Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset of my contribution to this private senator's bill, the Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment (Expanded Gold Card Access) Bill 2015, I would like to acknowledge and thank current and past service personnel for their service to our nation. Australia does indeed owe them a great gratitude. I had the privilege last year of spending time with some of our service personnel in both UAE and Afghanistan through the parliamentary defence program and got to witness firsthand the incredible work they do every day in representing our country in that part of the world.

I would also like to acknowledge Senator Lambie in bringing this bill forward. Since she has been in the Senate, she has shown incredible dedication to veterans affairs issues. I know she has a deep and personal connection to those issues. She has made contributions in relation to that a number of times in this place. Despite the differences that some of us in this place may have with some of the policy positions she may bring forward, I think we need to respect her for her dedication to veterans affairs issues and for her advocacy for service men and women in this place.

The former Minister for Veterans' Affairs has stated that the government does not currently have a policy to expand access to the gold card. So, on 10 November last year, Senator Lambie gave notice that she would introduce the private senator's bill that is currently being debated. The purpose of the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment (Expanded Gold Card Access) Bill 2015 is to amend the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 so that all veterans, including peacekeepers and peacemakers or former members of Australian Defence Force, who have served in war or war-like operations, and for related purposes, are provided with a Department of Veterans' Affairs gold card and its associated benefits.

At present, I understand there are three categories of DVA health cards, depending on service and medical needs: the orange card, which is pharmaceutical only; the white card, which is for specific conditions; and the gold card, which is for all clinical health needs. The gold card, the DVA health card for all conditions, entitles the holder to DVA funding for services for all clinically necessary health-care needs and all health conditions, whether they are related to war service or not. The cardholder may be a veteran or the widow/widower or dependant of a veteran. Only the person named on the card is covered.

The white card, the DVA health card for specific conditions, entitles the holder to care and treatment for accepted injuries or conditions that are war-caused or service related; malignant cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and/or depression, whether war-caused or not; and the symptoms of unidentifiable conditions that arise within 15 years of service, other than peacetime service.

Services covered by a white card are the same as those for a gold card but must be for treatment of war caused or service related accepted conditions. The card also entitles the holder to transport related to treatment and access to the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the RPBS, for their accepted conditions.

The orange card, the DVA health card for pharmaceuticals only, enables the holder to access the range of items available under the RPBS. The orange card is for pharmaceuticals only, and cannot be used for any medical or other healthcare treatment.

Access to DVA gold cards is currently determined by the nature of service and incapacity of a veteran, their widow or widower or their dependents.

There is no greater responsibility than the protection of Australia's interests, and that comes with the responsibility to care for and support our servicemen and servicewomen and their families. This includes the responsibility to honour the sacrifice that, in many sad instances, their families have made in losing a loved one, by ensuring that their husbands, wives and children receive the support they need and deserve.

Labor has a strong record of achievement in the important policy area of veterans affairs, based on justice, respect and recognition. While those opposite often claim to be the champions of ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen and their families, in reality they do not have the single claim to be the custodians or defenders of our former servicemen and servicewomen of our veterans community.

Labor has delivered a whole series of reforms in this important space—reforms that mean investment, that mean stronger commemoration of our military history, and that mean there are practical solutions delivering real benefits for our veterans, war widows and orphans, every single day of the year. The history of Labor's commitment to supporting war widows, for example, began in 1914. Under former Labor Prime Minister Fisher the War Pensions Act was introduced in the wake of the breakout of World War I. The War Pensions Act ensured that a pension was granted upon the death of members of the Defence Force of the Commonwealth and members of the Imperial Reserve Forces resident in Australia whose death was the result of service. This was the first of many measures over the years to ensure that ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen, war widows, widowers and war orphans were provided with the support and respect they deserved.

More recently, this has included the move to the triple indexation of aged, service and widows pensions, in 2009. In September 2009 the Pensioners and Beneficiaries Living Cost Index was added to the CPI and the Male Average Weekly Earnings Index as an indexation factor for income support payments. Under this system, aged, service and widows pensions are indexed in line with the highest of these three factors. Linking pensions to three indexation factors rather than just CPI ensures that payments keep up with the cost of living. During this same period the former Labor Government introduced the Seniors Supplement, which assisted eligible gold card and Commonwealth seniors card holders with everyday costs such as water, electricity, rates and internet bills.

In the 2013-14 budget, over $12.5 billion in funding for the veteran community was assigned by the Labor government, including some $6.8 billion in pensions and income support and $5.6 billion in health services, together with $85 million for commemorative activities, which are of extraordinary and lasting importance. The Australian system of providing financial and medical assistance to veterans, war widows and war orphans is currently one of the best in the world and Labor intends to make sure it remains that way.

We all know that the face of our veterans community is changing. The recent draw down of forces in Afghanistan and over a decade of operational deployment on peacekeeping missions has greatly increased the number of young veterans. It is vitally important that government services and policies adapt to ensure we can meet the needs of an aging veterans population and the growing number of young veterans at the same time.

