Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment (Defence Force) Bill 2016. The purpose of this bill is to create the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act—or the DRC Act, for ease of reference—which will be a re-enacted version of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, or the SRCA. The DRC Act will be a military-specific statute that will provide for the payment of compensation for injuries arising out of or in the course of employment in the Defence Force for personnel employed after 1 December 1998 and before 1 July 2004.

Before I focus on the aspects of the legislation, I just want to touch on the experience I had as part of the parliamentary placement program, which is a great opportunity for members of parliament to engage with members of the ADF in the Air Force, the Army and the Navy, and a chance for politicians to gain a better insight into what goes on. I know that every member of parliament, every MP and every senator who has participated in that program has always learnt a great deal and been nothing but impressed with the professionalism of our ADF personnel.

Recently, I was able to have a look at the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program, the AACAP, in Toomelah in northern New South Wales in Deputy Speaker Coulton's electorate. I was nothing but impressed with what the commanding officer, Major Venz, and his team of engineers were doing in Toomelah—incredible.

With the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program, which has been running for 21 years, we're able to combine expertise for the engineers so they're practising what they will need to do in times of war—hopefully, not something that they will call on—or maybe in times of disaster by working in Indigenous communities around Australia. This program in is a collaboration between the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in its capacity of running the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs department and the Army, with the Army providing the personnel, equipment and resources. In this case, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet made a contribution of $7 million, and the community of Toomelah, about 20 or 30 kays south of Goondiwindi, will end up with an incredible piece of infrastructure—a great community centre, a new multipurpose facility. They're also doing some repairs to the local roads, local community roads and refurbishing the local church and also the football oval. They are working on a greater investment, I guess, by investing in the people of Toomelah, providing some training—some hospitality training, some business administration, first-aid skills, strapping; all sorts of investments—which hopefully will pay off for years and years to come, and I hope will result in recruitment to the ADF of people from the Toomelah community.

I want to congratulate and thank Commanding Officer Venz and all of the engineers and people who showed me around on my visit to the Toomelah Aboriginal community. They even let me drive a grader, which'd be something my grandfather TJ Morris might have been a bit horrified by. It was quite an experience to be up on top of the roof of this new facility, having a look at what they do.

But those are people who are in the ADF right now. The legislation before us—to return to the DRC Act—will not confer any new rights. It mirrors the current provisions of the SRCA. The review of the Military Compensation Scheme conducted in 1999, the Tanzer review, noted the specific conditions that exist in military life and the impact on ADF members.

The MRCA was introduced following the Tanzer review and, consistent with the recommendations from that review, it implemented a more integrated approach to military compensation for those who served on or after 1 July 2004. It covers all members of the permanent forces, all members of the reserve forces—and, just in case a particular activist gets animated, I do declare I have some interest in that. But before there is any concern about section 44 of the Constitution being breached in terms of profiting under the Crown, I can confirm that I've only ever done unpaid service in that capacity. It also covers cadets and officers, including instructors of cadets; persons who hold an honorary rank or appointment in the ADF and who perform acts at the request or direction of the Defence Force; and persons who perform acts at the request or direction of the Defence Force as an accredited representative of a registered charity.

The MRCA legislation was designed to cover all elements of military service. In 2009, the Campbell review recommended a military-specific compensation scheme. It called for a review of the legislative schemes that governed military compensation for service before 1 July 2004. This bill will carve out from the SRCA the workers compensation entitlements of Defence Force members who served before 1 July 2004. It will ensure that Defence Force members will not be impacted by any amendments to the SRCA.

It's important that this parliament and all Australians recognise the unique nature of military service. We know that it is challenging; we know that it causes extra stress. And it is important that Defence Force personnel are compensated for any injuries incurred in the course of their employment. They deserve no less. The work that our defence personnel do is important and dangerous work, whether it be in Toomelah or on foreign postings. We should not be complacent about our defence forces and those who are called to serve. We need to look after them while they're serving and, obviously, we need to look after them when they return.

