Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Palmer United Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Palmer United Party is deeply concerned and distressed by the Abbott government's decision to shaft Australia's defence personnel with an insulting pay deal. As we all know, the Abbott government is putting in place a pay deal with Australia's defence personnel which will in real terms reduce the take home pay of our Defence Force. The lowly pay deal involves an annual pay increase of only 1.5 per cent, which is below inflation and clearly well below the increasing cost of living. It is a pay deal which is insulting and, I think, unAustralian.

It is a pay deal that according to the Abbott government is absolutely necessary due to our country's budget emergency, and yet our country has just spent upwards of $400 million on the G20 and our country continues to give Indonesia hundreds of millions of dollars each year in foreign aid—and yet Indonesia has a bigger military presence than Australia. Does this sound like a country facing a budget emergency? I do not think so.

And the insults and stupidity do not stop there. Not only is the Abbott government cutting the take-home pay of our military personnel; the Abbott government is also making cuts across the Australian Defence Force in other areas. Leave entitlements and allowances are being reduced. I am not sure whether people quite understand the sacrifices that our Defence Force personnel make for this country, but not only do they put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe; they also live a very challenging life being moved from state to state every few years and being posted away from their families for long periods of time. Serving your country is stressful for a whole range of reasons.

And the cuts do not stop there. Cutbacks are also being made in training and in operations. The Abbott government is shafting the very people who put their lives on the line to keep our country safe and secure. On a daily basis, Australia's defence personnel are involved in dangerous activities. They are involved in front-line action, peacekeeping activities which often do not involve peaceful operations, border protection and security for local and national events. For example, for some six months explosives and bomb experts from the ADF were involved in G20 preparations to ensure the event and all those involved were safe from harm.

The Abbott government thinks it is appropriate to treat the brave men and women of the Australian Defence Force as mere public servants who just happen to wear camouflage clothing and carry guns. The Abbott government needs to understand that, if it was not for the brave men and women of our Defence Force, our country would not be as a safe and secure as it is today.

Other service professionals across Australia are still being given reasonable pay deals, so why is the Abbott government so intent on shafting our Defence Force personnel? For example, the Queensland Police Service finalised a new pay deal in 2013. The Queensland Police Service a pay increase of 2.2 per cent each year. Yes, police services are very important, but why does the Abbott government think that the Australian Defence Force is less important than the police service? I think the Abbott government has taken advantage of the Australian Defence Force because they do not have a union or an independent association to speak out for them. The ADF cannot respond publicly to pay deals, so the Abbott government thought that it could get away with shafting our defence personnel with an insulting pay deal in order to save a few dollars.

The Palmer United Party is determined to see this insulting pay offer reversed. The Abbott government still has a window of two weeks to renegotiate this pay deal disaster and fix this mistake. I call on the Abbott government to put their pride aside, listen to the people of Australia and show our Defence Force personnel the respect they deserve. Improve the pay offer, reinstate benefits and entitlements and say you are sorry. Australia's defence personnel deserve better. They deserve our support. They deserve a better deal. This is a matter of public importance and it needs to be fixed now. Palmer United will continue to lobby the government and keep this issue in the public domain until it is fixed. Together, as a team, working with all involved in this issue with the support of the Australian general public, we can achieve a better result for Australia's Defence Force personnel. My warning to you Mr Abbott is clear: this issue will bring down your government and continue to cloud all government issues and decision making until the Defence Force pay deal is fixed.

Greatness is not achieved by living with mistakes. Greatness cannot be achieved by ignoring mistakes. Greatness can only be achieved by fixing mistakes. (Time expired)