Mr HARDGRAVE (11:38 AM) —I am delighted to rise to support the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 1999 . It is an ongoing measure of compensation and commitment from this government, as with all governments since 1914, to looking after those who have been prepared to serve this country in time of war, in time of peace, those who have distinguished themselves from so many of us by being prepared to put on the uniform of their nation to stand their ground for all the things—freedom, liberty and justice—that we believe in as a nation.

Veterans are, to my mind—particularly as somebody of a generation that has directly benefited from the sense of service and sacrifice that previous generations have provided—really very special people. I am very proud to have a very high proportion of members of the veteran community as constituents in my electorate of Moreton, to have a ready and ongoing relationship with them and to deal with them on pleasant occasions such as certificates of appreciation for `Their Service—Our Heritage', which Minister Scott introduced as an extension of the good feeling that existed in this nation in 1995 as a result of the Australia Remembers year.

Over those periods of time I have had the privilege of coming to know a number of different people in the veterans community, those who served as a matter of wartime service during the Second World War, Korea, in the Far Eastern Strategic Reserve, the Malayan Emergency, the Indonesian Confrontation and, of course, Vietnam. I have a great deal of appreciation for some of the struggles and some of the efforts that they have to undertake on an everyday basis as they attempt to maintain a dignity that we would all hope that they would have in ready supply, particularly given that they are veterans who have served this country.

It is not an easy lot for all veterans. In fact, I found a personal link back through my great-grandfather who came out of the First World War having suffered shell shock and trauma after only 11 months on the Western Front. Basically, his life was destroyed as a result of the First World War. We have been trying to find his medals of service but found that, in a moment of great tirade brought on by the sorts of psychological injuries that he carried for his far too short life, he destroyed them in the early 1950s.

In those sorts of ways I can, in a contemporary sense, relate to the plight and desperation of those who are veterans in my electorate. I believe very strongly that all recipients of pensions and benefits and, in particular, those who are veterans pension recipients, should be able to hold their heads high with a great sense of dignity as they are very much entitled to what they get. There should never be any doubt that they are worthy recipients. No-one in our community should dare challenge their right to access the pension or benefit that is afforded to them as we continue our commitment to veterans from all wars and all forms of service.

They are a number of background comments to what this bill is about. The bill has five different areas—the invalidity service pension and income support supplement, the treatment of veterans and HomeFront, the Veterans' Children Education Scheme, the peacekeeping forces and the home support advance—that are all reasonable and fair measures that will not hurt veterans, but rather help them.

Veterans' Affairs is an area where generally no partisan politics is played. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the member for Maranoa, Mr Bruce Scott. Because this is an area where generally there is no partisan politics played, it was disappointing to note that in this morning's contributions a number of opposition members have chosen to try to begin scare campaigns against invalidity service pension recipients.

It is important to state for the record that those who are genuinely unable to work have nothing to fear from anything that is contained in this legislation. There are a number who we in the government believe are not sufficiently disabled due, perhaps, to vague criteria. Also, in New South Wales, in particular, there has occurred doctor shopping and a number of dubious practices which have left the current criteria open to abuse. These matters all combine to ensure that the credibility of those who receive an ISP needs to be restored. The other thing that counters the quite disappointing attack on this legislation by those opposite as they attempt yet another great scare campaign is that TPIs, those over 56, and those who already have 40 GARP points, will not be reviewed. I cannot think of a fairer set of measures.

Those who try to create scare campaigns, those who try to suggest that genuine recipients of invalidity service pensions are now going to be put under some sort of pressure by this legislation, are doing a great disservice to decent debate, as well as to the veterans themselves. All veterans should be able to say, `If I get that pension, it is because I am entitled to it.' There are no questions that can be asked. This legislation is in part all about restoring credibility to the current criteria.

This legislation also extends the HomeFront program. I can draw on personal experience. My late grandfather, Percy Hardgrave, was directly a recipient of the HomeFront style of program in his latter years of life. I pay tribute to the dedication of those from the Department of Veterans' Affairs and their very personal approach to looking at the needs, wants and aspirations of individual veterans when they start to style the kinds of facilities that are made available in people's homes. Non-slip treads are put on walls and floors, rails are put down stairs, and ramps are built. I think these are all terrific things. I know that my late grandfather benefited greatly from the additional mobility and sense of certainty and security he had from knowing that he had that extra bit of assistance installed as a result of the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

As the member for Barker said in his contribution, the health system faces a cost each year of $806 million as a result of accidental falls, which is more than double the cost of road traffic accidents at $370 million. I can but give, on behalf of my family, my thanks to successive governments and the Department of Veterans' Affairs personnel for their very personal approach in what they have done in regard to this HomeFront scheme. The extension of this scheme, which is outlined in this legislation, is greatly welcomed. This legislation will extend it to 63,000 veterans who hold the white health care card, bringing the total of those eligible for the scheme to around 354,000 people, which is tremendous.

I am sure the Veterans' Children Education Scheme, for children of veterans who receive an extreme disability adjustment, will also be welcomed by the veteran community. The moves in this legislation will remove a number of anomalies in veterans' entitlements. The legislation remedies one anomaly whereby children of living EDA veterans do not become eligible for the Veterans' Children Education Scheme benefits until the death of that veteran. This is an inequitable circumstance compared to the situation of children of TPI veterans who are eligible for benefits while the veteran is still alive. I am pleased to see that the government has fulfilled an obligation that was first outlined in a predecessor bill of 1993. That bill did not pass the parliament and the previous government did not revisit it. I am pleased to see that the Howard government is revisiting it in this legislation.

For members of peacekeeping forces, who are the contemporary heroes of the military, I am pleased to see from a notice published in the Gazette that the minister is able to secure veterans' entitlement cover for peacekeeping forces. The mechanism will allow the government to act quickly and definitely so that, whenever a situation requires that peacekeeping force members be involved in representing this country overseas and providing the peace and the stability for which Australian service personnel have a great international reputation, the minister can act and ensure that those people are also under the umbrella of the obligation that we all share to the veterans of our nation.

The home support advance will mean that the risk of falls for elderly incapacitated members of the veteran community will be dealt with in a far more constructive and capable manner. The poor maintenance circumstances of a lot of veterans homes will be addressed by this. Under the burden of modifications and repairs, a lot of veterans—and particularly elderly veterans from the Second World War who feel justly proud of their ability to do such work themselves—are finding they cannot do these as well as they perhaps could have done in the past. The fact that the government can provide this service is tremendous.

I am sure those five groups of measures are welcomed by all members of the House. Upon consideration, I am sure those opposite will amend their rhetoric which is trying to create some scare over the invalidity service pension component of the legislation. The commitment to veterans is a commitment without any caveat.

I would also like to place on the record my thanks to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs for being the first minister—and I am very pleased that he is the minister for this portfolio—who has looked closely at those involved in the Far Eastern Strategic Reserve. He is attempting to give them some of the justice that they deserve and that has been long overlooked.

I also acknowledge his ongoing commitment to redefining the acknowledgment of the services of those who served in the Vietnam war. I particularly note the importance in my mind of those who were called up as national service personnel. The nashos in my electorate are very proud of being nashos. I submit that there is a need to set them apart as a group of ex-service personnel to give them that additional recognition. I am certain that the minister is looking very closely at ways, through medals or whatever, to recognise that the nashos who were called up to serve our country—and so many of them went off to the Vietnam war—were perhaps reluctant heroes at first; nevertheless, they were great Australians who served their country with a great deal of pride. They should feel justly proud that they stood their ground for this nation, for all we believe in. I commend these measures to the House.