurse Vivian Bullwinkel. The other surviving nurses from the Vyner Brooke were imprisoned in a civilian camp in Sumatra. Eight of the 32 died in captivity. Although they were not made to work as the male POWs were, they were subject to many of the same deprivations and humiliations at the hands of the Japanese. Six Australian military nurses captured at Rabaul in January 1942 were sent to Japan and all survived the war.

The Korean War began on 25 June 1950 and came to an end with the signing of an armistice on 27 July 1953. Australian casualties numbered more than 1,500, of whom 339 were killed. During the Korean War, 30 Australian servicemen were captured by North Korean or Chinese forces. Twenty-four of those taken prisoner were serving with the Australian Army, and six members of the Royal Australian Air Force were also captured. Of the 30 Australians, only one, Private HW Madden, died whilst imprisoned. Madden was posthumously awarded the George Cross. Prisoners in Korea suffered many of the same trials as those of the Japanese—neglect, hunger and brutality—but also the biting cold of a Korean winter, where temperatures could go as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

By introducing this new payment for surviving Australian prisoners of war, the government's bill recognises the hardships these people endured and recognises the massive sacrifice they made in their service to our country. It is important that we always continue to remember that service and the sacrifices made by our past and also our serving defence forces, who paid the ultimate price. I would like to take the opportunity to commend all of the wonderful veterans groups in my electorate who work so tirelessly to ensure that we as communities continue to remember the great commitment of all of our veterans. I am fortunate to have a very large veterans community and wonderful individuals who do great work with veterans and in many other groups as well.

I say in conclusion that whilst we reflect upon service in previous conflicts we must of course also remember those serving our nation currently. It is very important to remember the commitment that they have made. I would like to finish by remarking on the event last Friday in my electorate at Kingscliff where the funeral was held for Sapper Rowan Robinson, who died on 6 June while serving in Afghanistan. Sapper Robinson grew up in Kingscliff and around the North Coast, and his funeral was attended by many family and friends who recalled wonderful fond memories of him. I would like to say that our thoughts and prayers are with his family as we remember his sacrifice and his service to our nation.

Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill 2011. This bill gives effect to a number of veterans' affairs 2011 budget measures: firstly, it will create a prisoner-of-war recognition supplement, providing a $500 fortnightly payment to former Australian prisoners of war; secondly, it will clarify and affirm the original intention of the compensation-offsetting policy in respect of pensions payable under parts 2 and 4 of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986; and, thirdly, schedule 3 rationalises temporary incapacity allowances for veterans.

Reviewing the measures in more detail, specifically schedule 1, the prisoner-of-war recognition supplement, under this measure from 20 September this year former Australian prisoners of war will receive a $500 payment each fortnight from the Australian government. This payment will be made to former military personnel and civilians alike who were interned as prisoners of war during either World War II or the Korean War. These supplement payments will not be taxable and will not affect a former prisoner of war's present access to income support via the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and the Social Security Act, or compensation payments under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

There are over 900 Australians known to the Department of Veterans' Affairs as ex-prisoners of war. All of them will automatically receive the payment from 6 October.

The coalition has a strong record of providing assistance to Australia's ex-prisoners of war. In 2001, all former Japanese POWs received a $25,000 tax-free ex gratia payment from the Australian government. In 2003, former Korean POWs received similar payments, as did former German and Italian POWs in 2007.

This additional supplement payment is welcomed by the 900 Australian ex-POWs and their families who are eligible. As I indicated earlier, schedule 2 of this bill seeks to clarify the operation of compensation provisions under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. Compensation offsetting is a longstanding principle under Australia's repatriation system. The fundamental principle to this system is that payments of compensation are for incapacity. The coalition believes that the changes proposed by this schedule should be investigated by a Senate committee. We will seek to refer the bill so that the ex-service community will have the opportunity to have a say and provide input into the proposed changes.

Finally, schedule 3 of the bill rationalises the manner in which incapacity payments are to be paid in accordance with the act.

The changes provided by this bill remove the temporary incapacity allowance. In place of receiving this payment, a veteran will be entitled to seek access to the loss-of-earnings allowance or LOE, an allowance paid where the veteran accrues an actual loss of earnings as a result of hospitalisation or treatment of accepted disabilities or illnesses. The coalition is not opposed to this rationalisation and calls on the government to ensure the changes are appropriately and effectively communicated to the veterans and ex-service community.

