Mrs DRAPER (11:29 AM) —In legislating the Veterans' Entitlements Amendment (Male Total Average Weekly Earnings Benchmark) Bill 1998 , the government is underlining the longstanding commitment by the coalition parties and their antecedents to repaying the debt that we owe to our veterans. It was the Cook Liberal government in 1914 which first announced that there would be a war widows' pension to ensure that those who were bereaved of loved ones on whom they had been dependent and who had made the supreme sacrifice would not be left destitute. It was the United Australia Party government under Joseph Lyons which in 1935 first introduced the veterans service pension to recognise the valour shown and the sacrifice made by Australians in such theatres of war as Gallipoli, the Somme and the Passchendaele. It was the Fraser coalition government in 1976 which first introduced twice-yearly indexing of pensions, including the veterans service pension. Now it is the Howard coalition government that has enshrined in legislation for the first time that pensions shall not fall below 25 per cent of male total average weekly earnings.

The bill seeks to bring the war widow and war widower pensions into line with the legislation enacted last year with regard to other pensions. It is interesting to read Hansard pertaining to the implementation of the original war widows pensions in 1914. By the time the bill came to be implemented, it was the Labour government under Andrew Fisher which controlled the Treasury benches. It was pointed out by the then Liberal opposition that the new plan was not as generous in its provisions as theirs had been, in particular with regard to the provision made for totally incapacitated returned servicemen and their wives.

The Liberal opposition further argued that the wives of totally incapacitated returned servicemen should receive a set amount—not one graduated according to their husband's rank, as was the case in the Labour government's bill. Nevertheless, the broad thrust of the bill was supported on both sides of the House, and I am sure that a similar sentiment will prevail today.

In my electorate of Makin, the bill will be a welcome initiative. It fulfils our commitment to our servicemen and service women when we sent them to war: if the war caused their death, their widow or widower would be looked after. More than indexation to inflation does, this measure ensures that the recipients of this pension keep pace with living standards and do not fall behind as the rest of the community becomes more affluent.

It is appropriate also to place this measure in context with other initiatives undertaken by this government to pay proper respect to the contribution made by our veterans in the service of their country. I am happy to inform the House that the allocation of $660 million over four years to extend the gold card to male veterans of World War II who had experienced danger from hostile forces was warmly welcomed in the electorate of Makin. Prior to the government's announcement of this initiative, considerable support was expressed by veterans in my community for the idea that, just as we had done for veterans of World War I, we should also honour our veterans of World War II by extending gold card privileges to that group.

The government has also demonstrated its commitment to our veterans in its other budget commitments. These have included an additional $750 million over five years to be given to the states and territories for veterans hospital care, and a permanent increase of $2 million in the funding base of the Australian War Memorial. These and other measures add up to a record budget for Veterans' Affairs of over $7 billion.

This government has underlined its commitment to veterans not with empty rhetoric but with practical measures to show our veterans that we do appreciate the immeasurable contribution that they have made to our security and our way of life. This government has remembered, and I congratulate the government and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Bruce Scott, for his tremendous achievements for our veterans.