House debates

Monday, 24 May 2010

Private Members’ Business

Military Superannuation Pensions

8:21 pm

Photo of Shayne NeumannShayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In my electorate of Blair in South-East Queensland we have many fine organisations of military and returned service personnel—Leagues clubs et cetera. There are many fine people; it is a place where people purchase homes and retire after serving at the RAAF base at Amberley. We honour those military people who have served overseas as well as at the RAAF base at Amberley and at other places throughout Australia. We want to make it plain to them that we support them, and that is why we have done many things to make their lives easier.

In my electorate, for a start, we have Defence housing of a quality that was never seen under the previous coalition government. This weekend, in fact, I am opening some Defence houses in Ipswich. We have provided the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme, which was rolled out on 1 July 2008, helping ADF members and their families to achieve home ownership in a way that the previous government never did. I heard the member for Paterson going on about what they have done. You would wonder what they did in all those years—the Howard years. What would you believe of the vague and obtuse references they made? We made commitments to the veteran community at the last election, and we fulfilled that by undertaking the review.

Mr Baldwin interjecting

Comments

Tony Ryan
Posted on 25 May 2010 8:58 pm

Twenty three years service, retired in rank of Warrant Officer. Entitlement 38.5% of Military Pay at time of discharge in 1981, after contributing 5.5% of pay from age 18 to age 40 at discharge. Indexed to C.P.I. Increase in amount between 1989 - 2008 shown as 68% as against 110% increase in Age Pension over same period. Now that is "unique". We sit and see politicians receive disproportionate retirement benefits regardless of whether they have made any meaningful contribution to our country. Convinced me there is any equity in this.

Tony Ryan
Posted on 25 May 2010 9:52 pm

Last sentence in my post above should read "CONVINCE ME THERE IS ANY EQUITY IN THIS"