A further issue I address, relevant to this bill, is that of the Anzac centenary. Unfortunately, no money was provided in the budget for the commemoration of the Anzac centenary, a point I find deeply disappointing. So I ask: when will this government make a firm financial commitment to the Anzac centenary in 2015? The significance of this centenary cannot be understated. Communities looking forward and beginning to plan for this most important national commemorative event require certainty in terms of funding and the level of federal support.

I have on a number of occasions this year in the House mentioned the commemorative services held to mark the 69th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin during World War II. The bombings are a very significant event in the history of Darwin, the Northern Territory and Australia. Commemoration of this event has enormous significance for those who were present in Darwin during the air raids. Furthermore, the significance of this commemoration retains its importance to today's Territorians and to past and present personnel of the Australian Defence Force.

Planning is well underway for next year's 70th anniversary of the bombing-of-Darwin commemorations. Earlier this year, Senator Crossin called for the bombing of Darwin to be marked by a public holiday. I understand the sentiment; however, I am not here advocating for a public holiday; I am here asking that the government appropriately acknowledge this event as one of national significance and that some funding be provided for commemoration of this important historical event.

While the coalition welcomes the government's belated funding increase to the Australian War Memorial, the coalition remains concerned that no funding to redevelop the World War I galleries has been identified. The coalition has committed funds towards this work to facilitate its completion ahead of the 2015 Anzac centenary commemorations. It is very disappointing that the Gillard Labor government acted to increase the Australian War Memorial funding only after significant pressure from the community and from the coalition.

I have been contacted by the president of my local branch of the National Servicemen's Association of Australia, Mr Ivan Walsh, who wrote to the Department of Veterans' Affairs over seven months ago requesting permission to erect a permanent flagpole at the Adelaide River War Cemetery. It is extremely disappointing that these men who served our country are yet to receive a response from the department regarding a simple request for permission to erect a flagpole as a permanent feature for ongoing commemorative services at the Adelaide River War Cemetery. I seek leave to table the letter.

Leave granted.

I ask if the minister could please look into this issue, as the Adelaide River War Cemetery is a very significant commemorative area and it is also in his electorate. As the years have gone by, there seems to be more focus on Adelaide River War Cemetery for commemorative events. They are asking permission to have the flagpole installed before the national Remembrance Day in November. I would really appreciate it if the minister could investigate this and provide an answer to the committee. Another matter of disapp­ointment is that the Gillard Labor government will cut $8 million from grassroots veterans advocacy funding over the forward estimates. I know that a review of the advocacy funding, released 12 months ago, did not recommend a cut in funding, which makes this recent announcement even harder to understand. Veterans services provided by volunteers from within our local community, particularly services to those new veterans returning from recent conflicts and their families, will definitely be impacted. My electorate represents Defence Force constituents who have served overseas, are still serving overseas or are due to be deployed. From the perspective of the electorate of Solomon, the issues relevant to veterans are of significant concern. This government must ensure that it looks after our defence personnel both during and after their service to this wonderful country of ours. The ex-servicemen community had no warning that cuts to advocacy funding were likely or about the impact of having to compete for a smaller funding pool. It is not good enough. This cut could also jeopardise the provision of assistance to younger veterans and their families, who may seek advice from volunteer veteran pension and welfare officers about claims for compensation. As I mentioned earlier this year in this place, the coalition remains the only party in the parliament committed to military superannuation reform.

I take this opportunity to touch on Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits and DFRB fair indexation. The Labor Party and the Greens stand condemned for their failure to support the coalition's bill to provide fair indexation to DFRDB and DFRB superannuants. This is simply not good enough. The coalition believes the current indexation arrangements are unfair. The opposition of the Labor-Greens alliance means that the only way to deliver these reforms is through the election of a coalition government. I reaffirm comments made earlier by my colleagues in this place that the coalition is committed to Australian veterans.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to speak on the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill 2011. I say to the honourable member for Solomon, who thought to raise in the debate on this very good bill political issues about super­annuation for the people presently serving in the military, that there were 11 years during which some of us made representation to the previous government about this, and nothing occurred. It is a pretty poor effort to come in here and start raising this on a veterans bill when we have some pretty good news here for veterans and ex-prisoners-of-war. The member may want to get into some of the history as to why her party did not deliver over those 11 years.

