Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As Senator Gallagher has already mentioned, Labor knows that our veterans need more assistance. While the changes being proposed today are relatively modest at best, as foreshadowed by my colleagues earlier, we will be supporting this bill on the understanding that it is a positive step in supporting those who have served our nation. There can be no greater undertaking that a citizen can pursue for their country than to put their life in danger to see its interests advanced abroad and to secure the safety of their neighbour. I'm certain that those who sit with us in this chamber who have undertaken to provide such service to their nation will attest, with their own personal experience, to the sacrifice that is involved. It is a sacrifice that is made gladly but a sacrifice nonetheless. As those who sit in this place with the responsibility of providing for these dedicated men and women post service, it is incumbent upon us all to never forget the solemn debt we owe these Australians. Indeed, some may say this debt is one we can never hope to repay, yet it falls to us to do whatever little we can to strive towards this most noble end.

This bill contains some commonsense changes that will simplify and streamline assistance to veterans. It addresses recommendations that were made by David Tune's 2019 review. Exempting disability payments from income testing, as proposed by this bill, will simplify the payment arrangements for many veterans and dependants—around 14,000. It will also increase access to rent assistance for many in the veterans community; around 7,000 veterans and their dependants will benefit. While any measure that helps our veterans is certainly welcome, it is hard not to see this proposed legislation as somewhat tokenistic when TPI veterans are asking for an increase in their payments.

The Australian Federation of Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Ex Servicemen and Women highlighted that the government's rent-assistance changes in response to the Tune review benefited only 10 per cent of veterans. They rightly argued that all veterans relying on TPI payments need a substantial increase. In response to the TPI federation's concerns, Labor initiated an inquiry into the payment, which recommended an increase, but the government has refused. This has left many of us wondering why the coalition government continues to ignore the Senate inquiry's recommendations with regard to increasing such payments. Why is it that the Morrison government is ignoring calls from our veteran community to increase these payments? Deep down, many of us already know the answer to these questions. Put simply, it's because this government thinks it can simply walk away from the problem. The coalition appears to view our veterans, particularly those who are struggling through no fault of their own, as just another political problem, just another topic to spin an answer to until the news cycle moves on, or until the election. We must condemn this government's refusal to accept the recommendations of the bipartisan Senate inquiry. It's an insult to the 27,000 Australian veterans who depend on TPI payments.

This government is so caught up in crisis after crisis that it has forgotten why we're all here. We're here to serve the Australian community. While we will of course have different ideas about how to solve the problems that our country faces, surely we can all agree that our national government must provide more support for those who served their country and their families and who have made the sacrifices defending our rights and liberties. Unlike the Morrison-Joyce government, Labor treats the concerns of our veterans seriously—not as a political problem to be dealt with or managed. No matter the political challenges, no matter what other priorities a government may have, we must always put the welfare of our veterans first. We had a unanimous recommendation from the bipartisan Senate inquiry this year to increase the TPI payment. But every day that has passed since is just another day that this Prime Minister and his government has ignored our veterans.

We are glad that the pressure from Labor and the TPI Federation has pushed the government to bring this rent assistance measure forward from their original commencement date of 20 September 2022 to 1 January 2022. While, as I said, these measures are welcome and have Labor's support, it must be recognised that there is still much more for us to do in this place to improve the welfare of our veterans in this country.