Minister for Veteran's Affairs

The Hon. Danna Vale member for hughes

Dear Mrs. Vale,

As a TPI pensioner I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding the serious erosion of our present TPI pension which I believe is now only 43% of the Male Average Total Weekly Earnings and on top of the GST has meant yet a further erosion of our buying power and on a fixed income this presents serious problems. This together with the shameful inadequacies of any family support or education allowances above the poverty line, has left many TPI's struggling to survive and maintain some dignity in the face of an ever decreasing TPI pension.

All of these problems were constantly brought to the attention of your predecessor Mr. Bruce Scott (Minister for Monuments) and his only response was constant denial, then justification and finally admitting that there was a genuine concerns about the TPI pension rates and entitlements etc. and promise yet another review of the matter. " Yes Minister" would often come to mind whenever he made any public comments regarding our genuine concerns.

We are continually put off by Government promising to carry out yet another review on these matters and it doesn't take a genius to realize, that the word review simply means "NO"; yet again we have been promised another review, I think its number 374, but who's counting. You as our new Minister have a chance to show whether you really care for all those servicemen and service women, who have in their past given so much and yet received so little in return; their gifts the least of which has enabled you to sit in Parliament as a Minister and represent us. I think it about time that a Minister takes that responsibility seriously and with some compassion and forthrightness, instead of employing the "Yes Minister" approach to everything and sundry.

I realize that party political constraints make it difficult for a Minister to achieve their aims, as they obviously have to follow the party line; but I and many other TPI's find it a total disgrace, that the Government can move quickly because of political expediency, to rush through Parliament bills to alter constitutional boundaries in order to stop a handful of boat people and legislate to guarantee Ansett workers their redundancy payments within a matter of weeks; yet they will not take any action whatsoever, feel any responsibility or take on any real duty of care for our very few TPI pensioners, who have given so much for this wonderful country of ours.

You as the new Minister for Veteran's Affairs have all the facts about the issues at hand and no doubt your many and varied staff have briefed you on these matters, so I'll not bore you with any further facts on the matter. Just keep in mind that we are not a greedy group, many of us are now younger veterans with families still at home; we are not the stereotype "old digger from the second world war". I personally was a conscript (national serviceman) and served in Vietnam like many others like me, surely I have given enough for my country. Why should my wife and children be asked to give up their futures as well, surely they deserve consideration. I have two teenage boys still at home and both expect to go onto university as did their older brother; how the hell am I going to support them on what the Government provides. You as an Australian not just a Minister should feel shame for your lack of concern and adequate support for the TPI community.

I am not asking you for much, I do realize that your Government will obviously do little to assist TPI's and their families; your obvious contempt for us equals our contempt for you as members of Parliament, but at least give us "a fair go" and restore our eroded pension entitlements to what they were in the 1940's; its not much but at least its something.

In closing I do apologize if you find my words offensive, they are born of frustration, anger and a sense of hopelessness, what would you expect from an ex- national serviceman and Vietnam veteran who for the past 30 years has had to endure poor health, been shown nothing but contempt by the community he grew up in, and bloody less by the Government he offered the greatest of gifts.

Rest in peace Minister and may your children never know war or feel the hopelessness of a Government who continues to let them down; may they never have to endure 30 years of ill health and still strive to to work within their communities to survive and bring up families and provide them with a future. I hope at the end of your time as Minister you can feel pride in yourself in having done a little to assist those in our service community, that are owed so much, but have received so little.

Kind Regards:

Richard Spry

Office of the

MINISTER FOR VETERANS' AFFAIRS

MINISTER ASSISTING THE MINISTER FOR DEFENCE

Dear Mr. Spry

I refer to your letter of 29 January 2002 to the Minister of Veterans' Affairs, the Hon Danna Vale MP, concerning the level of the totally and permanently incapacitated (T&PI) pension. The Minister has asked me to respond on her behalf.

The Minister is aware that there are ongoing concerns about the adequacy of benefits and support available for veterans recieving T&PI rate of disability pension.

The Government is committed to bringing clarity to the issues surrounding the eligibility criteria for veterans' entitlements under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) and percieved anomalies in the definition of qualifying service.In line with this commitment, the Minister has established a high profile and independent review, chaired by the Hon John Clarke QC, a former judge of the NSW Supreme Court and the court of Appeal, to consider the current eligibility criteria for veterans' entitlements. The review will include an examination of the level of benefits available to T&PI veterans and the issue of disability pension being held as income for pension and benefits paid by Centrelink. I have attached a copy of the Ministers' media release about the review.

The Minister has asked me to thank you for bringing your concerns to her attention. She looks forward to the independent review bringing clarity to the issues you have raised.

Yours Sincerely

Peter Hulsing

Adviser

Dated 22/Feb/2002