The Morrison-Joyce Government’s latest Veterans’ Affairs budget is nothing less than a national disgrace.
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs claims he has secured $96 million of funding in the Federal Budget for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) to speed up claims processing and address the backlog of 60,000 claims, which he has described as unacceptable.
However, the Budget papers clearly show there is only $22.8 million in guaranteed funding over two years and no substantial increase in staffing.
In the Minister’s own words, this is “token” and another example of this government “kicking the can down the road”.
Clearly, he has failed his own test to lock in the funding required to fix DVA and reduce the backlog, and should follow through on his threat and resign his commission today.
The $22.8 million for DVA claims processing looks more like another short-term political fix from Scott Morrison designed to get the Liberals and Nationals through to the election.
Last year, they trumpeted a so-called “budget boost” for DVA that turned out to be a cruel hoax because the additional funding and jobs only lasted for two years – and clearly has had no effect on claim waiting times and backlogs, which have gotten worse since then.
The Royal Commission into defence and veteran suicide has highlighted serious problems with DVA that have been festering for years, while the 2019 Productivity Commission inquiry confirmed the current support system is not working in the best interests of veterans and their families.
To use the Minister’s own words, this is a “national disgrace”.
Labor welcomes additional funding for psychiatric assistance dogs, financial counselling, and cost of living relief for veterans in the Budget.
However, the best thing the Government could do to tackle skyrocketing cost of living pressures for veterans and their families would be to properly resource DVA to process claims faster.
Only Labor is on the side of Australia’s ex-service men and women.
Only an Albanese Labor Government will fix DVA, and give our veterans and their families the services they deserve.
