Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a privilege to follow the member for Hasluck, and I thank her for her service to our nation. In commencing my remarks on the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures No. 2) Bill 2025, I follow the member for Herbert in his contribution. In my short time in this place, I've been inspired by his veteran story. He served in East Timor and Afghanistan, and he talks about his 'alive day', where he was very badly injured by an improvised explosive device, and about his journey to recovery and also his lifelong dedication to helping and supporting veterans in his community. In fact, he's the recipient of an Order of Australia medal for that service. So I think we could have no finer speakers than the two members that I follow in making my remarks.

It is an absolute privilege to represent the veteran community in the Monash electorate. I've worked very closely with a number of RSLs and ex-service organisations, and I just want to acknowledge the outstanding contribution that they make, like Ben Vahland and Lynn Mizen at the Warragul RSL. I had the great privilege of attending the West Gippsland Veterans Welfare Centre opening just a couple of months ago, where Ben Vahland, particularly, has really dedicated a huge amount of time to getting that up and running. In my work with veterans across the region, there have been Christine Thompson, Lindsay Guerin and Kevin Walsh from the Inverloch and Wonthaggi RSLs; Steve Mayes from Moe RSL; and Richie Cunningham and Rod McNabb from Drouin RSL. I acknowledge their service and look forward to continuing to work very closely with them in the pursuit of improving veteran welfare.

I've got my colleague the member for New England, who, of course, is a former veterans affairs shadow minister, and I just want to acknowledge two points he drove very strongly in that time. He made the point that veterans affairs should be a cabinet portfolio. It shouldn't be subsumed into the broader Defence portfolio. Veterans have a unique set of needs and they deserve to have a strong voice around the cabinet table. I also acknowledge his work in putting pressure on the government to progress the implementation of the veterans royal commission's findings and recommendations.

I represent a large number of constituents in Monash who have previously served—in fact, it's 3,560 constituents. As of September last year, we had 1,761 DVA clients in my electorate, 1,294 veterans and 474 family members or dependents. Every one of them relies on the system to work properly. I go to great lengths to assist constituents—whether it's with a Services Australia, Centrelink, issue or any other issue—but one of the greatest privileges is being able to pick up the phone and assist a veteran who has been waiting 18 months for assistance. While it's a great privilege to be able to get something to happen quickly, it really shouldn't take that long. For the remainder of my time in this place, I want to make sure that, as a parliament, we do a better job to recognise the needs and expediate the support that veterans deserve for the sacrifice and the work that they've done in serving our country.

I've met with members of nearly every RSL organisation across the Monash electorate and the message that I consistently hear is that it's never been harder to access services through the Department of Veterans' Affairs. In the short time of about nine months now, I've had over 20 veterans come to my electorate office in Warragul seeking assistance and seeking support because they cannot get the answers that they need or the support that they are seeking through the department. In that context, I want to touch on a couple of things in this bill which should be considered.

The coalition supports the passage of this legislation because it is necessary to progress from the VETS reform framework and ensure the transition to a single, simplified rehabilitation system from 1 July 2026. We supported the royal commission's recommendation to simplify veterans compensation arrangements because having multiple different acts of parliament is complicated enough for bureaucrats, lawyers and politicians. It is so much more confusing and difficult for veterans and their families to try and navigate that, so we support the simplification of narrowing it and making it more user friendly.

The Liberal Party—and the National Party as well—support the objective of a single framework under the MRCA that reduces duplication, improves consistency and makes entitlements easier to understand and access. I've had particular feedback from the West Gippsland veterans welfare group and other veterans, like Rod McNabb, who does an absolutely amazing job. Many of them are volunteers. The Drouin veterans welfare centre was operating for 30 years and had a very small but dedicated army of volunteers that would painstakingly go through veterans claims. But it is incredibly difficult to navigate, and I think anywhere that we can reduce duplication, improve consistency and make entitlements easier to understand and access is a good thing.

This bill contains largely technical and consequential amendments, but they do matter, and my colleague the member for Herbert has made a number of observations. While, at a broad level, the Liberal Party are supportive of this passage, I do think the observations that he's made matter and should be on the record. The technical amendments relate to the ability to clarify and review appeal rights, protect dependent compensation, ensure funeral benefits and education assistance continue seamlessly, preserve non-liability health care and establish clear transitional rules so that veterans are not caught in a legislative limbo, as is too often the case. However, this is now the second miscellaneous measures bill that's been required to fix or complete the government's original reform package, which has taken way too long. They're not new policies; they're operational details that should have been resolved far earlier. I say to veterans in the Monash electorate that you deserve far better.

The Liberal Party will also move an amendment to remove the mandatory notification of the Chief of the Defence Force when a serving member accesses non-liability health care or lodges a Veterans' Review Board application. Care seeking should never feel like a career risk. My colleague the member for Herbert spoke eloquently and empathetically about the balance in making sure that, if there is a serious issue, such as a drug or alcohol dependency issue, the Defence Force is notified for safety and other deployment reasons, but not to the extent that that would act as a deterrent for members of our Defence Force seeking help and mental health assistance. I think there are also some very sound privacy concerns that have been raised in this context. If we're serious about wellbeing and suicide prevention, we've got to be able to reduce those barriers.

We will support this bill because veterans across Australia, particularly those in Monash, who I want to do my very best job for in this role, cannot afford delay. I support the bill but also associate myself with the remarks of the member for Herbert and my other Liberal colleagues. I thank the chamber.

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