Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank those who have spoken on the Defence Force Retirement Benefits Legislation Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2014 and I particularly thank Senator Fawcett for his fantastic support. I acknowledge the presence of Alf Jaugietis from the DFWA in the gallery. I thank the DFWA for their great support. I intended coming here today to talk more about the bill, but I cannot let go past without comment the contributions from Senator Farrell and Senator Wright on behalf of their political parties. I also cannot go without saying some words about our good senator from Canberra Senator Lundy.

This is a great day for 57,000 military superannuants and their families. This is a great day that has been a long time coming. It is a great day that should have occurred a long time ago. In particular, it should have occurred on 16 June 2011 when, in this very chamber, the very same bill was put to many of those people who are in the chamber today. On that day, the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Greens let down a group of people who deserved better. The veteran community knows full well who was on the fair indexation ship when it set sail that day and who refused to climb on board. The veteran community knows full well those who are trying to run up that rope now to get on the ship of fairness. They will be judged appropriately.

Senator Lines interjecting—

I cannot believe the interjections from someone like Senator Lines. How dare you interject during a speech on fairness! How dare you interject when we are finally giving 57,000 families fairness! You sat there three years ago and voted against it. How dare you come in here now and talk about what you have done!

What you have done is let down a group of people who should have been supported by this chamber three years ago. What you have done is let down a group of people who have done no more and no less than serve this nation at the nation's request.

All they asked for was fair indexation; all you gave them three years ago was unfair indexation when you refused to support the very bill which is in the chamber today. There is no difference between the bill that is in the chamber today and the bill that was in the chamber three years ago when you voted it down. Please do not come in here and cry crocodile tears for those military superannuants. They are undeserving of that sort of contempt. If you had come in here and said one thing, I would have been prepared to accept it. If you had walked in here and said, 'We are sorry for what we did three years ago,' I would not be making the speech that I am making now and I would have said to you, 'Thank you, for acknowledging what you did three years ago and finally saying you let this group of men and women down.' But no, instead, you have come in here with the platitudes, but you have not come in here with the apologies.

I know I speak for the whole of the coalition when I say this, but I particularly speak on behalf of my colleagues Assistant Minister Stuart Robert and the Minister for Defence, Senator Johnston, and I very particularly speak on behalf of this nation's Prime Minister, because this nation's Prime Minister has helped us drive this. It is this nation's Prime Minister who personally took ownership of the fairness debate. I want to repeat the words of this country's Prime Minister—the then opposition leader—on 20 September 2011 at the RSL National Congress:

It has long been to me and my colleagues in the Coalition, verging on the scandalous that defence retirees do not enjoy the same indexation arrangements as other people who have retired.

I have described 16 June 2011 as a day of great shame—a day that this chamber let down those 57,000 military superannuants and their families. It is with pride that I stand here today representing a government that has fought for the delivery of fairness, and it is to the eternal shame of those opposite that they did not have the dignity or the grace to come in here and say sorry.

I signed a clear commitment on behalf of the coalition with the Prime Minister, and that was our commitment to those military superannuants. As my colleagues know, that commitment now has the word 'delivered' on it. We have delivered on this promise. We have delivered on the Prime Minister's commitment. I say to this chamber that this is a great day for this country. This was an election commitment, along with the restoration of BEST funding and other commitments, that this government is proud to keep. We went to the last election saying we would not make commitments unless we were prepared to keep them. This was a firm commitment made to these families. It is a commitment and a promise that has been kept today on 27 March 2014.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.