Similarly, I'd like to mention our Returned and Services League and associated entities and the great work they do in supporting both current and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Force and their families. I have five RSL clubs in Moreton: Sherwood-Indooroopilly, Salisbury, Stephens, Sunnybank and Yeronga-Dutton Park. I've spent quite a bit of time with these clubs and worked closely with them in recent years, particularly on their ceremonies for the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings and a few other community projects. The RSL has a very proud tradition. It is one of our oldest and most respected national organisations, first founded in 1916. As well as supporting and serving our ex-service men and women, the RSL promotes a secure, stable and progressive Australia. We're indebted to them for the services that they continue to provide, not only directly to the returned service men and women but indirectly through the community work they do.

In particular, I have to mention the Sunnybank RSL and their work with the local Chinese community. As the make-up of my community changed, they decided to create a memorial for all the people of Chinese heritage who have served Australia in past wars. The memorial recognises soldiers like Billy Sing and Caleb Shang, who fought in World War I, and Jack Wong Sue, who served for Australia in World War II, to name but a few. Often these people were shot at and put in harm's way but weren't able to vote in the country they called home.

There are many other great stories of courage and bravery from the Chinese Australian diaspora, and they have been commemorated by this memorial. One of these stories is of Private Billy Sing, who was a sniper with the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment. He was a kangaroo shooter from northern Queensland originally, but he went over to Gallipoli and was conservatively credited with more than 150 kills in Gallipoli. He was known to his fellow soldiers as 'the assassin' and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry as a sniper at ANZAC. To this day, the Australian Army snipers recognise the skill of Billy Sing.

The physical memorial was a labour of love for the Chinese community, and it has contributed to stronger links between that community and the local RSL. It's a continuing reminder of the diversity, cooperation, understanding and friendship that exists on Brisbane's south side and also goes a long way to recognising some of the sleights and the racisms that existed 100 years ago, when people were allowed to fight and die for their country but not allowed to own land because they were seen to be not Australian, because they looked Chinese. Whilst there is a physical memorial, there is also an ongoing series of bursaries, where local school students enter into an essay competition, so they own the story and they can tell the story as well as be recognised every year on Anzac Day and the like.

I also point out that the success of the Chinese war memorial has inspired commemoration contributions from other communities, and now the Indian community has a project underway to erect a memorial for the Indian-Australian service men and women who have contributed to Australia's war efforts in the past and are doing so now. In fact, there was a fundraising dinner that I attended with the member for Bonner, who was representing the minister at the table. He spoke about the winning design for this memorial for the Indian community. We saw a mock-up of the winning design. The RSL was present, as were 11 students from Griffith University, who turned up for the dinner. I think it's going to be a great project. I look forward to working with the Indian-Australian community and seeing that memorial completed in due course. Like the Chinese memorial, there will also be bursaries associated with the memorial so that there will be a physical memorial in the grounds of the RSL, but there'll also be a living bursary where students from local high schools will do the research and tell these stories over and over again, which is the way to keep the Anzac tradition alive. It is important, obviously, wherever we can, to show our respect for all Australian servicemen and women.

These memorials, that I mentioned, the Chinese and Indian war memorials, will be a permanent show of respect for these brave Australians. Sadly, some of these men and women may not have been shown the respect they deserved when they were alive and when they were wearing the uniform of the nation that they called home. We have only had protections in our laws from being offended, insulted, humiliated or intimidated on the basis of our race for the last 20 years. It is a reality, but we need to make sure that we work with our RSLs wherever we can to make sure that they are strong, vibrant service organisations that reach out and connect with the former ADF personnel and make sure they have strong connections with their communities.

I wanted to particularly mention the Sunnybank RSL and commend Hugh Polson and his initiative to erect these memorials for the Chinese and Indian servicemen and women. These activities will create greater awareness of the role of all Australians in our history. And, as I said, it will counter some of the racist rhetoric that occasionally gets sprouted in some political quarters. All Australian servicemen and women deserve to be looked after when their service is completed and when they are serving this nation. They deserve to be respected, and I commend this bill to the House.

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