Supporting Those Who Served

Transcription

1 Supporting Those Who Served Supporting Those Who Served commits the Coalition to extending recognition, care and compensation to Australian Veterans and War Widows. Our increased support will ensure that Australia s Repatriation system remains the most generous in the world.

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3 Supporting Those Who Served Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Labor s Alternative 3 Highlights of the Government s Achievements 4 The Way Forward: 7 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Better Health Care for our Veterans 7 Extending the Gold Card to veterans over 70 years of age with qualifying service Better Compensation for War Widows 7 Unfreezing the Income Support Supplement Reviewing the Access to Veterans Entitlements 8 Conducting a high profile and independent review into qualifying service and eligibility for Veterans benefits Veterans Affairs 1

4 Executive Summary In the five and a half years since coming to Government, the Coalition has demonstrated a strong commitment to extending the care and benefits available to Australia s Veterans and War Widows. In that time, the budget for the Veterans Affairs portfolio has grown from $6.2 billion to $8.7 billion. Many of the anomalies and injustices left behind by Labor have been addressed. Supporting Those Who Served will continue this support. It commits the Coalition to extending health care entitlements, improving compensation arrangements and reviewing the fairness of the current Repatriation system. These initiatives will guarantee the special level of entitlement and recognition for the service and sacrifice of these very special Australians, our Veterans and War Widows. Part 1 Better Health Care for Veterans A third Howard Government will extend the Gold Card to provide comprehensive free health care to Australian Veterans who are 70 years of age and with qualifying service. This extension of the Gold Card will cost $73.5 million over four years. Part 2 Better Compensation for War Widows The War Widows Income Support Supplement frozen since 1986 will be indexed to increases in Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is greater. The un-freezing of the ISS will cost $70.3 million over three years. Part 3 Reviewing the Access to Veterans Entitlements A third Howard Government will conduct a high profile and independent review to consider anomalies within the eligibility criteria for Veterans entitlements of certain servicemen and women. This review will include an examination of qualifying service and the guidelines for granting a Veterans Affairs Service Pension. 2 Supporting Those Who Served

5 Labor s Alternative In 1996, Labor left behind a system of Veterans benefits with many anomalies and injustices. Labor largely neglected Veterans and War Widows living in regional, rural and remote areas, although they account for 30% of the total Veteran population. Labor also ignored the health problems of Vietnam, Korea and Gulf War Veterans and those service personnel and civilians who participated in the British atomic tests. Labor has attempted to weaken the principles underpinning the Repatriation system with a proposal to extend the provisions of the Veteran Entitlement Act to civilian groups. Labor has wavered in its support for maintaining the Australian Flag, keeping Anzac Day separate from Australia Day and retaining a separate Department of Veterans Affairs to meet the specific needs of the ex-service community. Labor has attempted to politicise the Honours and Awards system by bringing forward legislation for retrospective bravery awards. Veterans Affairs 3

6 Highlights of the Government s Achievements The Coalition Government is strongly committed to providing generous support, care and compensation to Australian Veterans and War Widows through a simple, fair and responsive Repatriation system. Since coming to government in 1996, the Coalition has increased the Veterans Affairs budget by 37%, from $6.2 billion to $8.7 billion. The Coalition believes firmly that the sacrifice and service of our Veterans should always be acknowledged by a proud and grateful Australian community. Younger Australians in particular should be encouraged to learn about and commemorate the sacrifices made by those older Australians who secured for future generations the freedoms we enjoy today. That s why, since 1996, the Coalition has improved the compensation, health care and commemoration of our Veterans. Compensation The Gold Card has been extended to provide comprehensive free health coverage to more than 38,000 Australian Veterans aged over 70 with World War II qualifying service. A $32.3 million package of support for Vietnam Veterans and their families has been delivered, addressing the validated findings of the Vietnam Veterans Health Study. This builds on the extensive range of benefits, treatment and counselling services already available to Veterans and their dependants through the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service. The Coalition Government provided a $25,000 tax free cash payment to Australian service personnel and civilians held prisoner by Japan during World War II, and to their surviving Widows. We have addressed anomalies in Repatriation benefits and medals for Australian Defence Force personnel who served in South-East Asia between 1955 and 1975, and extended full Repatriation benefits to an additional 2,600 Veterans. The Coalition Government legislated to link the service and war widow s pensions to 25% of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings when Consumer Price Index increases fail to maintain that benchmark. This ensures that the Veteran community benefits from improved standards of living. We restored the pension rights of thousands of War Widows who had their pensions cancelled when they chose to remarry. 4 Supporting Those Who Served

