Speeches The Hon Danna Vale MP   Minister for Veterans' Affairs Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence Federal Member for Hughes

The Hon Danna Vale MP

Minister for Veterans' Affairs Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence

at the South Australian Annual Congress of the Returned & Services League of Australia

Date: 28 June 2002

I am pleased to be here today and would you like to thank you for your invitation to officially open this Congress.

As you may be aware, it has been a priority for me to attend the RSL's State Congresses in my first year as Minister, and I have been honoured to have had the opportunity to address the Congresses in all States.

More importantly, the Congresses have given me the opportunity to hear directly from you and your colleagues, other members from all parts of Australia, on issues that are of concern to you.

In this year, when we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Defence of Australia, we remember and honour the service of those who were called upon, for the first time, to defend our own shores, our democracy, our freedoms and our Australian way of life.

At the same time, deployments in the Middle East in the War on Terrorism, East Timor, Bougainville, in the oceans to our north and south, serve to remind us that Australians still answer the call to put on the uniform, and serve in defence of those same principles.

The men and women of today's Australian Defence Force continue the fine tradition for excellence amongst the Australian serving personnel.

And the Government remains immensely proud of the way the ADF get things done - and especially gets things done in tough conditions.

As the Prime Minister has made clear many times, the Government has nothing but admiration for the conduct of the men and women of the ADF in a long series of difficult and demanding operations in recent months.

You all know that the White Paper delivered in December 2000 is the cornerstone of the Government's Defence policy, and provides, through the Defence Capability Plan, the blueprint for the development of the ADF over the next ten years.

Importantly, it also provides the most rigorous and enduring commitment on defence spending ever given by an Australian Government.

The Government is also undertaking assessments of Australia's strategic environment and capability needs in light of September 11, and the dramatic events in the war on terror since then, as well as other tasks, such as border security.

However, our strategic priorities remain the same as they were before the attack on New York;

Â· Firstly, to defend Australia from attack; Â· Secondly, to contribute to the security of our immediate neighbourhood, including peacekeeping and helping to defend our neighbours if asked; and Â· Thirdly, to contribute effectively to international coalitions to meet crises beyond our immediate neighbourhood.

That means that Australia will need to maintain and develop a wide range of military capabilities to fight and win - at sea, on land and in the air - in conflicts ranging from low-level peace support operations all the way through to major conventional conflict.

It means that we must continue to enhance our capability to undertake demanding non-combat tasks such as disaster relief, peacekeeping and border protection.

And it means we will need to enhance our ability to respond to a range of terrorist threats. Inevitably, this will require additional resources for Defence.

Whilst there has been a great deal of media comment recently about military hardware and equipment one inescapable fact remains - it is people who make up the Australian Defence Force, and it is people who must remain our priority.

As the Prime Minister stated on 17 February this year, " They do something that nobody else does - they put their lives on the line for us and that's why they deserve an honoured place in our community."

Of course, no group of people know this better than you!

In recognition of this, Australia has built a repatriation system that has evolved with the support of all sides of politics and is now widely regarded as the most comprehensive and supportive in the world.

Of course, there is always more to be done, and I would like to use this opportunity to outline the five broad aims I have as Minister for this term of Government. In this time, I trust I will be able to report progress in each of these key areas to you when I again visit South Australia;

1) Ageing First, the future of Veterans' Affairs policy must inevitably focus on the aged care needs of veterans.

The inter-generational report released by the Treasurer last month has highlighted some of the challenges our ageing population will pose for us as a nation during the next 40 years.

Issues such as the increased cost of medical care, pensions and income support payments need to be addressed. However, as members of the RSL would be aware, these are not new issues in the Veterans' Affairs portfolio.

My Department has already moved to assist older veterans in a number of ways.

Automatic extension of the Gold Card to include all Australian Defence Force veterans with qualifying service once they reach the age of 70 means that all veterans with qualifying service, from World War II all the way through to - in future years - those personnel now serving in the coalition against terrorism, can be assured that their health needs will be met.