This bill gives effect to the veterans' affairs 2011 budget measures, which will create a prisoner of war recognition supplement, clarifying and affirming the original intention of the compensation offsetting policy in relation to disability pensions, rationalised temporary incapacity allowance and the loss of earnings allowance.

I first became aware of prisoners of war because of my friends Philip and John Green, whom I grew up with and went to school with and who are both still my friends. John has moved away a bit, but Philip is still a great mate. Their fathers were both prisoners of war. As boys we talked about this and discussed it, and I met their fathers, who had gone through that terrible experience. They were both in Timor when it fell—I think Sparrow Force was among the forces that were there as our forward defence before the Japanese landed about 22,000 troops, on their forward movement into that area—and they were taken prisoner.

Georgie Green, Philip's father, spent his time as a prisoner of war on the Burma railway, and I think Teddy—John's father—spent some time in the bicycle camp in Timor and later in that same area. That was not a very pleasant experience for them. In later years George was very pleased to visit Hellfire Pass and take his grandson there to show him the places where he had had to endure some harsh treatment and was able to survive that. I think it was just about trying to show those at home what they had endured, where they had endured it and how they had survived it. These were guys who never spoke of or glorified anything about war and were always conscious of that in their activities.

Georgie and Teddy were great role models and great men who had a lot of respect in the community. The community in which I grew up, the Longford community, had an RSL which was built in 1947 by the returning veterans. The annual Anzac Day sports event was a pretty well-known event right throughout Tasmania. Most of us growing up in the 1950s and going to school attended those sports days. We learnt what Anzac Day was about and what remembrance was about, and that worked very well. I can remember Georgie Green presenting me with an ice-cream after I had run a footrace. Footraces were never my great strength, but I can remember getting an ice-cream from Georgie Green, so it was a great opportunity. We remember those veterans and those people who were prisoners of war, as we should do. We remember the great stories and the written work of Weary Dunlop and the wonderful innovations that Weary was able to bring to bear in order to help prisoners survive, using needles and implements made out of bamboo to give rainwater to those suffering from bad dysentery and lack of fluids. Incredible work and effort went into making those things work. We read about how, through Weary Dunlop's efforts, public health issues were addressed by draining away water from around the camps to prevent malaria and by ensuring cleanliness when prisoners were cooking their food. These stories are worth reading for any young person wanting to have an understanding of those times and to come to grips with what war and deprivation can bring.

While we are having this debate on the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill, it is worth mentioning the 100th anniversary of Anzac Day in 2015 and to remember the battles which took place in the First World War. My Uncle Charles, my grandfather's brother, is buried on the Somme. When you look at those graves, which you see right through Europe, you realise what difficult issues people were faced with.

This bill certainly gives recognition to prisoners of war and their dependants through a range of benefits and reflects the severe circumstances of their service. Widows of former prisoners of war are eligible for war widow pensions and the gold card. Funeral benefits are payable for deceased former prisoners of war. Children of deceased former prisoners of war are eligible for veterans children's education schemes. (Quorum formed) I thank my colleagues for their attendance in the chamber during my speech on the bill. The amendments to the Veterans' Entitlements Act made by schedule 1 will give effect to the 2011 budget measure to create a new prisoner of war recognition supplement, the POWR supplement. That supplement will be $500 per fortnight, payable to former prisoners of war in recognition of the severe hardship and deprivations that they experienced in the service of their country.

A lot of veterans are no longer with us. The two I spoke about earlier, Georgie Green and Teddy Green, have now both passed on. On first meeting these ex-prisoners of war I found them both to be upstanding men. They were ordinary workers, Teddy having a small farm after shearing for a long time. He spent most of his life around the Cressy district. They were both men of great character, men that most of us growing up looked up to as decent human beings marching on Anzac Day, giving recognition to their service to their country under great hardship.

There is a lot of work to do on cenotaphs around the country in recognition of the 100-year anniversary of the Anzacs in 2015. There is a lot of tidying up work to be done, especially in the areas surrounding the cenotaphs. I think government has a role to play and I certainly hope there will be some grant programs to allow veterans' communities, along with local councils and others, to participate in bringing those cenotaphs up to the standard that we in this country expect of them. I have been involved in several of those over different governments and a lot of them have worked very well, keeping our cenotaphs and our memorials up to standard. I understand there has been a lot of work done in different parts of the world—in France and at Anzac Cove. It would be interesting to see what has occurred there. A lot of young people these days are finding it very interesting to be involved in these recognitions. That makes us think about why young people are taking such an interest in our veterans and in the wars that we have been involved in. I think it is about young people becoming aware of community, of their sense of duty and of what being involved in a community can mean. Going to war, being a prisoner of war, can certainly give you that perspective by recognising what people have gone through. So it has something to do with that.

