Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. Would the minister advise the House of the recent veterans support package, announced by the government, to further assist our nation’s veterans?

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hinkler not only for the question but for his tireless work for the veterans’ community. He is a terrific advocate for the veterans not only in this parliament but within the Howard government. Last week at the RSL National Congress in Melbourne the Prime Minister announced a comprehensive $330 million package to assist veterans. This package said that, from March 2008, all veterans’ affairs disability pensions will be referenced to both CPI and male total average weekly earnings in the same manner that the service pension is currently indexed. In addition, the general rate table, the table of compensation that is paid for pain and suffering and loss of function, will be increased by five per cent for all of the table from March 2008, and that will benefit some 140,000 disability pensioners. In addition, more than 13½ thousand veterans who receive the extreme disablement adjustment payment, which is for people with profound lifestyle impacts from their service related conditions after their working life, will also receive a fortnightly increase of $15 from March 2008. These are real, substantial benefits for the veterans’ community. Not only were these announcements extremely well received on the night; the veterans’ community has acknowledged and recognised what a terrific package it is, including ‘Blue’ Ryan from the TPI Association. ‘Blue’ is not well at the moment; we wish him well with his recovery.

What we also saw at the RSL National Congress was the spectacle of how Labor is developing its policies. Whilst the Prime Minister was making this substantial $330 million commitment, the Leader of the Opposition and his shadow spokesman were carving out swathes of the Leader of the Opposition’s speech, realising that the package that the Prime Minister had offered was infinitely superior and infinitely more principled and would deliver real benefits beyond the policy that Labor had announced only hours earlier. To hang out the shadow spokesman in the way the Leader of the Opposition did, who was spruiking the ALP policy three hours earlier, only to see the Leader of the Opposition junk half his speech, junk the fourth effort Labor had at veterans’ affairs disability pension policy, to embrace what the government had done was quite a spectacle. Then, some three days later, I found a request to my office from the opposition saying, ‘Can you share with us the detail of the package and the costings and how it actually works—and the projections?’ Is that the action of an economic conservative? I do not think so. They are reckless actions. At least, to the credit of the Leader of the Opposition, he has decided that ‘me too’ is the right way to go when it comes to veterans’ affairs policy.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, you really would have done something!

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Ballarat is warned!

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To so fulsomely embrace what the Prime Minister announced and then ditch the fourth effort of the ALP policy on the run was quite a spectacle to see. I understand why the opposition are unsettled by this. Their $55 million policy lasted a handful of hours—their fourth go at it. But, more particularly, what became clear was just how unprincipled the Labor Party is in going about its policy development. It got it wrong four times, ditched its own policy, less than a day old, embraced what the government was doing and then wondered what it had actually embraced. Is it the kind of ‘echonomics’ we are going to see more of as we go towards the election? Contrast this: the sound, principled leadership of the government; the sound policies; the substantial benefits that are forthcoming; and the costed, credible, committed action agenda of the government versus the reaction and the political spin of the Leader of the Opposition. I think the veterans’ community has every right to be completely sceptical of all that Labor says about this subject—promises on the run. It is not even clear what the policy represents, and that builds on the terrible track record of Labor in veterans’ affairs. We cannot be certain that Labor is not going to change again.

What we can be certain about, as the Treasurer has outlined, is that MTAWE wage related benefits are most beneficial when the economy is strong, when there is strong real wages growth. We do not have to think back very far to remember the period of negative real wages growth under the former Labor government. MTAWE is not worth anything when you have negative real wages growth, as we had under the former government. So my message to the veterans’ community is clear: if you want principled leadership, sound policy, substantial benefits and, above all, costed, credible and committed policy, stick with the coalition; MTAWE benefits will be there, the economy will continue to grow and you will not risk what Labor did to the veterans’ affairs portfolio when they were last in office.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.