Page 3762 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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concentrating government resources and attention towards the things that matter most. A commitment to the veterans community is part of our set of priorities.
Whilst veteran entitlements have largely been seen as a federal responsibility, as many government services are delivered at state and territory or council level, there is a strong role for state and territory parliaments to discuss how we can better serve this community. As I have already mentioned, there are a number of issues facing the veterans community that are the responsibility of the ACT government. I believe in tangible support on issues such as healthcare, transport, access to concessions and housing support.
This motion calls for the Stanhope government to review its support to defence and veteran communities in the ACT, a motion I hope the government will take seriously. I must say that I am disappointed that Mr Corbell, the Attorney-General, sought to take a particular partisan and political approach to this motion. Mr Hanson’s motion is constructive and objective, and it is a great shame that Mr Corbell should seek to spoil the spirit of this motion.
It is important to regularly review how the ACT government provides support to these communities. The ACT opposition, through the shadow minister, are keen to work with the ACT government, and all members of this Assembly can be sure we are doing all we can to support the serving and ex-service community. I urge all members to support this motion.
MR HANSON (Molonglo) (6.31): Mr Speaker, in closing and addressing the amendment, let me say that the opposition will support the amendment. It just reframes the name of the government. I thank Ms Bresnan for her comments, in particular, about the DFRB pension. I will not bang on about that because I am a recipient of that pension, but I certainly hope that does get changed.
I do acknowledge that the government has done some things to support the veterans community. I acknowledge that. The intent of this motion is to express the desire to see the government do more; I believe that there is more that they could be doing. That has been expressed by local organisations in the form of the Kindred Organisations Committee, formally, and by many veterans organisations and members who have expressed it personally to me. They could also be reviewing what has been done in other jurisdictions to address what can be done to support veterans.
The motion as it stands, with Ms Bresnan’s minor amendment, is quite reasonable. It does not contain any criticism of the government; it simply says that we want to see the ACT government review its support for defence and veterans communities in the ACT, in particular in the light of the important role played by veterans and defence families in our community and taking into consideration the initiatives that have been put into place in other jurisdictions. It is a very reasonable motion. It is one that I would hope would have the unanimous support of all members here in the Assembly.
In responding to Mr Corbell’s issues with regard to the appointment of a minister for veterans affairs, let me say that I think there are a lot of veterans organisations which would like to see that instituted. I understand that the Chief Minister takes the role
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