I pay tribute to the uncle of Peter Lawrence from my electorate. Peter, who passed away this week, searched for his uncle's medals for many years. Before Peter died, I presented him with the service medals of his uncle Leo Lawrence. It is very sad to lose Peter. I pass on my condolences to his family. He will be buried on Thursday. He was proud of his uncle's service to his nation and he has now passed on. I support the bill.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment Bill 2011 gives effect to creating a prison-of-war recognition supplement, clarifying and affirming the original intention of the compensation offsetting policy in relation to disability pensions, and rationalising temporary incapacity allowance and loss of earnings allowance. The coalition agrees with all these measures.

Schedule 1 of the bill provides that, from 20 September this year, former Australian prisoners of war will receive a $500 payment each fortnight from the Australian government. This payment will be made to former military personnel and civilians who were taken as prisoners of war during World War II and the Korean War. This payment will not be taxable and will not affect present access by former prisoners of war to income support under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and the Social Security Act or to compensation payments under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. There are almost 900 Australians known by the Department of Veterans' Affairs to be ex-POWs. All known ex-prisoners of war will automatically receive the payment, which they will be paid from 6 October.

The coalition has a strong record of providing assistance to Australia's ex-prisoners of war. In 2001, all former Japanese prisoners of war received a $25,000 tax-free, ex gratia payment from the Australian government. In 2003, former Korean prisoners of war and, in 2007, former German and Italian prisoners of war received similar payments. This additional payment will be welcomed by the 900 Australian ex-prisoners of war—and their families—who are eligible for the payment.

Schedule 2 of the bill seeks to clarify the operation of compensation provisions under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. Comp­ensation offsetting is a longstanding prin­ciple under Australia's repatriation system. The fundamental principle of Australia's system is that compensation is paid for incapacity, not for a specific injury. The coalition believes that the changes proposed by this schedule should be investigated by a Senate committee. We will seek to refer the bill to afford the ex-service community an opportunity to have input into the proposed changes.

Schedule 3 of the bill will rationalise the way incapacity payments are paid under the act. The changes in this bill will remove the temporary incapacity allowance. Instead of receiving this payment, the veteran will be entitled to seek access to the loss of earnings allowance—LOE. The loss of earnings allowance is paid where the veteran accrues an actual loss of earnings as a result of hospitalisation or treatment of accepted disabilities or illnesses. The coalition is not opposed to this rationalisation and calls on the government to ensure the changes are appropriately communicated to the veteran and ex-service community.

The coalition is deeply disappointed that there was no money in the budget for the commemoration of the Anzac centenary. Communities across Australia need certainty about the availability of funding so that they can begin planning for this important, national commemorative event. I regard Anzac Day as our most important national day, and I am sure that most, if not all, members opposite would agree with me. The importance of this occasion was today marked by New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, who defined it as a deeply significant occasion for both countries.

The coalition welcomes the government's belated funding increase to the Australian War Memorial. It is disappointing that the Gillard Labor government acted only after significant pressure from the community and the coalition which forced them kicking and screaming to this outcome. The coalition remains concerned that there is no funding to completely redevelop the World War I galleries. The coalition has committed funds towards this work so that it is completed ahead of the 2015 Anzac centenary commemorations. Labor must now do the same thing.

The Gillard Labor government will cut $8 million from grassroots veterans' advocacy funding over the forward estimates. This decision will have a severe impact on the services provided by volunteers in our local community to veterans, especially to new veterans returning from recent conflicts, and to their families. A review of advocacy funding released 12 months ago did not recommend a cut in funding, which makes this announcement in the budget even more difficult to understand. The ex-service community had no warning that this cut was coming and they will now compete for a smaller funding pool. This cut could also jeopardise the provision of assistance to younger veterans and their families, who may seek advice from volunteer veteran pension and welfare officers about claims for compensation.

