Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I absolutely reject the propositions put by Senator Keneally in her question. As a government, we've invested over half a billion dollars to implement substantial changes to the Department of Veterans' Affairs processes and their technology, making it both easier and faster for veterans and their families to access services and support. We've seen the number of claims received by DVA double—in fact more than double—over the last three financial years, and that of course requires additional resourcing to manage and that's exactly what the Australian government is doing.

This budget has provided an initial $22.8 million which will fund 90 extra staff to address that backlog of unprocessed claims, and it will be followed by a further investment to continue to improve the veteran claims processing system and reduce waiting times.

As a nation, we have looked very closely at the support we provide to veterans and their families in this country. I want to acknowledge each and every one of them for their service and their families for supporting them as well. (Time expired)