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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-10 Daily Xml
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PENSION SUPPORT FOR VETERANS AND EX-SERVICE PERSONNEL

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite) (12:45): I move:

That this house—

(a) notes the federal coalition's policy to increase pension support for Australia's veterans and ex-service personnel;

(b) commends the federal coalition for committing to increase this pension support from 1 July 2011 so that Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme members aged 55 years or older will have their military superannuation pensions indexed to the greater of the Consumer Price Index, Male Total Average Weekly Earnings or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index;

(c) commends the federal coalition for fully costing and funding this policy; and

(d) joins with the parliamentary Liberal Party in calling on the federal Labor government to immediately match the federal coalition's policy commitment, thus rectifying its broken 2007 election promise to fix this issue

I thank the member for Fisher for his interest in this motion and for allowing it to proceed, because it is a very important motion to do with veterans and their entitlements. It draws to the attention of the house that there is a wide breach between the positions of the Liberal Party and the Labor Party in respect of veterans' entitlements.

Can I say at the outset, as indicated in my Register of Members' Interests, that I am entitled to one of these pensions. I get that on the record now, but I raise it after being approached by veterans and veterans' groups so that the state parliament gives this its attention, as well as the federal parliament, because it is very important to them and to their families.

In essence, the situation is that the federal Labor government and Labor Party generally seek to diminish veterans' entitlements and pensions while expecting them to go and fight for country. The federal Coalition is commended in the motion for offering to increase pension support from 1 July 2011 so that Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme members aged 55 years and older will have their superannuation pensions indexed to the greater of the Consumer Price Index, Male Total Average Weekly Earnings or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index.

The federal coalition is to be commended for that initiative, which has now been taken to a private member's bill in the federal parliament. I am asking in this motion to this house to call on federal Labor to immediately match the federal coalition's policy commitment, thus rectifying its broken 2007 election promise to fix this issue.

There is a private member's bill in the federal parliament, and I would call on this house to agree to this motion and for this motion to then be passed to the federal parliament and to our colleagues on both sides of the house so that they get a message from the South Australian parliament that we want this private member's bill put forward by my colleague the shadow minister (Senator Ronaldson) in the federal parliament passed.

Australia's military veterans and ex-personnel are seeking a federal government commitment to index their pensions accordingly, in the same manner as the aged pension. Last year, at the behest of members of the veterans' and ex-servicemen's community, I committed to raising this issue in parliament on their behalf as a former colleague and soldier. In order to prosecute the case for fair indexation for their pensions, veterans' and ex servicemen's organisations have combined to form an alliance of service and ex-service organisations and have started the Fair Go campaign.

The alliance includes the Defence Force Welfare Association (DFWA), the Naval Association of Australia (NAA), the Royal Australian Air Force Association (RAAFA), the Royal Australian Regiment Association (RARA), the Australian Special Air Services Association (ASASA) and the Australian Army Apprentices Association. The main aim of the Fair Go campaign has been to achieve 'the same indexation formula as the aged service pension, so that our superannuation pension purchasing power is protected over time'.

As it stands, the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefit Scheme (DFRDBS) members aged 55 and older have their military superannuation pensions indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whereas the aged pension is indexed according to the greater of CPI, male total average weekly earnings or the pensioner and beneficiary living cost index.

The federal Labor Party's 2007 election policy, titled 'Labor's Plan for Veterans' Affairs', made much of this issue, and it promised to 'provide a fair and reasonable approach' to resolving this matter. That was in the ALP's federal election policy—'Labor's plan for veterans' affairs, page 10'.

On 26 June 2010, the federal coalition announced a policy to increase pension support for Australian veterans and ex-service personnel, noting that Labor had failed to deliver on its promise. As I mentioned, the fully costed and funded policy committed to increased pension support from 1 July 2011 so that DFRDB scheme members aged 55 and older will have their pensions indexed at the greater of CPI, male total average weekly earnings or the pensioner and beneficiary living cost index. This means that the pension would be consistent with indexation arrangements applicable to the aged pension, as I have mentioned.

According to reports I have read in The Australian by Mr Michael Owen on 21 July 2010, Premier Rann wrote to the new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, four days after the federal coalition released its policy position requesting that her government 'reconsider the matter'. Premier Rann, in a letter, which I am sure was designed to give people the impression that he was fighting on this issue on their behalf, said:

There is widespread and profound disquiet in the South Australian veterans' community about the indexation arrangements in the Australian military superannuation schemes.

He goes on:

I would be pleased to receive your views on this matter and, if the issue can be investigated further, when such an investigation might take place.

I say to the Premier: what have you done? You got the media story up in The Australian, and you got the credit. What have you now done? Based on the lack of action from federal Labor on this, you have done absolutely nothing except seek a media story.

According to Owen's report on 21 July 2010, a spokesperson for Mr Rann stated that no response had been received from Prime Minister Gillard. I understand that he does not have a very good relationship with her but, on this issue, it needs improving.