In terms of the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme and DFRB fair indexation, the coalition is committed to military superannuation reform. The Labor Party and the Greens stand condemned for their failure to support the coalition's bill to provide fair indexation to DFRDB and DFRB superannuants. The coalition believes the current indexation arrangements are palpably unfair. The opposition of the Labor-Greens alliance means the only way to deliver this reform is with the election of a coalition government.

I might read a letter that I received, as would many other members of parliament. It is from Bert Hoebee, who for a time served with distinction at Blamey Barracks at Kapooka, which is in Wagga Wagga—my hometown—in the electorate of Riverina. Wagga Wagga is the home of the soldier, because every recruit in the Australian Army goes through Wagga Wagga, through Blamey Barracks, prior to other deployments within the Army. Bert Hoebee writes:

Recently I wrote to you about the matter of social justice for veterans.

On 2 June, the House of Representatives agreed, evidently without dissent, to support the Coalition's policy of fair indexation for military superannuation pensions.

On 16 June, the Senate voted down the Bill to provide for implementation of that policy.

This despicable act of bastardry—

as Bert writes—

and political opportunism, directly and with the utmost disdain, ignored the will of the people of Australia as expressed in the House two weeks prior.

This act of what some call 'betrayal' was aided and abetted by the Greens, who abandoned their own policy to support fair indexation, through the complicity of its 'contribution' that had nothing more to offer but pompous statements on issues irrelevant to the case.

Thus are ex-service people condemned to continued unfair and unjust superannuation pension indexation, ever-depreciating purchasing power and reducing standards of living. Where are Labor's core value of fairness and its principle of a fair go for all Australians reflected in all of this?

Any government and its hangers-on that ignores the will of the people and turns its back on Australian service men and women in this reprehensible manner does so at its peril.

I now ask you, again, to examine your conscience, and ask: what are you going to do about this unjust treatment of Australia's ex-service people, in direct contravention of the express will of the House?

In another email, he writes:

It is high time to fairly index the pensions of all of our superannuated veterans (under the now-closed DFRB and DFRDB Scheme and the current MSBS scheme)—

the Military Superannuation Benefits Scheme—

and to put a stop to discrimination against them.

That is the fair deal which was a condition of their employment and to which they contributed financially during their service. Just and fair: nothing more, nothing less. Simple. Easily do-able. Long overdue.

This from a man who served his country with distinction. This is a man who, as I say, represented the Army in the home of the soldier, Blamey Barracks. I think it is high time that we listened more and more to people like Bert Hoebee. They, after all, represent the grassroots of our military—those people who served with distinction, who served with absolute determination and high principle and who should be listened to. It is high time to fairly index the pensions of all our superannuated veterans and to put a stop to discrimination against them. That is the deal which was a condition of their employment, as Bert wrote, and to which they contributed financially during their service. I call on the government to do it.

Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The previous speaker, the member for Riverina, made recourse to a fair bit of rhetoric there. He spoke of things being 'palpably unfair'. He referred to letters that talk about pompous statements from the government. He used words such as 'complicity', 'political opportunism' and 'betrayal'. Quite frankly, I am amazed that that kind of outburst can occur this evening, because for 11 long years the Howard government was incapable of doing anything about what the member now defines as being 'palpably unfair'. To come in here and carry on in such a fashion, opportunistically appealing to the veteran community, is just pathetic.

This morning's Sydney Morning Herald has a very timely obituary in regard to this piece of legislation. It outlined the life of Keith Shearim, who at 19 years of age was captured in Singapore in February 1942. Starting at 19 years, I stress, he was to spend three years in prison. He was quoted as saying:

I survived on rice sludge: always the same—breakfast, dinner and tea.

He said later:

It was always full of weevils and rat dung.

He further commented of this period that he survived through 'good luck, good officers, good non-commissioned officers' and good luck again. As I say, that is a very timely summary of the situation of many of those who still survive, who the government is trying to repay in some fashion this evening through this legislation.

As has been detailed by others, the survivors number only 996. That is the number of gold card recipients, and that is probably a very reasonable summary. That is why the total cost of this legislation is estimated at only $27 million over the next four years. Of course, that is an indication of what is going to happen with demography. The cost will reduce from $8.5 million in the first year to $4.5 million in four years time.

(Quorum formed) As I was saying, the budget figures indicate that within four years the 900-odd recipients will be reduced by half.

