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

I indicate on behalf of Labor that we will be supporting the suspension of standing orders. Let's be clear: this would not be happening if the government had done the right thing by our service men and women and this would not be happening if the government had not cut the pay and conditions of Australian Defence Force personnel—that is right, of the men and women we ask to sacrifice everything. They are being asked to pay that price by this mean government and a mean, out of touch Prime Minister who is refusing to pay them properly. It is quite simply outrageous.

Not only that, they are treating those who support better pay for ADF personnel with contempt. I had the honour on Monday to meet Tony Dagger, a father who has a son in the ADF. He started an online petition on Change.org. I urge everybody listening to sign it. In a little over four weeks, this petition has been signed by more than 60,000 people. It is remarkable achievement and a clear indication of the community outrage at the government's decision to cut the ADF's pay and conditions. Did the government accept this petition with good grace? Did the government respect the work and efforts of Tony and his supporters? It may not surprise anyone, but the government did not.

Let me read from the Change.org website, which outlines their experience on Monday of this week when meeting the Assistant Minister for Defence, the minister who talks publicly of how he is running the department. This is what they said on their website:

We (our ADF) are being compared to beer and Asprin.

That is right: the Assistant Minister for Defence was so dismissive of this petition that he said it was not as big as others, in support of beer and aspirin. That was the contempt with which he treated parents of our serving personnel. Quite rightly, they felt insulted and that it was disgraceful. Quite rightly, the petition organisers say that the government is arrogant, ill informed and self-centred. That is the view of the parents of serving personnel after meeting the Assistant Minister for Defence. I repeat this warning to the government that they gave:

We will not go away, and we will be heard.

The Government will ignore us at their peril.

Standing orders should be suspended so we can debate this bill. We hear the community outrage. We hear the concerns coming to us from the ADF and their families. The government had the chance to do the right thing, and they chose to do the wrong thing. Standing orders should be suspended.