I call on the Premier to inform the house and the veterans' and ex-service community in South Australia of the following: has he received a response from Prime Minister Gillard to his letter? When did he receive the response? What are Prime Minister's views expressed to him on this matter? Can the issue be investigated further and when will that investigation occur? Finally, did the response commit to matching the policy of the federal coalition?

If the Premier cannot answer any of those questions, then he has done absolutely nothing for the veterans of South Australia except mislead them prior to an election with a media story that gave the impression that he was going to do something.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: Madam Speaker, the speaker just said that the Premier has misled—

Mr Hamilton-Smith: No, I didn't.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: He did.

Mr Hamilton-Smith: No, I said, 'If he hasn't done those things, he would have misled them.'

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: That has to be by way of substantive motion, otherwise it must be withdrawn.

The SPEAKER: Can you just clarify what you said, member for Waite?

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: I said, 'If the Premier has failed to take these actions, then he will have misled the veterans' community.' That is what I said. I made no direct accusation and the Premier can quickly clear the matter up by telling us whether he has taken out the actions he said he would take.

The SPEAKER: Continue, member for Waite. I will not uphold that point of order.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Sadly, I fear, that the Premier may not have received a response to his letter nor that any of his requests have been met by the federal minority Labor government which has specifically ruled out increased support for Australian veterans and ex-service personnel in its 2010 election policy. Page 14 of Labor's election policy states:

As responsible economic managers, given the very significant costs involved, Labor believes that now is not the time for a change in superannuation indexation.

But it is the time for our young men and women in the Australian Defence Force to serve in Afghanistan. It is the right time for them to be serving in peacekeeping missions across the country. It is the right time for their families and their loved ones to be waiting anxiously at home to find out whether their name is going to turn up on the casualty list, but it is not the right time to properly index their superannuation pensions. Well, thanks for nothing, Premier. Thanks for absolutely nothing. It is a disgrace that the Labor Party is failing to recognise their efforts and refusing to index their pensions.

There is a solution; that is, I call on the Premier to inform the house and veterans and ex-service personnel of South Australia whether he has received those responses, and whether or not he will call on the Gillard government to support the private member's bill titled the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2010? This bill amends the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973, so that the pension paid under this act to a retired defence force member over 55 years of age is increased biannually by the greater of the following percentage increases as calculated by the ABS: the CPI, the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) or male total average weekly earnings.

The rate at which the pension increases is known as the indexation rate. Currently, all commonwealth military and superannuation pensions, except for certain parliamentary and judicial superannuation pensions, are indexed by increases in CPI. Now, this bill has been introduced, as I mentioned, by my colleague, Senator Ronaldson, but, to my knowledge, has not at this time been referred to any parliamentary committee. Senator Ronaldson presented the bill in fulfilment of the coalition pre-election promise, to which I have referred, to implement a fair approach to the indexation of pensions. As I have mentioned, currently military superannuation pensions are not appropriately indexed, thanks to the Australian Labor Party.

The proposed amendments in this bill are intended to affect current and future retired DFRDB members over the age of 55 who have commenced receiving their pensions. I understand there will be a similar amendment to include members of the earlier DFRDB schemes. The bill does not affect ADF members of MSBS.

I draw to the attention of the house a media release from the Defence Force Welfare Association, dated 2 September 2010, which welcomes the support of certain Independents for a better deal for military superannuants. The release says:

David Jamison, the National President of the Defence Force Welfare Association and spokesperson for the Fair Go! Campaign, has welcomed the support provided by Bob Oakeshott, Bob Katter, Tony Windsor and now Andrew Wilkie, to change the indexation arrangements for military superannuation.

Missing from that list is the Hon. Nick Xenophon, and I hope that he too comes to the support of veterans in South Australia by supporting the bill. The Defence Force Welfare Association then goes on to argue the case and to call on all members of parliament to support the change.

Now, this is an important matter for veterans, their families and their communities across this state. This house can play a role in influencing the federal parliament towards the right conclusion and outcome. Labor members of this house, by getting on the phone to their federal Labor colleagues, can bring about a change to the benefit of veterans and their families across this nation, if they so choose.

On this side of the house, the Liberal Party and the coalition are of one voice on this issue. We want to see our young men and women, when they return from active service, enjoy the sort of superannuation benefits they deserve and not have, because of cost-cutting and poor fiscal management on the part of the current federal Labor government, their pensions curtailed.

Labor has a chance to make a difference on this. As I have mentioned to the house, the Premier suggested, in his earlier media utterances, that he would do something about it. Unless he can respond to the house and tell us what he has done about it, and unless he can get a result and demonstrate some purchase with the Prime Minister and some ability to influence federal government decisions, then he will have failed. He will have failed, and veterans and their families will have good reason to feel that assurances they were given prior to the state election and the recent federal election, that the Premier would do something about it, have not been delivered upon.

It is up to him and I am sure my address today will be reported to him. I will adjourn this motion and I hope that there will be a response from the government to this motion, so that we can signal to veterans and their families what they want to hear, which is a fair outcome in respect of their pensions and superannuation.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. K.O. Foley.


[Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 14:00]


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