Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Lambie. I don't think anyone in this chamber disputes your commitment to our troops, and, obviously, you're former service personnel yourself, and I know that you've got a very deep commitment here.

Of course, the government, in managing its budget, have to make responsible offers when we're undertaking enterprise bargaining or any other form of negotiation with people who are paid by the Commonwealth government. There's a wide range of sectors within the Public Service that are currently in enterprise bargaining negotiations. We always try to put forward what we consider to be a fair offer as a government that does believe in wages being lifted, but we obviously also have to operate within a budget and try to make sure that those are responsible offers that we put forward.

I know, Senator Lambie, that, in addition to the basic pay rates that you're talking about, you've got an interest in issues around recruitment and retention of Defence personnel. You'd be aware that our government have announced a retention bonus for ADF personnel, which would see them receive a $50,000 retention bonus toward the end of their initial period of service if they commit to remain in the ADF for a further three years. That's going to be an initial two-year pilot before being extended based on its results. I recognise that that's not exactly what you're talking about in terms of the basic pay rates to our troops, but we are trying to find ways of delivering fair remuneration for troops in recognition of the service that they provide and the danger that they put themselves in each and every day. So this is something that we'll keep working on, but, as I say, we do need to undertake all of these pay rises within an overall responsible budget strategy.