The Australian Labor Party has pledged to repair the nation’s veterans’ affairs support program if elected to government on May 21.
“For so many of our veterans, the war does not end when they leave the battlefield. Just as they stepped up for us, we must step up for them,” Labor leader Anthony Albanese said.
If elected, Labor has vowed to invest $519.2 million (US$375 million) to repair problems in the system and strengthen the services veterans and their families rely on.
Included in the plan is a $226.3 million injection to put on 500 extra Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) frontline staff to cut waiting times and alleviate the current backlog of claims, which would also mean the DVA staffing cap is lifted.
A further $42.9 million would deliver ten new veteran hubs, which are one-stop shops where war vets and their families can get help to access services they need, while $60.1 million would go towards the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme, which Labor established previously and a new Labor government would expand.
Increasing the Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Veterans Pension (TPI) is another priority, which would see $97.8 million invested to raise the annual rate of TPI payments for disabled veterans by $1,000.
Other measures include $24 million to educate businesses about the benefits of employing veterans and set up additional civilian-ready training programs and establish a Defence and Veteran Family Support Strategy through which the government would work with defence and veteran families to design better housing solutions and transition services.
These commitments come in addition to Labor’s previously announced policies of $30 million for emergency housing for homeless veterans, and $38.1 million for Disaster Relief Australia, a veteran-led disaster response organisation.
Shadow Defence Minister Brendan O'Connor said the Australian Defence Force’s best asset is the men and women who serve it, and they need to know that the support and respect they receive during their years of service don’t disappear the moment they re-enter civilian life.
“Labor’s comprehensive package will allow our serving men and women today to focus on their jobs today knowing they don’t have to worry about tomorrow,” he said.
This commitment from Labor comes after the current Coalition Veterans Affairs Minister Andrew Gee came close to resigning in March after his call for government funding to address the veteran claims backlog was not answered.
On March 26, Gee called a press conference at which he was planning to announce his resignation from the cabinet.
“And I was going to do that because I felt that I had to take a stand for veterans,” he said.
“And with the honour of holding the offices that I do as Member for Calare and Minister for Veterans Affairs and Defence Personnel, comes a heavy responsibility to stand up and speak out when their interests are compromised or put at risk.”
Gee said that the Royal Commission into defence and veteran suicide and other reports have highlighted the serious problems in the portfolio of Veteran Affairs that have been building for years.
The Productivity Commission found that the system isn’t working in the best interests of veterans’ families or the Australian community, he said, emphasising that one of the most serious problems is the massive backlog of unprocessed defence force and veteran compensation claims.
Gee went on to say that some veterans have been waiting for years to get their claims processed and this is a “national disgrace”.
In 2021, Gee directed the DVA to establish an independent action plan to fix the problem, a roadmap to have the backlog cut by the middle of 2023.
He had requested $96 million to fund the plan, which included putting on more claims processing staff and cutting red tape.
Initially, Gee was told there would be no funding, but after he objected, the government came back with an offer of $22.8 million for 90 temporary staff but no other funding to deliver the plan.
Gee said that it was well short and would have seen the backlog dragged out to sometime in 2024.
“And I accept that in politics and in life you have to make compromises, but my personal integrity is not up for compromise and it’s not up for negotiation, and I was not prepared to sign up for that,” he said.
Therefore, on April 26, Gee called the deputy prime minister to let him know the media was waiting outside his office and out of courtesy, he was letting him know first that he was going to resign from cabinet.
As a result, the government compromised and put forward the $96 million to ease the claims backlog.
Gee said he was pleased that they have been able to resolve this issue, adding that it’s vitally important for the veteran community to know that their government is doing something about the backlog, that they have a voice in government and cabinet.
He said that only part of the funding will appear in the budget, but with the delivery of the action plan, DVA can get rid of the backlog and do whatever possible to make life better for defence personnel, veterans, and their families.
“They deserve nothing less from their government and they deserve nothing less from their minister,” Gee said.
The Epoch Times reached out to the deputy prime minister’s office for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
