Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (MRCA Supplement) Bill 2011, and I will confine my comments to the bill, unlike the clearly rattled minister who has been reduced to shrill and completely out of context personal commentary during his recent speeches—and I think we all think it is really a bit sad to see him behaving like that.

The coalition supports this bill and my remarks will be brief. This bill will clarify arrangements for payment of war widows pension payable under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. The need for this clarification has arisen from the changes made by the Labor government's Harmer review of pensions and will ensure that an inadvertent overpayment of some allowance is not made. This is largely a housekeeping bill which the coalition will not seek to delay.

Next Thursday, 30 June, a lengthy public consultation period will close regarding the Campbell review of military compensation arrangements. I hope the government acts swiftly to consider the views expressed through this process. This is a significant review. Whilst it is almost 12 months late being delivered, it is comprehensive and a credit to its authors. It is the first review into the operation of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The act has withstood fair scrutiny. The recommendations for change are modest. I am optimistic that the government will accept recommendations which will improve the outcomes for veterans with multiple eligibility and who may be negatively affected by current compensation offsetting arrangements. These proposed changes are supported by Defence and DVA to address unintended consequences of the initial arrangements for compensation offsetting.

However, I note with concern that Treasury, Finance and the Department of Workplace Relations believe that 'no-one is financially worse off' under the present scheme and they therefore support the status quo. The veteran and ex-service community do not hold this view, and neither does the coalition. The veteran and ex-service community, together with the coalition, will continue to lobby the government to implement changes which would ensure that Danna Vale's 2003 declaration lives on. As Danna Vale, the previous veterans affairs minister, said:

A member who suffers an injury or illness [after 1 July 2004] will be able to combine prior impairments from the SRCA and the VEA with the new arrangements to get the best possible outcome.

The best possible outcome is what we must give our veterans under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. There is more to be said about the issues in the veterans' affairs portfolio and the MRCA review, but I plan to do that on another occasion. I commend this bill to the Senate.

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

The amendments in the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (MRCA Supplement) Bill 2011 make minor amendments to the MRCA supplement provisions in the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. The MRCA supplement was introduced as part of the secure and sustainable pension reform package.

It replaced telephone allowance and pharmaceutical allowance from 20 September 2009. The changes in this bill will ensure that the wholly dependent partner of the deceased member who died before 20 September 2009 can receive the former pharmaceutical allowance component of the MRCA supplement where the wholly dependent partner has chosen to take a lump sum compensation payment.

Further amendments will ensure that persons receiving MRCA supplement under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act cannot receive an equivalent payment under the Veterans Entitlements Act or the Social Security Act. These amendments give effect to the intended policy in relation to MRCA supplement and ensure that members, former members and dependents receive their correct entitlements.

Question agreed to.

Bill read second time