STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS
Veterans
Mr BATT (Hinkler—Deputy Nationals Whip) (16:28): In the past week, my offices in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay have received dozens of emails and a mountain of calls. As I’ve travelled across Hinkler with my mobile office to Pialba, Woodgate, Childers, Urangan, Bundaberg and beyond, the No. 1 matter has been Labor’s failure to support those who fought for our country. Today I pass on their direct and clear feedback for the Labor government: Don’t put a cap on care for Hinkler veterans. Remove the uncertainty and reverse the decision to impose a $5,000 annual cap on allied health services for veterans.
When I met with locals at Hervey Bay, we took shelter from the rain at the Veterans Advice and Social Centre, located at Freedom Park. Denzil and Suzanne Potter both served for our freedom, and they wanted me to deliver this point—that veterans should not be asked to bear the cost of Labor’s budget repair. The result will be veterans going without treatment, their conditions worsening and the burden falling back on their family and household budgets. As one constituent wrote in an email:
Veterans are not a line item. They are Australians who put their lives, bodies and futures on the line for this country.
As the national president of the RSL wrote to members, ‘There’s a difference between a budget headline and a budget reality.’ Many Hinkler veterans rely on allied health services not as a luxury but as an essential part of managing their service related injuries and conditions. Don’t cap care for our veterans.