7 Health Care Interest rates on Defence Service home loans were reduced to a rate that is 1.5 percentage points below the average market rate. This rate will never exceed 6.85% to provide both savings and security. We established more than 70 offices or agencies in rural and regional locations, expanded health services in rural areas and provided more mental health counsellors. The Coalition Government introduced the Veterans Home Care program designed to reduce the need for hospitalisation and other medical services by providing a range of home services to improve the general health of Veterans and War Widows who want to continue living in their own homes. We extended the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to up to 47,000 British, Commonwealth and Allied (BCAL) Veterans who are aged 70 or over, have qualifying service from WWII and have lived in Australia for 10 years or more. Under this initiative, eligible BCAL Veterans can also claim the DVA Pharmaceutical Allowance. Veteran partnering with private hospitals was introduced to provide Veterans with a wider choice of hospital care at locations convenient to them. The Coalition Government is undertaking a comprehensive study of the health of Australian Veterans of the Gulf War. We released the long overdue nominal roll of Australian Veterans of the Korean War and commissioned a mortality study and a cancer incidence study of Korean War Veterans. The Residential Care Development Scheme has been established to assist ex-service organisations and communitybased providers seeking to deliver high quality aged care services to members of the Veteran community. Commemoration $6 million has been allocated to construct a major new memorial in London, commemorating the service of Australians in the two world wars. The new memorial at Hyde Park Corner should be completed by Anzac Day 2003 and will be the focal point for Anzac Day services in London. The Coalition Government funded the $5 million documentary series Australians at War, which was broadcast on ABC Television from Anzac Day The eight episode series is the most comprehensive visual record made of Australia s wartime history, exploring how our experience of war has helped to shape the Veterans Affairs 5

8 nation. It will provide a valuable educational tool for all Australian students. $1.2 million was provided for the new Anzac Commemorative Site at Gallipoli, dedicated on Anzac Day 2000 in the Gallipoli International Peace Park. The highly successful Their Service - Our Heritage commemorative program was introduced. The program has supported a range of initiatives and projects in local communities around the country, leading to growing interest in, and a better understanding of Australia s wartime heritage and the service and sacrifice of its Veterans. The 2000 Federal Budget provided $17.2 million to extend Their Service Our Heritage for a further four years. More than $700,000 has been contributed towards the construction and dedication of the Australian National Korean War Memorial, unveiled in April $600,000 was allocated to the construction of the Australian Service Nurses National Memorial, unveiled in October The Coalition Government provided $5 million through the Centenary of Federation fund for a new development at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. $11.9 million in Centenary of Federation funding was provided for the construction of ANZAC Hall at the Australian War Memorial. $5.1 million has been spent to establish a nominal roll of almost one million Australians who served during World War II. Australian memorials have been erected at the significant battlefields of Rethymno, Crete, and Fromelles and Le Hamel in France. A museum and information centre at Sandakan in Malaysia has been established to commemorate the Australian and Allied PoWs who suffered and died in the Sandakan-Ranau death march during WWII. The Prime Minister opened a memorial museum at Hellfire Pass, Thailand. 6 Supporting Those Who Served

9 The Way Forward: Part 1 Better Health Care for our Veterans Extension of the Gold Card to Australian Veterans over 70 Years of Age with Qualifying Service The Gold Card provides health care, including travel assistance, for all conditions irrespective of whether they are service-related or not. The Coalition will extend the Gold Card to all Australian Veterans who have reached the age of 70 and have qualifying service, at a cost of $73.5 million over four years. The Coalition believes this is an important commitment to those Veterans who served in conflicts after World War II and were exposed to the unique hardships and deprivations of combat. The Gold Card was last extended by the Coalition Government in 1998, when it was given to 38,000 Veterans aged over 70 with World War II qualifying service. Other holders of the Gold Card include all ex- POWs, Veterans on high levels of disability pension (from injuries sustained during their military service), and all World War One Veterans. Part 2 Better Compensation for War Widows Improving Benefits for War Widows: Unfreezing the Income Support Supplement (ISS) In 1986, Labor decided to freeze the income and assets tested income support supplement paid to War Widows. Since then, the ISS ceiling has remained frozen at $ per fortnight for the 85,000 War Widows receiving income support. The Coalition Government will reverse Labor s unfair decision and introduce twice yearly indexation of the ISS to increases in Male Total Average Weekly Earnings or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is greater. The un-freezing of the ISS will cost $70.3 million over four years and will ensure that income support supplement payments for War Widows keep pace with improvements in community standards of living. Veterans Affairs 7

10 Part 3 Reviewing the Access to Veterans Entitlements An Independent Review into Eligibility for Veterans Benefits The Coalition Government is concerned that some groups of ex- Servicemen and women may have a claim to entitlements under the Veterans Entitlement Act but are currently denied access to these generous benefits (including service pension and the Gold Card) because of perceived anomalies in the definition of qualifying service. These groups could include some World War II Veterans without qualifying service, Veterans of the British Occupational Force of Japan, participants of British atomic testing in Australia and servicemen engaged in counter terrorist and special recovery training. A third Howard Government will conduct a high profile and independent review to consider anomalies within the eligibility criteria for Veterans entitlements. This review will be conducted in close consultation with the ex-service community and will include an analysis of qualifying service provisions and access to the Veterans Affairs Service Pension. 8 Supporting Those Who Served

11 Printed and Authorised by L Crosby, 108 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000