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

I rise to address Labor's support for schedules 1 and 3 of the bill. Labor also supports the government's proposed amendments that would ensure that schedule 2 of this bill does not proceed at this point in time. In light of the government's decision with respect to schedule 2, the opposition will not be moving the amendments to the bill circulated on sheet 7753 and 7754 at this time.

Schedule 1 of the bill will affect changes that will enhance the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme, or VVRS, and the Veterans' Entitlements Act. This will mean that an amount equivalent to the permissible earnings for special and intermediate recipients will be disregarded for VVRS participants when determining whether the person's reduced daily pension amount should be increased and will give them the same benefit from permissible earnings as is received by a non-participant of the VVRS.

Schedule 2 of the bill was intended to streamline the appeals process into a single pathway for a reconsideration or review of an original determination under chapter 8 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.

Schedule 3 of the bill will expand the war graves regulation-making power under the Defence Act 1903 to include graves of service dependants buried in Terendak Military Cemetery in Malaysia.

As we said, Labor supports schedules 1 and 3 as sensible and welcome measures, but it does, however, have concerns with measures proposed in schedule 2. The goal of improving the manner in which determinations of the Department of Veterans' Affairs are managed was identified in an important report undertaken by the previous government—namely, the Review of military compensation arrangements. The review was accepted by Labor's former veterans affairs minister, the honourable Warren Snowdon, in May 2012. While this report was cited by the current government as justification for schedule 2, we would do well to recall the report's recommendations. In particular, I draw senators' attention to the following parts of the report:

17.91 If no cost awards are available under the single path, members pursuing claims for peacetime service (who do not have access to merits-based legal aid) are put at a disadvantage. Currently, the availability of the second path allows this to be taken into account.

17.92 Implementation of a single path would therefore require rethinking the current position in relation to costs and legal aid.

… … …

17.94 However, the Committee’s preference is to have a full costs jurisdiction for all MRCA applicants at AAT level. This would allow legal and other representatives to assess the merits of cases and pursue them on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.

Labor's then Veterans' Affairs minister, Mr Snowdon, accepted the report's recommendations as they pertained to establishing a single appeals pathway for our veterans. Labor continues to support the ideal of establishing a single appeals pathway for our veterans, but that single appeal pathway must achieve certain key policy goals. It must be fair. It must present both the DVA and individual veterans with the opportunity of procedural fairness. It must be appealable on fair terms. It must aim to lessen the time that veterans spend bogged down in an appeals process. Labor is not convinced that these important goals have been met in schedule 2, as presently drafted.

We thank the Minister for Veterans' Affairs for his constructive approach with this bill and willingness to listen to the concerns of Labor, the crossbench and other stakeholders. We commend the course of action to the chamber.