The Australian prisoner-of-war experience started with the Boer War, where 104 people were incarcerated. They shared the same experience as the future Prime Minister of Britain Sir Winston Churchill. However, while they say that generally the winners write the history, in the case of the Boer War perhaps the most reprehensible and atrocious conditions were those that the British forced upon the Boer civilians, with large numbers dying in camps. This was in an indication of what was to happen in the Vietnam War, where large numbers of civilians were moved so that they had no connection with military forces. Of course, what particularly stands out in Australian history is the situation in Japan. We know that in the European theatre of war the mortality rate of prisoners was only three per cent, whereas 36 per cent of prisoners of the Japanese perished. We have heard accounts of and know well the Sandakan march where 3,500 civilian Indonesians and 2,500 prisoners of war perished. They were originally used to construct an airstrip and prisoner camp and then, with allied action in Borneo, were forced to go on marches where they all perished.

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East in 1946 undertook an investigation of Japanese atrocities in the Second World War and convicted 5,700 officers for categories B and C prisoner abuse. Amongst the more infamous outcomes of that inquiry was that Shiro Ishii was given immunity for providing statistics to the allies of the people that he had killed with experiments. Even the Indian judge, Radhabinod Pal, who in the end objected to convicting the Japanese, said:

The evidence is still overwhelming that atrocities were perpetrated by members of the Japanese armed forces against the civilian populations of some of the territories occupied by them, as also against prisoners of war.

It is disturbing that by 2006 a survey by Asahi news in Japan indicated that 70 per cent of those Japanese who responded were totally unaware of the war time experience of prisoners of war.

As I said, the conditions these people suffered were not of the usual standard that one has come to expect. The survival rates in other theatres of war and other conflicts were far greater. The situation was that of the 22,380-odd Australians who were prisoners of the Japanese 8,000 died in captivity—a situation which is fairly unparalleled in history. I stress that there were also 250,000 local people who were mistreated by the Japanese in the Burma-Thailand rail project. It was not just the prisoners of war, but it was a serious event in Australian history.

I want to give some credit to Tom Uren, a former member of this House, a former minister and my predecessor as the member for Reid. He was captured in Timor and was one of the huge numbers of people who were imprisoned and were victims of Japanese incarceration. His lessons out of this were perhaps different from those of some people who were never in prison. He devoted himself throughout his career to the search for international peace and cooperation. He was a staunch opponent of the war in Vietnam. He always stressed that what he learned from his period with Weary Dunlop and others was cooperation, that they survived because people learned to work together and that, as a community, people are capable of overcoming the worst and the most horrendous conditions. That was to be a life-guiding point for him, something he learned from that experience in Japan. He has played a significant role with regard to advocacy for these people over many decades. I was speaking to him a few weeks ago and—of course he did not specify to me what was going to occur in the budget—he was looking forward to a good decision. This is what has come out of it: a payment of $500 per fortnight to the remaining 990-odd victims.

It is not only people like Tom Uren. I want to briefly talk about my wife's uncle, Ernest John Walsh, who was captured in Singapore in 1941. He was thought to be missing at first. It was quite a period of time before they were actually certain that he was a prisoner. That only occurred on 17 November 1943. He was both in Singapore and on the Burma-Thailand railway. I think what is important here is that the suffering that people endured was in some cases to be with them for the rest of their lives. Knowing my wife's uncle and her broader family, the condition of his children was the worst of all of those in the extended family. He was renowned for alcoholism. He was incapable of not assaulting policemen and others in uniform. He tended to become very aggressive towards them, attacking them when there was no need whatsoever. Ernest Walsh lived with the problems he experienced as a prisoner of the Japanese for the rest of his life. His family, including his children, was very much affected by those problems. Whilst he might have been a TPI and received a number of medals and awards for his commitment to this country, the kind of suffering he experienced has a lifelong effect on people. It is that effect that this government is attempting at a very late stage to do something about, which many governments, Labor and Liberal, have failed over many decades to do. We are recognising the particular conditions that these people endured over and above the majority of servicemen. I commend the legislation.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for his contribution to the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill. He is just leaving the chamber, but I will come to his contribution in a moment. In summing up, I acknowledge the contributions of the members for Fadden, Ryan, Maranoa, Herbert, Solomon, McPherson, Cowan and Riverina for the opposition and the members for McEwen, Shortland, Richmond, Lyons and Werriwa for the government.

