Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the House. The 12,620 petitioners there were gathered in a very short space of time by a network of people who did it by email, telephone and fax. I received emails and telephone calls of support from all over the world—from Canada, Chile, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Ireland. I got well-wishes from people who were on the road and were not able to download the document or email or fax it back to me. These people have done this in a very short period of time. They take their work very seriously. I ask that their wishes on this Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefit Scheme are taken very seriously.

Since 1972, when the Whitlam government brought it into consolidated revenue, it has only been indexed to the CPI when the pensions of everyone else have been indexed to the CPI or male average weekly earnings and the cost of living index. Slowly but surely the DFRDB recipients have fallen further and further behind.

Some people have said that this is an additional expense to the government. It is not because all it is doing is catching up where they have been missing out. So it should not be viewed as an expense but be viewed as just bringing them back onto line. They are not asking to be compensated for the nearly 40 years that they have been short-changed. They are just asking that from now on those people left on the DFRDB and associated pensions are brought together and spoken to as real people.

The previous member for Herbert, Mr Peter Lindsay, said his greatest failing and his greatest sorrow was that during his 14 years as the member he was never able to get this up. It is not just this government that has let our veterans down but a lot of parliaments all the way back, including this one. The issue goes back to the governments led by Mr Whitlam, Mr Fraser, Mr Hawke, Mr Keating and Mr Howard as well as the Rudd-Gillard governments.

I ask the parliament that we do take this very seriously when it does come through the House and that we do stand up and support our veterans and support the people who have served a minimum of 20 years in the Defence Force to qualify for this pension. I have said before in this House—and I will say it again—that we in this House, on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day and every other day that we can get in front of our veterans, stand up proudly and let their bravery and service to the nation wash over us and reflect the glory. But when we get behind closed doors we do not back that up and support our DFRDB recipients when it comes to actually paying up the cash. That is what they find most troubling. I get on very well with just about everyone in the Defence Force community and all they ask is to be treated fairly. If they were asking for something more than someone else was getting, they would understand, but they do not ask for more than anyone else is getting. They are not asking to be treated differently or any less seriously than any other person in the community. All they are asking is that they be brought in line.

I do urge the government to send the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill 2011 to a Senate committee and that they get it in front of veterans' organisations such as the Defence Force Welfare Association. I ask that they take their words very seriously. These people have a lot to offer. They know more about the act than we ever will because they are subject to it. I commend the bill to the House.

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