Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I will say again before I sit down: there is an opportunity for this chamber to do the right thing. There is the opportunity for this chamber to treat 30,000 people, in an indexation sense, no differently from those on the age pension. What is this argument about? When you are confronted with that situation, what is this argument about? Is it petty jealousy on the part of the government because you have not done this—and, because we have done it, you are not going to support it? Is that one of the reasons? Because there is no reason for you not to do the right thing in relation to this matter. None of the arguments that you have put up support in any way your refusal to vote for this bill.

Minister Wong, you have selectively quoted from the Australian Government Actuary's report, but you know what the Australian Government Actuary said about this—exactly what was said. I am not going to go through that today but I invite hon­ourable senators and anyone listening to this, or reading the transcript later, to go and have a look at what the Australian Govern­ment Actuary said. It shows how fallacious this government's arguments are. Thank you.