Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I will take that interjection of 'shame' because that is exactly what it is. I will give those opposite some free advice: if they want to save $250,000, they could sack their mate Tim Wilson from the Human Rights Commission or, better yet, just cut Ziggy Switkowski's salary down from four days to three days a week—two simple opportunities—or even not reintroduce knighthoods and damehoods, which appears to be today's priority of Mr Tony Abbott's government. What an extraordinary lack of judgement and priority by this government. It is actually true. He held a press conference and actually said it. On the day that the government wants to take away $250,000 or $215 a year away from the families of veterans, he wants to spend money and time prioritising the reintroduction of knighthoods.

The people of Australia and ADF families will not thank Mr Abbott for this surprise. He promised before the last election that his would be a government of no surprises. If you want to save $250,000, do not take it from the children of injured or killed ADF personnel. These payments are made twice a year and provide funding for unexpected expenses. These payments help with expenses like textbooks, schoolbags, uniforms, school excursions or a new set of shoes for netball or boots for footy.

The Labor Party has long supported ADF families. We have supported them because we understand that ADF members do a tough job. We understand that by supporting their families we ease their burden. Our country takes ADF personnel away from their families for months or years at a time. We ask them to do a tough job in tough conditions. We look after their families so that our ADF personnel can get on with their job without worrying about their wives or husbands and their children they have left behind.

We understand that Defence families do it tough. We understand that while they are away, often in harm's way, their family is at home taking kids to school, paying bills and going to work. Our service men and women do an amazing job. They do an amazing job because they have the support of their family. They do what the government asks of them and they do it without question.

The men and women of the ADF go to dangerous places like Afghanistan, Iraq, East Timor, and the Solomon Islands to defend the security of our country and to help our friends and allies. They go to places like Aceh, the Philippines, South Sudan and Port Moresby to help those in need. Right now, ADF personnel are flying over and sailing through the southern Indian Ocean looking for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which went missing two weeks ago. I would like to take this opportunity to place on record my thanks for the work that they are doing. All of us are proud of their efforts and the work many Australians are doing to support the search mission. This includes not only the men and women of our Defence Force but also the officials of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Federal Labor fully supports their efforts. We are grateful for their efforts and the world is grateful for their efforts.

Sometimes ADF personnel are put in harm's way and they do not come home. Sometimes they go to these places and they are so seriously injured that they can no longer work. Do not these men and women, along with their families, deserve this payment? I believe they do. Labor believes they do and that is why we introduced this payment in government and why we are moving this disallowance motion today.

The income support bonus was not the only support that Labor provided to ADF families when we were in government. We put all the groundwork in place and fully budgeted for the National ADF Family Health Program. This program will provide gap payments for free GP visits for the families of ADF members and provide $400 a year towards specialist health care services. This ensures that the health and welfare of ADF families are being looked after. Labor was proud of this policy and was pleased to see that planning and preparation led to a trouble-free introduction. This policy will cost $103 million over the forward estimates and will provide services to around 71,000 ADF dependents.

Labor is committed to providing the best Australian-made equipment to the ADF and that is why it had a plan to bridge the valley of death. In the shipbuilding industry, Labor had plans to keep thousands of highly skilled workers on the job in the shipbuilding industry by bringing projects forward. This would have ensured that we had the knowledge, skills and infrastructure in Australia to undertake these big projects like the future frigate and future submarine projects, which I know are very dear to Senator Farrell's heart. That would be thousands of Defence industry families that would not lose an income under Labor's plan. This is in stark contrast to what the government are doing now. They are sitting on their hands, they have been in government for six months and all we have heard from them so far are empty promises and empty rhetoric. The minister needs to stand up to his cabinet colleagues and ensure that the valley of death in the shipbuilding industry is bridged so that our shipbuilding industry has a bright future.

I mentioned earlier that I was shocked that any government could seek to take away this small payment to help the children of killed or injured ADF servicemen and women. Perhaps, I should have seen it coming. This is after all a defence minister whose first action as a minister was to cut the pay and conditions of serving ADF personnel in the Middle East, including Afghanistan. The minister cut their allowance to the tune of $19,000 a year and now he wants to cut payments to the kids of ADF veterans as well. This is a disgrace, and the Senate should not stand for it.

This is a government that is happy to stand up in front of Liberal Party banners on Defence Force bases but refuses to stand up for ADF veterans and their children. That is right, Mr Acting Deputy President. Just in case you had forgotten, the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Tony Abbott, stood up in front of a Liberal Party South Australian campaign banner—