Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Given that this Friday is Vietnam Veterans Day, what historical lessons has the government learnt in creating equitable rehabilitation programs and compensation for veterans transitioning out of today's Defence Force?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, thank you very much for your question. I know personally a number of Vietnam veterans, including my partner's father and many of his friends. Vietnam veterans have taught Australia and Australians a salutary lesson about how we should address rehabilitation, how we should approach the conversation that you have raised. I haven't had the benefit of reading the entire report to which I think you may be referring, but, in the decades that have passed since that time, we have incorporated those lessons and endeavoured to make more responsive the processes that we use and the work that the Department of Veterans' Affairs does. Senator Lambie, you know that it has been an extraordinarily dynamic environment in recent times. We have a growth in the number of ex-service organisations way beyond the days of the RSL, and many of us have watched them grow and supported them in their work and the efforts that they make.

What we do know is: we must have a much more effective transition from Defence to ex-Defence, if you like—from being a serving member of the ADF to being a veteran, who may or may not be supported by Veterans' Affairs, because we are, of course, aware that not every veteran chooses to engage in that way. In that conversation, Minister Tehan and I are working very hard on a much more seamless transition between the two organisations to make sure that nobody leaves Defence without the material and the support they need to function and to provide for themselves in a world outside that environment. That may relate to medical records. It might relate to financial records. It might relate to psychological challenges. It might relate to all of those things combined. So we work very hard to make that transition as seamless as we possibly can.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, a supplementary question.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the government able to tell the veterans community why it has waited for over a decade, and is still waiting, in addressing longstanding inequities such as family law splitting, indexation of special rate pension and the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Lambie. There are a number of outstanding issues, most certainly, between the veterans community and government. Governments of both colours, if you like, have been able to address some of those over time; others have not been resolved. They're matters that I discuss with the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, and for that matter the Prime Minister, on a regular basis. I know that you have brought a number of those to the attention of the chamber and to the attention of the government, and I'm very happy to continue those discussions.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, a final supplementary question.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is it possible that the Minister for Veterans' Affairs' recent comments criticising the performance of the Department of Veterans' Affairs have less to do with the competence of the Public Service and more to do with the inadequacy of ministerial direction?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm not able to comment on the Minister for Veterans' Affairs' particular remarks. I'm not sure to what Senior Lambie is referring, to be honest. But clearly in the operation of government, whether it's the Department of Defence or the Department of Veterans' Affairs, there are things that we do well; there are things that we can always do better. I think it's important for government to be able to acknowledge that, and that's one of the reasons I referred to our efforts to ensure a seamless transition for those who are wishing to leave Defence into the veteran space, whether they are a client of the Department of Veterans' Affairs or not. It is very important for us to acknowledge the service that those men and women have given and what they have given to their country—not just them but their families—and to make sure that we support them as best we are possibly able to in the time after they leave the Defence organisation.