Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Families can seek a review for a defence award; that was clear. They can seek that review.

No, they can't, and I was clear about that. I think it's very unfortunate that the shadow minister seeks to take issue with something that I was very clear about.

All these issues are ones I've identified as causing a problem with the tribunal, and that's what we have sought to respond to. Some of these issues have been raised by the tribunal. It's why I've looked at what the tribunal had asked Defence to consider and where it had previously sought agreement with Defence for amendments to be made. This is not being led by Defence. These are the issues that the bill is seeking to address. I should say, just to clarify an issue raised by the crossbench, that nothing in the restrictions on who can seek review would restrain someone who can validly seek review from using an advocate or others to assist them in the conduct of that review.

Now, reasonable people may differ—though nothing I've heard from the opposition today has been expressed reasonably. Nothing the opposition has canvassed is actually an argument against the provisions of the bill. At best they may amount to a basis for adjustment. I would hope that the opposition, especially the former ministers that have had responsibility for this area, would want to be constructive in dealing with this issue. I live in hope.

The tribunal has existed for 1½ decades. It is entirely appropriate and reasonable that at this point its operations should be refined and we should ensure that it is fit for purpose in the 21st century. Hyperbolic, rhetorical approaches—based on what are clearly not the facts that apply to what the legislation seeks to do—are not helpful for constructive legislation in this place. It's for this reason that we oppose the amendments that have been put forward by the shadow minister. The amendments put forward by the shadow minister effectively denude the bill of any import in any event. However, I look forward to dealing with the shadow minister, the opposition and all interested parties as the bill moves through the processes of the parliament, where reasonable people may take reasonable approaches to differences of opinion. I commend the bill to the House.

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