Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence. I refer the minister to his answer yesterday about Australian Defence Force personnel and the government's unfair pay deal when he said: 'They are not worse off.' Can the minister confirm that the government has cut the members with dependents food allowance for service men and women, which is worth $4,900 a year, and replaced it with a one-off payment of $385? How can an ADF member who loses more than $4,500 a year in allowances not be worse off?