Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Army Cadets is a very important activity, which provides leadership, discipline and many other forms of valuable training and experience for young Australians. Army Cadets has a very important presence in my electorate of Bradfield. There are three cadet units in Bradfield: 226 Army Cadet Unit Normanhurst, which includes students from Turramurra High School, St Leo's Wahroonga and other schools in my electorate; Barker College Cadet Unit; and the Knox Cadet Unit, which, as well as the boys from Knox, also includes an encouraging recent development, the girls from Ravenswood.

In total there are over 1,000 cadets in my electorate of Bradfield. That makes a very significant proportion of the total number of army cadets around Australia of some 14,000. The cadets play an important role in the life of the electorate of Bradfield. One of the highlights of the year is the annual Knox Grammar School Anzac Day service, followed by a cadet parade on Knox 1, the school's oval. Unfortunately, these very worthwhile activities are under a considerable threat, thanks to budget cuts imposed by the Gillard government. The Gillard Labor government has made a decision to reduce the cadet forces allowance for staff from 48 days per year to just 33.5 days—a 30 per cent cut.

An internal Department of Defence memo makes it clear that Australian Army Cadets staff will have a reduced time frame to submit pay claims and that all regional and local activities, conferences and camps for cadets will be cut, along with access to ration packs for camp. These issues were first raised with me in a letter from Jack Dalton, a student at Turramurra High who participates in the 226 Normanhurst Army Cadet Unit, who wrote to me saying:

The reason I am writing to you is because of the issue 226 ACU faces with the Defence budget cuts. If these budget cuts go ahead, cadets around Australia will face cuts to their activities, like live shooting and general training.

He goes on to say:

I am basically asking you if there is any way that cadets would be able to avoid the budget cuts.

It is extraordinary that the Gillard government should mount this attack on an activity which is so worthwhile to the development of young Australians. Fourteen thousand cadets around Australia, including over 1,000 in my electorate of Bradfield, are going to have their access to this very worthwhile activity constrained and cut back, because of budget cuts imposed by the Gillard Labor government. I join with my constituent, Jack Dalton of Turramurra High School and 226 ACU Normanhurst, to ask: is there any way the cadets will be able to avoid the budget cuts? (Time expired)