Through research and experience we are also gaining a greater understanding of the mental health needs of our veterans and their families, whatever their age. Labor understands the importance of getting it right when it comes to mental health. Whether that has been conducting the Vietnam Veterans Family Study or investing an additional $26.4 million in expanded mental health services and expanding eligibility for treatment, the former Labor government made the mental health of our veterans a priority. And we are very pleased to see that work on expanded access to mental health services continue under this government.

But at a time when the demographics of the veterans community is undergoing so much change, and where the necessity of getting our response to those changes right, the Abbott and Turnbull governments have seen numerous cuts to veterans entitlements, starting with those proposed by the Abbott government in its 2014 budget. One of the key concerns coming out of the 2014 budget was the proposal to introduce CPI-only indexation for aged, service, war widow and widower and disability compensation pensions. This measure would have seen the pensions of some 280,000 members of the veterans community lose as much as $80 a week over 10 years. That is incredibly shameful. Having introduced the triple indexation system in 2009, Labor understood that CPI is rarely the highest indexation factor and, alone, it is an outdated and unfair method to keep payments up with the cost of living. As a result, we stood against this measure in the parliament and prevented its passage through the Senate on no fewer than two occasions. This measure has now been dropped in a significant win for former and current service personnel thanks to the stalwart advocacy of ex-service organisations and seniors groups.

Despite the positive outcome on CPI only indexation, many of the measures contained in the 2014 Abbott budget continue to remain in place under the Turnbull government and we now face new measures contained in the 2015 budget. Changes to disability back pay which represent a loss of up to $8,400 for special rate recipients are still very much on the table. We also spoke out strongly against the cessation of the seniors supplement, assisting veterans with the cost of energy and telephone and internet and rates and water and sewerage expenses. Sadly, this measure has now been implemented as a result of a deal done between the government and the Greens at the time.

The government has closed a number of VAN offices across Victoria and New South Wales. In addition, the government has committed to reviewing the leases of VAN and VAN-like offices as their leases come close to termination. This raises significant questions regarding how many closures we could end up seeing in the future. While I agree that social media and internet resources are an important resource for reaching out to our younger veterans, for many the face to face support and advice offered by VAN officers remains an important point of contact for many veterans, no matter what their age.

The 2015 budget also saw the extension of a pause on the indexation of dental and allied health provider fees. I believe that looking after our veterans community also means supporting those who loyally provide essential services to veterans and their families. There already exists a disparity between mean fees and government rebates when it comes to providing these services, up to 25 per cent in the case of dental services. I do not want to see services to veterans suffer as a result of unbearable market pressures, and Labor will stand opposed to this measure as a result.

Finally, and most recently, the new changes to pensions will see the part pensions of more than 10,000 veterans reduced and some 2,800 cancelled.    We are committed to working cooperatively on responsible saving but we cannot support measures like this which unfairly and disproportionally impact the most vulnerable sections of our community. We hope to see a more positive outcome for the veteran community in the 2016 budget, which we know is not far away, but at this point in time I am not holding my breath.

Labor acknowledges the success that Senator Lambie has had in the very important task of highlighting veterans' issues here in the parliament, and beyond. As I said at the outset, despite the views of those opposite about policy put forward by Senator Lambie, I think we owe her gratitude and respect. She has been a tireless advocate in the area of veterans affairs issues. She made it very clear in her first speech that she would be, and she has lived up to that commitment.

It is an important fact that more than 60,000 Australians have served on operations overseas in the ADF since 1999. This new generation of veterans are already presenting the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and all of us, with new challenges. These new challenges include post-traumatic stress disorder; the transition from ADF to civilian life, equipping our veterans with the skills and support they need to be successful outside of the Australian Defence Force; and a strong system of care and benefits that are targeted and effective and deliver value to both the veteran and the taxpayer.

According to data provided by DVA, increasing access to gold cards under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to all veterans who have served in 'war or war-like operations' and their widows/widowers and dependents would cause the number of gold cards issued to rise from 16,187 to 62,285 as of 1 July 2016. This proposal would have an ongoing impact that extends beyond the forward estimates period. Labor believes in a strong system of benefits and entitlements for our veterans and their families as a sincere way of demonstrating our gratitude for the service they have provided to our country. I hope I have outlined some of the ways in which Labor when in government delivered exactly that—the way we delivered that sense of gratitude for their service through all of the budget measures that we took over the years that we were in government. We were serious about providing support in the policies we implemented in return for their dedication.    Labor has an outstanding record of accomplishment in this very important area of public policy. Labor has built on this record by opposing those unfair measures contained in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 budgets which impacted on our veterans' community.

Access to DVA gold cards is currently determined by the nature of service and incapacity of a veteran, their widow/widower or their dependents.    This is in recognition of the different levels of service given by veterans and the sacrifices they have made for our country.    The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade is currently conducting an inquiry into the mental health of ADF personnel who have served, and is considering transition arrangements out of Defence, the level of health and support services available and its impact on the mental health of our veterans. I understand the committee is due to report in the coming weeks, and we will carefully consider the recommendations of the report when they are released. I look forward to that and I look forward to the ongoing work that this parliament needs to do when it comes to veterans affairs. These are incredibly important matters. I thank Senator Lambie for her ongoing passion, commitment, understanding and dedication to veterans affairs issues and for the support she provides to so many veterans in our community in Australia.