Yes D , I'm afraid as a single parent myself, I understand them all too well... and wish I didn't have to! Mine also are affected by my earnings, so I do know what you are going through, and I agree wholeheartedly that it's not fair.

The whole point, of course, is that if the TPI were of a decent standard, the disposable income available would mean that there would be no necessity to beg for crumbs from the Government table. Supporting the Federation's submission is, in my humble opinion, the only clear choice for you and other veterans & ex-service people to make.

You are absolutely right.

Get the Special Rate of COMPENSATION right and then TPIs can pay their own way.

That translates to "BE INDEPENDANT" just like Joe Average.

All of you who are hung up on the Service Pension (welfare) and its decorations (qualifying

benchmarked to 75 % of MTAWE.

Would you then lead a life equal to Joe Average ?

Would you then be able to pay your spouse's private health cover ?

Would you then be able to say you are not a welfare recipient ?

Would your self esteem rise accordingly ?

Would a certain amount of pride be associated with being a VETERAN ?

Would you be pleased that the population recognised your sacrifices on their behalf ?

Would you no longer envy civil recipients of large compensation pay outs ?

Would you feel some justification in sacrificing your health for the best interests of the nation ?

Would your wife/partner feel free to pursue his/her own place in the workforce without penalty ?

only life on this earth) was spent for you by others ?

Would you feel once for all that the fittest and brightest in the nation were being recognised and

that they were entitled to expect a lifestyle at least equal to that enjoyed by Joe Average ?

Please consider where you fit in this scenario.

If you honestly believe you are justifiably entitled to more consideration by this government (and by

extrapolation, the people) of this country then write to the Independent Review Committee and

express your support for the TPI Federation Submission.

Better still, not only support the TPI Federation Submission but lodge your own personal submission

outling your personal grievances and financial difficulties.

This is a golden opportunity to make YOUR voice heard.

Don't waste it!

Regards.

Cheyenne.

when the WA TPI Association first went in to bat on this issue, we looked at every thing long and hard and we do not believe that we asked for any thing that was excessive or out of the norm and that we had actually been very fair spreading the claim over three budgets.

May be expecting fairness out of our beloved government was expecting to much, but we did not expect the opposition from our fellow ESO's and I still find that hard, but as those ESO's will wither and die if they do not do what there grass root members want and the other ESO's who listen to the grass roots prosper, and the greater the leverage will be on government, the RSL is suffering because there hierarchy are not listening and I really do think that the VVAA is running out of members and nouse and will die a natural death in a very short number of years, the problem is that the damage that they inflict to the cause of betterment of the veteran community in the mean time is absolutely immense, this unfortunately is the really sad part.

At present the TPI Federation has over 17,000 financial members, the VVAF about 9,000, the VVAA who seem intent on trying to control the debate just 3,000 members and that may even be debatable as any family member can be a member, at least with TPI you have to be a full blown TPI to be a member.

The TPI Submission has been described by the VVAA as being a basically a group of hotch potch of un knowing so there fore they have implied that they can not be credible, well in my times as a company director, Shire Councillor, business man and employer, I have never worked with a more dedicated or better disciplined group of guys who at all times never allowed there own personal views to cloud the issue.

The hours that these guys put in and the personal costs that they bore did not faze them, legal people, statisticians, politicians, DVA and many others were consulted and in the end the result kept coming back to the same thing and this was not just done in a few weeks, it took many months of agonising work as to what was fair for TPI's, nothing more and nothing less, so by the time it reached federation the hard yards had been done and the DVA had admitted that the erosion had occurred and needed to be rectified.

The service pension is nothing other than WELFARE as it is means tested, no DISABLED VETERAN WHO HAS SERVED HIS COUNTRY SHOULD EVER HAVE TO RELY ON WELFARE.