Veterans' Home Care provides practical assistance to the veteran community, so that elderly veterans maintain their independence as long as they choose or can.

The response from veterans to this program has been very positive and there are now more than 2,300 members of the South Australian veteran community receiving care and support through Veterans' Home Care.

Choose Health! is encouraging veterans and their families to remain active and independent as they grow older.

An important component of our health promotion program is the Veteran and Community Grants, which support ex-service organisations in helping their members to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Tonight, I am very pleased to present a Veteran and Community Grant of $10,645 to the South Australian RSL, which will be used to run a pilot physical activity program for the veteran community.

The "Active Veterans" program will distribute information to RSL members on the benefits of physical activity and a healthy lifestyle, and support a self-paced exercise program.

The objective is a healthier veteran community in South Australia and I am pleased to be able to lend the Government's support to this program.

So, before I proceed any further, I would invite John Bailey to accept this cheque.

As I said, the delivery of aged care services remains a major priority, for myself and my colleagues, the Ministers for Health and Ageing.

I want to explore how we can better coordinate aged care funding and continue to recognise the 'special needs' status of veterans.

I also intend to focus on further improving case management, home care and the response to the concerns of carers.

Time out program Before I move onto my second area of priority for Veterans' Affairs, let me say that the focus on aged care does not mean a diminished priority for programs to benefit younger veterans.

The government remains committed to programs to assist veterans of more recent conflicts.

For example, this month we have commenced a six-month trial of a new "Time Out" accommodation program for Vietnam veterans.

In South Australia, the pilot is being undertaken in the Adelaide region.

Vietnam veterans facing family break-up will be able to contact the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service to seek short-term accommodation, away from the family environment, to give themselves and their family time to settle down and access further help and support.

The pilot program will be reviewed at the end of the year with a view to possibly expanding the program's reach nationwide.

2) Anomalies My second priority is to focus on addressing any anomalies that remain in the Veterans' Entitlements Act, in the policies of successive governments, and in the deliberations of the tribunals.

You would be aware that I have established a Review of Veterans' Entitlements under Mr Justice Clarke.

The review has been strongly supported by the veteran community, with more than 2,500 submissions so far -addressing, among others, issues for World War II ex-servicemen and women, participants in the British atomic tests in Australia, TPI pensioners and other recipients of the veteran disability pension.

The committee has begun its community consultation phase, and will hold a public meeting here in Adelaide on the 9th of July from 9am at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

These meetings have been useful opportunities for the Review committee to hear first hand from organisations and individuals who have made submissions.

I encourage you to take the chance to attend the Adelaide meeting.

The committee's final report is due to be handed down by mid-November, so that its recommendations can be considered ahead of the next Budget.

3) Defence Personnel My third area of priority, as the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, give priority to retention, recruitment and Reserve service.

One of my biggest challenges is to develop a new, stand-alone military-specific compensation scheme.

A great deal has been said in recent weeks about military compensation, particularly comparisons between the level of compensation available and the big lump sum pay-outs being made to some civilians through the courts.

These are the same payouts that are causing such concern to the community because of the rising cost of public liability insurance.

The appropriateness of big lump sum payouts is being pursued by all levels of Government.

I am pleased that the Federal Government has already taken action by introducing into Parliament legislation to encourage the use of structured settlements to compensate accident victims.

Structured settlements involve compensating seriously injured persons with regular payments over their lifetime rather than as a one off lump sum.

They give injured people greater security about their future income and their capacity to meet ongoing medical expenses.

The Federal Government's Taxation Laws Amendment (Structured Settlements) Bill 2002 will provide an income tax exemption for annuities and deferred lump sums paid as compensation to seriously injured persons under structured settlements.

And I welcome the Labor Party's support for this important Howard Government initiative.

On 30 May the Opposition Leader told journalists at a doorstop interview that "one of the things the Commonwealth should be doing is arguing for structured settlements to spread the payments over the person's life so that it's not the lottery through lump sums".

