Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, they were his own words. The Minister for Defence said:

We know that this is going to be a particularly dangerous mission ...

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said:

... there are reports of shootings, so there is a good deal of danger there.

Yet we have the extraordinary decision to deny warlike service to these 2,600 troops which delivers a saving to the government of $185,000 a day for each day this contingent is deployed. This government spends $185,000 a day on all range of matters. This is a government which can afford to spend next year almost $300 million on government advertising—party-political advertising—yet they are penny pinchers when it comes to giving money for warlike service.

I note that, appropriately, public servants and members of parliament receive a nightly allowance when they travel. For members of parliament that allowance is now $190 a night when they visit Canberra, as the member for Cowan pointed out. We have no problem with that. That is appropriate. Yet we pay somebody risking their life in Timor Leste $78 a day. If warlike service was recognised that would rise to about $150 a day, which would be a much more appropriate level of recognition.

The nation got it wrong in Rwanda. We have not learned from the mistakes of the past. We are now getting it wrong in Timor Leste. We should not wait 10 years to correct that. We should not just support the troops with our words and sentiments; we should support them in a way which matters to them. I know that the soldiers in Timor Leste would not be particularly concerned about the loss of $70 a day. What it is is a matter of principle. It is a matter of showing that the nation actually cares. It is a matter of recognising their service, that it is dangerous and that they are risking their lives. We send them our sentiments and our support. We all join together in doing that. Why don’t we all join together in supporting them in their claim for being recognised for warlike service?

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