Neville’s Strong Stance on Veterans’ Entitlements Reaps Rewards

Member for Hinkler Paul Neville, who stood his ground in the Joint Party Room on additional benefits for  Australian veterans and most particularly TPI veterans, today said he was delighted with a $267 million  injection into veterans’ entitlements.



The new range of measures involve eight principles:

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ It has exempted the veterans’ disability pension paid by Centrelink from the means test applied to  income support payments. This measure will benefit about 19,000 veterans and cost $100 million  over five years.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ The Government has decided to index the above general rate component of the disability pension by  the Consumer Price Index or Male Total Average Weekly Earnings, whichever is the higher. This  will benefit 45,000 veterans and will cost $66 million over five years.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ The Government has decided to grant an ex gratia payment of $25,000 to surviving Prisoners of  War of the North Koreans, or their widows, for the extraordinary hardship they suffered.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Rent Assistance will be extended to war widows, which will benefit 11,500 widows and is worth  $73 million over five years.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ It has also decided to increase the funeral benefit from $572 to $1,000 at an estimated cost of $27  million over five years. An estimated 14,500 veterans stand to gain from the additional assistance.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ The Government has also extended access to the disability pension to surviving veterans involved  in the Berlin Airlift; to those involved in minesweeping; and to aircrew of the RAAF’s No.2  Squadron, who served on the Malay-Thai border.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ The Government has also decided to respond positively to the needs of those affected by the British  Atomic Test programme when the outcomes are available of the Australian Participants in the  British Nuclear Test Programme - Cancer Incidence and Mortality Study

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ The Government will continue to provide special recognition and comprehensive assistance to those  who have served Australia in times of war, at personal risk of injury or death from an armed enemy.

Mr Neville said he was also happy that the definition of qualifying service, which had been interpreted  fairly narrowly, may be relaxed.

“I am also confident there will be support for those units that were involved in dismantling ordinance  between 1944 and 1947. Those people were involved in disabling ammunition, land and sea mines and  bombs - a highly hazardous exercise,” he said.

Mr Neville said greater detail would be provided in a more expansive statement by Veterans’ Affairs  Minister Danna Vale later this week.

Kate Barwick

Office of Paul Neville MP  (07) 4152 0744

(02) 6277 4940







