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

Members of the Australian Defence Force do a fantastic job. Some of our veterans may be wounded, injured or ill because of their service, and businesses do a great job in supporting these veterans. These businesses that contract to a government department have every right to expect to be paid in a reasonable timeframe, but this government is failing to ensure that these cleaners, gardeners and home-service providers, who do important work in supporting our veterans, are getting paid. My office has been inundated with messages from veterans and these service providers because the situation is creating extreme angst in the veteran community.

One veteran of 40-plus years has told me he may lose his yard maintenance provider because DVA has failed to pay its bills. A cleaning provider has told me it suffered months of nonpayment from DVA and is now forced to consider suspending its services. A local mowing franchise says thousands of dollars in unpaid invoices is making it increasingly difficult for small businesses to support these veterans. No veteran should lose their support services, and no veteran should have this angst imposed upon them. These small businesses shouldn't be put through financial hardship. I call on the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to immediately resolve this issue.