Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on the matter of the Defence Force Retirement Benefits Legislation Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2014 because for a period of almost two years prior to the 2013 federal election I have been in meetings; talking to veterans; hosting forums with the shadow minister, now Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Senator Ronaldson; and talking to members of my local RSLs, Legacy and many families of men and women who have served our nation. It is with a great sense of national pride that I attend functions at HMAS Albatross and HMAS Creswell in the seat of Gilmore, but my sense of patriotism must be miniscule when compared to the emotion and sense of service I detect when speaking to our veterans.

We committed to this legislation well before the election. In fact, the Kiama-Jamberoo RSL has a large A3-size poster signed by Senator Ronaldson and myself on this very commitment. There are 57,000 military superannuants and their families who will now be better off. Members of the defence forces already receiving DFRB and DFRDB aged over 55 years will finally get the indexation they deserve. From the many veterans in Gilmore who have emailed me, I have learned of the high level of anxiety surrounding this issue. We have made this commitment and we will follow through. Despite some very erroneous and emotionally charged emails being shot around our veterans' communication systems, we are firm in our commitment to bring this legislation through. This indexation will help our veteran community. More importantly, this is recognition of the part they have played in war theatres around the world. It is proposed to have these pensions indexed twice a year—March and September—and to take into account the changes in the consumer price index, the beneficiary living cost index and male total average weekly earnings.

I have been working closely with our most famous veteran, Nobby Hall OAM and the many members of the local RSL sub branches: Stuart Christmas of Berry; Bob O'Grady of Bomaderry; Mrs Iris Selby of Callala Beach; Mr Ron Sheldon of Culburra Beach-Orient Point; Mr Bill Popple of Gerringong; Mr Don Handley and Barry Edwards of Huskisson; retired Colonel Ian Pullar and Dennis Seige of Kiama-Jamberoo; Rick Gallagher of Milton-Ulladulla; Rick Meehan and Fred Dawson of Nowra-Greenwell Point; Max Flohr of Shoalhaven Heads; Lorraine Bament of St Georges Basin; Alan Beasley of Sussex Inlet; Peter Vincent and Clyde Poulton of the Vietnam Veterans; and Bob and Mavis Morris and Alice Burns, working with the Korean War Veterans. They will all welcome this legislative change.

Most importantly, I have been in close discussion with 'Dingo' Glen Chamberlain, 'Deekay' Danny Kennedy and 'Trapper' Gary Fittel. They will be delighted to have this legislation passed. I thank the Veterans Angels for protecting Trapper, who was in a recent motorcycle accident. His bike is trashed, but he survived with 17 breaks in one leg, a break in the other, a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. I wish Trapper a speedy recovery. This legislation will be well received by him and his family, as well as his mates—the Vietnam Vets. There is something particularly special about these young men, and I am proud to support this bill in the House on their behalf.

There is one other most significant supporter of this legislation, and that is Keith Payne VC. The last visit he made to Gilmore was to celebrate the traditional Anzac rugby match called 'Digger Day Rugby'. Keith is the recipient of a VC. He is quiet yet authoritative. He came up to me in 2013 at the game and said, 'You will of course be supporting the DFRB and the DFRDB, won't you? I will be coming after you if you don't.' I acknowledge that he was joking—but I am not. I fully support this legislation that will benefit almost 1,000 veterans in Gilmore. I commend this bill.

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