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

The Labor Party supports the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill. It is something that the Labor Party instigated when in government. In 2009 Labor initiated and completed the review into our military compensation and rehabilitation agreements under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. The government accepted 96 of the 108 recommendations. Some of these recommendations are being implemented in this bill. The purpose of this bill is to make technical corrections to the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act regarding the making of transitional impairment calculations. More importantly, these corrections will have a neutral or positive impact on the recipients. No veteran will be worse off under this bill.

The Australian community is justly proud of its victims and ex-service men and women. They have served proudly in the finest tradition of the Australian Defence Force, and the parliament should be doing all it can to support our veterans. We will certainly continue to work with the government to do this. I do note, however, that the Abbott government has taken steps in its first budget that unfairly target veterans. I am not going to go into that today but I urge the government to reconsider its actions. Veterans not only deserve our respect—they deserve our support as well.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Conroy for his contribution and the opposition for their support of this important piece of legislation, the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill, which will maintain or increase transitional permanent impairment compensation payable under a number of schemes to veterans. I commend the bill to the chamber.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.