As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, this bill will give effect to three 2011 budget measures. Firstly, the bill will create a new prisoner of war recognition supplement for Australians who were prisoners of war. The new supplement of $500 per fortnight will be paid in recognition of the hardships that these men and women endured during their captivity. It is expected that approximately 900 former prisoners of war will benefit from the new, fortnightly supplement, which will be payable from 20 September 2011, the first payment being made on 6 October 2011.

I thank the member for Werriwa for his insights into the sacrifices made by prisoners of war. In particular, I reflect upon the 8,000 who died, out of a total of 22,300 prisoners, as a result of their treatment while in captivity with the Japanese. That should give us some insight about the nature of their treatment. I think his understanding, and that of other members of the parliament, of the issue says a lot about our appreciation of not only the contribution made by service men and women but in particular the sacrifices which were made by these very brave men and women. Those who are still with us have proved how resilient and tough they were. Clearly, their lives would have been in danger constantly. I am sure the suffering they endured would have left some of them, as the member for Werriwa pointed out, in a state where they would have had real issues over the remainder of their lives. I know that when this payment was announced by the Prime Minister—and I thank her for making it—at Kirribilli with a group of war veterans who were former prisoners of war it was a salutary experience for me especially, as Minister for Veterans' Affairs, to see how stoic these men were and remain, how resilient they are and, indeed, what a positive attitude they have to life. That says heaps about them as individuals and about us as a community and a country.

Further amendments in the bill will clarify and affirm the compensation offsetting legislation under the Veterans' Entitlements Act. Offsetting is intended to prevent double payments of compensation for the same incapacity, as I think is now understood. A decision of the full Federal Court highlighted the need to clarify this aspect of the legislation. The bill clarifies and affirms the compensation offsetting legislation that has been in place in the repatriation system since 1973. Finally, the bill will rationalise and better target payments for veterans and members who are undergoing treatment for war or defence caused injuries or diseases.

The bill will remove the current overlap in the allowances paid to veterans and members who are unable to work due to episodes of medical treatment and recuperation for war or defence caused injuries or diseases. Payments of temporary incapacity allowance will cease from 20 September 2011, with future payments being better targeted through the loss-of-earnings allowance. This measure has no impact on a veteran's or member's existing disability pension payment. From 20 September 2011, all eligible veterans and members in this situation will be assessed consistently against the criteria for loss-of-earnings allowance. These measures continue the government's commitment to streamlining and enhancing services and support to our veterans and members and their families.

A number of matters were raised by opposition members during the debate and, indeed, have been raised outside of this place by the shadow minister for veterans' affairs, Senator Ronaldson. Despite what has been asserted, the budget measures included in this bill were the subject of wide consultation with the ex-service community. Post-budget briefings of heads of ex-service organisations, or ESOs, were held; an ex-services roundtable, including a separate briefing on the measures in this legislation, was held; PMAC, the Prime Ministerial Advisory Council, was briefed, and the ESO deputy commissioners in each state and territory discussed the issues with their ESO community. There was widespread discussion and consultation with the veteran community about the budget measures raised in the bill. We know, as I am sure you would be aware, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the ex-service community has some very skilled practitioners who know how this legislation works and are free to raise concerns about these measures—which has not happened to date.

The compensation offsetting provisions, despite the comments which have been made, are not about changing the current arrangements; they are about ensuring that the principles of offsetting, which have been in place since 1973, are clear and unambiguous. These measures, quite simply, maintain the status quo. These measures ensure that veterans cannot get compensated twice for the same incapacity. That is widely accepted by the ex-service community. These amendments do not deny or change any existing veterans' entitlements. Let us be very clear about it: these amendments simply clarify and affirm existing arrangements that have been operating under all governments since 1973.

The member for Fadden specifically raised communication with regard to the proposed rationalisation of the temporary incapacity allowance and the loss of earnings allowance in the veteran community. I am pleased to inform the member that there is a communication plan in place. As with any changes to any measure, communication with the veteran community occurs as a matter of course. In addition to the briefing sessions already being provided and having been provided to ex-service organisations nationwide, key strategies will include provision of information to organisations, articles for the Veterans' Affairs Newsletter and updated information on the DVA website. The department will also be writing to veterans who may be affected in order to manage transition to the new arrangements.

