Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

There is a consistent thread in the government's approach to ADF personnel issues. I am sad to say that there is evidence of a failure to show regard and respect for ADF personnel—coupled with a chaotic approach into the bargain. Let us examine the history. In October last year, the government put a take-it-or-leave-it proposal to the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal for a below-inflation wage deal for the ADF—with cuts in conditions. A 1.5 per cent per annum offer was made when inflation was projected to be two per cent or more—and a mean-spirited removal of conditions was also offered, including the removal of one day of stand-down at the end of the working year, of extra recreation leave and of food allowance for members with dependants.

The government defended this package vehemently—right up to the point where it didn't! It decided it had made a mistake and the Prime Minister announced on 1 December last year that the government would no longer require the cuts in conditions. Then, in March this year, there was another reluctant and grudging reversal, adding an extra 0.5 per cent to the below-inflation deal—but only backdating it to 12 March and not to 6 November last year, which was the first payday of the new agreement. After the government announced that nugatory additional increase, however, everything went quiet. It took nearly four months until the tribunal confirmed it on 9 June. In that confirmation, the tribunal made some pertinent points, saying that the negotiations 'should not serve as a good precedent for future WRAs' and that, in the past, 'WRAs have tended to be at least equivalent to the CPI'. They further said that 'it could not have been a surprise that the below CPI quantum of pay increase in the WRA would be criticised.' Finally, we now hear that backdating will not take place until 30 July, meaning that, from the Prime Minister's reluctant announcement on 4 March, it will have taken more than 21 weeks for the increase to hit ADF pay packets.

In light of this unhappy history, I have the following questions—and this is with regard to the ADF workplace remuneration arrangement for 2014-17. First, will the minister commit to seeking a review of the agreement once the inflation figures for 2015-16 are known and in the event that the CPI increase exceeds two per cent, bearing in mind that the forecast is 2.5 per cent? Second, does the minister agree that the process followed by the government in the establishment of the agreement should not 'serve as a good precedent for future WRAs', as stated in the decision of the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal—matter 9 of 2014? Third, on 4 March, the Prime Minister said:

In recognition of these unique circumstances, the Government has decided to increase the wage offer for ADF personnel to two per cent per annum, over the life of the agreement, with effect from the next pay day.

Does the minister agree that the Prime Minister said that?

Fourth, does the minister agree that in fact its backdating to 12 March means that the increase per annum is not two per cent but closer to 1.9 per cent—despite the Prime Minister's statement? Fifth, why do ADF personnel have to wait for 21 weeks to receive the additional 0.5 per cent per annum increase announced by the Prime Minister on 4 March? Sixth, does the minister agree that this long wait represents a failure of process on the part of the government?

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