I am pleased that we have this bipartisan support for efforts aimed at providing lifetime financial security for people entitled to compensation.

Similarly, our commitment to a new military compensation scheme is not intended to pursue the question of lump sums.

Our objective is to deliver a scheme that provides an appropriate mix of compensation and rehabilitation to meet the needs of any Australian Defence Force member who is injured in the course of their service. It will be based on the MCRS, but include elements currently available under the VEA.

The Opposition and ex-service organisations have been provided with briefings on the new scheme proposals and have indicated their in-principle support.

The plan is to have a draft of new legislation available later this year for formal consultation before the Bill is taken to Parliament. Currently, ESOs, including the RSL, are involved in a working group looking at how the two schemes can be melded.

4) DVA-Defence Links My fourth priority is to build upon the project begun by Bruce Scott to create closer cooperation between DVA and Defence.

At present, some worthwhile activities have already been implemented:

Â· transferring administration of the Military Compensation and Rehabilitation Service to DVA;

Â· the establishment of the new Transition Management Service for ADF members discharged on invalidity grounds; Â· the establishment of the joint Medical Advisory Panel; and Â· progressing the proposal for a Centre for Military and Veterans' Health.

These projects involve change. My priority is to make sure that it is change for the better, change that improves the services available to current and former servicemen and women.

5) Commemorations Lastly, Commemorations remains a central focus.

Eighty-three years ago today, Prime Minister Billy Hughes signed the Treaty of Versailles for Australia.

Australia's place at the ceremony that officially ended World War I highlighted its new place on the world stage, a place earned by the service and sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of Australians who served between 1914 and 1918.

Men like Corporal Phillip Davey, born in Goodwood, South Australia, who on this day in 1918 earned the Victoria Cross for his valour at Merris in France.

Corporal Davey was a member of 10th Battalion in the 3rd Brigade. When his platoon commander was killed by heavy fire, Corporal Davey single-handedly attacked and captured the enemy position, and held off a counter-attack until being seriously wounded.

Our nation has been built on the courage and determination of such Australians. It is vital that we honour those sites around the world where these men and women have served, and all too often given their lives in that service.

That is why the Federal Government, with support from the veteran community and the Australian people, has strongly opposed any relocation of Australian war graves on the Western Front as part of the proposed development of an international airport in the Somme region.

The French caretaker Secretary of State for Transport has announced that he will seek a review of the airport plan and recently stated that he intends to introduce a new consultative process to ensure all interested parties are heard.

These are welcome developments, but following the recent parliamentary elections, we will have to wait for the finalisation of the new French Government before we can confirm its position on this issue.

The Australian veteran community can rest assured that we will not be letting this matter drop until we have an assurance that our war dead will be left undisturbed.

At home, it is doubly important to ensure that we remember and honour those who have served us so well in wartime.

I was pleased to note an announcement by the South Australian Government that it is reviewing the situation of war graves and historic graves that currently are covered by limited leases of 25 to 50 years.

I wrote to Premier Rann last month to ask him to support a legislative change that would give the relatives of fallen servicemen buried in South Australia the assurance that their graves will be maintained.

Without this assurance, families of Australian who died in the service of their country would face the prospect of having to relocate their graves at some time.

I am pleased that the Premier has moved to address this situation. I will watch with interest the progress made and look forward to seeing a long-term solution to protect these graves.

Closing comments

Let me conclude by making a commitment to you. The Australian Flag will not be changed while I am Minister.

I am pleased to be part of a Government that has already taken steps to protect the Flag from those who want change. I know how important our Flag is to every one of you, and to your mates who didn't come home.

One of the first pieces of legislation passed by the Howard Government, was legislation to protect the flag. The flag cannot be changed by any political whim. It is now protected by the Flag Amendment Bill passed on 24 March 1998.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for your attention. I wish you well in your deliberations and let me say that my office is always ready to hear your views.

It is now my pleasure to declare this RSL Congress officially open.



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