I wish to briefly raise three other issues. One of them is funding for the Australian War Memorial. This matter has been raised in this place by a number of opposition speakers, as well as by the shadow minister outside this place and, indeed, in the Senate itself. It needs to be made very clear that this government is now providing funding of an additional $8 million a year, on top of the current $38 million, to the Australian War Memorial budget. That is a 21 per cent increase in its budget. That was done as a result of an examination of its finances, which was undertaken by me and the Minister for Finance and Deregulation at the request of the Prime Minister. We have responded to a very important need to provide additional resources to the Australian War Memorial, yet there has not been one jot of recognition from the opposition of the fact that the government has actually done something well beyond what the Australian War Memorial was initially asking for.

Mr Randall interjecting—

We were not dragged kicking and screaming anywhere, my friend. Let us be very clear about this. This process started at the end of October last year and it is an initiative of this government. We have had the shadow minister walking around the country bleating that, somehow or other, the opposition has forced the government into this position. That is an absolutely ludicrous proposition and anyone who has dealt with or had any knowledge of the Australian War Memorial, the Council of the Australian War Memorial, the staff of the Australian War Memorial and the staff of the Department of the Veterans' Affairs would be able to tell you that that is not the case. But these clowns opposite prefer not to listen. So what we now have is an argument that, somehow or other, we have not provided sufficient resources to the Australian War Memorial for the development of its World War I galleries.

Let me make it very clear: this budget provides $1.7 million for the memorial to scope the full scale of the refurbishment. It may surprise the opposition that, despite the bleatings that we are not providing resources to the War Memorial for this particular purpose, this $1.7 million was precisely the amount of money the Australian War Memorial asked for. We were requested by the Australian War Memorial to provide them with $1.7 million for a scoping study so they could update their First World War galleries. The money has been provided. So let us not have any more cant from the opposition, particularly from the shadow spokesman, on this issue, because it is very clear we are meeting our responsibilities and, most importantly, we are doing it in conjunction with the Australian War Memorial.

The third issue I want to refer to is the opposition's criticism of the government about not providing funding for the centenary of Anzac for the 2011-12 budget. Again, I am at a bit of a loss to understand where the opposition is coming from here. The National Commission on the Commemoration of the Anzac Centenary report, How Australia may commemorate the Anzac Centenary, was presented to the Prime Minister on 28 March 2011. The Prime Minister indicated that the government would respond later in 2011. In the lead-up to the Anzac Centenary, the government has undertaken preparatory work, including the establishment of the Anzac Centenary Advisory Board. I will, hopefully, be making an announcement as to the chair of the board very shortly.

The opposition's commentary on this issue, like so many others in the veterans' community, is another example of creating unnecessary and unwarranted concern. It is a beat-up. The shadow veterans' affairs minister mentioned that the Australia Remembers 1945-1995 program set the standard. He referred to the Australia Remembers program. But he may be interested to know that no funding was provided in 1993-94 budget for that program, which, in the context of time, is comparable to the 2012-13 budget for the centenary of Anzac. There was no money provided in an equivalent year.

Initial funding of $350,000 was provided in the 1994-95 budget, which, in contemporary terms, is comparable to the 2013-14 budget. So let us be clear: we are well ahead of the game. The government will have funding in place well before then for the centenary of Anzac arrangements, and the Prime Minister has requested that we take matters back to the cabinet later this year.

The last matter I wish to raise is military superannuation. The shadow minister is on about this all the time, despite what we tell him. He appears to have a tin ear. This matter was raised by, among others, the member for Fadden, the member for Riverina and the member for Solomon. In 11 years of government, when the now opposition were in control of the treasury bench, in a period of economic sunshine, they did nothing about superannuation indexation—not a jot! They come in here, crying crocodile tears about the need for reform in the superannuation system but, when they had the levers of government, when they were in control of the treasury bench, they did absolutely nothing about it. What they are saying is clearly hypocritical. You had your opportunity, you were in government for 11 years and you did nothing. By the way, the proposal the opposition have put forward—and we saw it debated in the Senate—has not even been properly funded. The real fiscal cost of their proposal was $1.7 billion over four years, with an underlying cash cost of $175 million. It would have increased the government's unfunded liabilities by $6.2 billion.

Furthermore, their proposal was discriminatory. It did not even include the over 90 per cent of current ADF members in the Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme. It deigned to do something about some but not all. Superannuation is a means by which Australians can manage their living standards in retirement. It is not designed to provide a replacement for income earned over a working life. The opposition has been hypocritical in every sense on this issue and on so many others in the area of veterans' affairs.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Administrator recommending appropriation announced.