Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I take exception to the member opposite's comment. A person who has never sought a single briefing from me on veterans' issues is now calling me a fraud. That's outrageous. I take exception to that comment. Thank you for raising the point. You've never raised a single veterans' issue with me. Not one. How long have you been here? Not one veterans' issues have you ever raised with me.

I look forward to responding to the issues in relation to the staff employment details. As members on this side of the House indicated, this year's budget saw a very significant investment in additional support for our veteran community, with an additional 440 APS staff to be employed to assist in the time taken to process claims. There is no question the time taken to process claims has been an issue of concern for the Department of Veterans' Affairs and for me as minister for many months—in fact, for more than a year now. What we've seen is a record number of people coming forward to make claims, which is a positive, because veterans are actually seeking support when they need it, and the challenge now for the government is to ensure that support is provided in a timely manner.

In relation to the wellbeing centres, I can report that, as recently as last week, the Townsville wellbeing centre, The Oasis, was opened in the seat of the member for Herbert. It has taken a great deal of community effort to get to this point. What I would say in relation to the wellbeing centres—and I take the comments of those opposite on board—is that their intention is to make sure they are local solutions to local problems driven by local communities. So it is not a question of Canberra saying, 'This is what every wellbeing centre is going to look like.' We will work with those communities based on need to ensure we are delivering services in the communities for the families and for the veterans when they need it.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

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