MEDIA RELEASE
DEFENCE SERVICE ORGANISATIONS WELCOME
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES’ ACKNOWLEGEMENT OF THE
UNIQUE NATURE OF MILITARY SERVICE &
SUPPORT FOR FAIR INDEXATION OF MILITARY SUPERANNUATION
The Alliance of Defence Service Organizations (ADSO)* welcomes the support given by all 150 members
of the House of Representatives when they today agreed with the Coalition’s motion to support the concept of the Unique Nature of Military Service and to support fair indexation of military superannuation pensions.
“The concept of the Unique Nature of Military Service and providing fair indexation of military pensions are closely related” the spokesperson from ADSO and the National President of the Defence Force Welfare
Association (DFWA), David Jamison, said today. “Treating members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and their families as second class citizens is not what the Australian population expects. The House of Representatives today expressed its will and that of the Australian people that the service of our ADF men and women should not only be honoured but they must receive just and equitable treatment” he went on to say. “It is now for the Senate, when it debates the Fair Indexation Bill later this month, to support the Bill and start the long overdue process of reversing the unfair indexation of all military superannuation pensions for our military families. This injustice has reduced their real value and forced too many former military
families to rely on the social welfare safety net to meet their day to day living expenses” he concluded.
DFWA has long argued that fair indexation is a simple matter of justice and is affordable. Overwhelming evidence has comprehensively rejected the validity of the costing data provided by Ministers of Finance and Deregulation regarding the alleged costs - their figures are factually incorrect, and we believe verge on misleading.
Indeed, if CPI remains the most suitable index for protecting Australian Government superannuation pensions against cost of living increases as some argue, then why aren’t all Australian Government superannuation pensions indexed to CPI – instead of singling out members of the ADF to a lifetime of ever reducing purchasing power of their pensions and a declining standard of living?
Detailed rebuttals and evidence to support claims for fair indexation to all military superannuants (incl widows and those on invalidity provisions) can be found on the Defence Force Welfare Association’s website www.dfwa.org.au
Covenant to be made LAW
(UK DAILY TELEGRAPH – 14 APRIL 2011)Those principles will declare that no member of the Armed Forces should be disadvantaged because of their service.
Furthermore, because of that service and the sacrifices involved, special treatment can sometimes be justified, the Coalition will say. It is expected that the covenant measures will be based on broad “principles” for the treatment of military personnel, rather than explicit pledges on particular public services or entitlements.
Andrew Robathan, the defence minister overseeing the Armed Forces Bill, told The Daily Telegraph the Coalition would “ensure the best possible treatment for all our Service personnel, both serving and retired”. He added: “We are putting the military covenant on a statutory basis for the first time.”
After an embarrassing political row, the Bill was put on hold while ministers drew up new plans to honour the state’s responsibilities. As a result, the Bill stopped short of such a clear promise, committing ministers only to publishing an annual report on progress towards honouring the covenant.
Military campaigners led by the Royal British Legion criticised the Bill, saying it did not go far enough. Military chiefs are said to be unhappy about recommendations made by Lord Hutton of Furness’s independent report on public sector pensions that would end final-salary payouts for the Armed Forces and raise their retirement age.
Mr Cameron’s original promise to put the agreement on a legal footing was supposed to be fulfilled by the Armed Forces Bill, which is passing through Parliament. Whitehall lawyers warned ministers that making legal promises to provide certain public services could expose the Government and the Armed Forces to lawsuits.
The military covenant is an agreement under which the state pledges a duty of care toward its military personnel. Although a long established tradition, it has never been enshrined in law and there has been increasing concern that Britain’s soldiers are not getting the health care, housing or pay they deserve. It had been feared that the Prime Minister was backing away from a pledge to give the Armed Forces “a new military covenant that’s written into the law of the land”. However, a defence minister told The Daily Telegraph that the Government’s plans, to be announced in the House of Commons on Monday, would put the covenant “on a statutory basis for the first time”. David Cameron will unveil the move next week in an attempt to defuse anger over the treatment of Britain’s soldiers, sailors and airmen – particularly when they retire or return from service abroad. By Andrew Porter, and James Kirkup 10:30PM BST 13 May 2011 The military covenant – the nation’s promise that troops will be cared for in return for the sacrifices they make – will be recognised in law for the first time under plans to honour the “unique service” given by members of the Armed Forces and their families. Military covenant to be made law.The Local Government Association, which represents councils, will today reveal plans for veterans to be given priority when they apply for social housing. Some councils, including Barnet in north London, have already changed rules to give former service personnel special status on housing lists.
DFWA
AssociationExecutive DirectorLes Bienkiewicz
P: 02 62659530
PO Box 4166
KINGSTON ACT 2604
DFWA MONTHLY UPDATE #257 – 15 February 2011
UPDATE is a monthly news sheet produced by the DFWA containing current items of interest to the Service and ex-Service community. It is widely distributed to Members of Parliament,media outlets, senior Service and Public Service Officers and DFWA members.
THE FAIR INDEXATION BILL
On 10 February 2011 the Senate scheduled debate on the Bill proposed by the Shadow Minister for Veterans'
Affairs, Senator the Hon. Michael Ronaldson, to index military pensions in line with the Coalition's pre-election commitment. If passed, the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Amendment (Fair
Indexation) Bill 2010 will enable DFRDB (and DFRB) superannuants aged 55 and over from 1 July 2011 to have their pensions indexed at the higher rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI).
The debate was delayed and has been rescheduled for debate on 3 March 2011. Unsettlingly, the Government has suggested that this Bill (along with a number of others) is “unconstitutional”, as it involves
introducing 'money bills' in the Senate. The disagreement about this rages on between the Houses (s53 of the Constitution refers) and we shall see what transpires. A hung Parliament can toss up many conundrums !
During debate in the Senate on 10 February, the Greens indicated that they will not support any Bill that puts a burden on the budget without there being a mechanism for funding. Indeed if there is a reluctance to place any further “burden on the budget” then an analysis of the excess earnings of the Future Fund provides a strong argument for affordability at no conceivable extant cost to the “on-book” budget. The Association, in concert with the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association has made representations along these lines, providing an analysis of how the Future Fund could be utilised.
Finally, the Association was disappointed in the advice provided to Senators and MPs by the Parliamentary Library on the Bill in its Bill Digest #55, finding it flawed in many aspects. The Association has issued its own commentary on the Bill and this has been distributed to all Senators and MPs.
We again call upon all elected Senators and Members of Parliament to show their support for the military and veteran community by supporting the legislation, and following up with further legislation to ensure all military superannuants are included. In particular, we call on those independent members who have previously voiced their support for the provisions contained within the legislation, to show their support by voting accordingly.
LIVING-COST RISES OUTPACE INFLATION
The Association welcomes the confirmation in today’s The Age that living-cost indices released by the Bureau of Statistics show the increases facing families, age pension households and welfare beneficiaries have all outpaced the CPI. Working households faced extra costs of 4.5 per cent in the year to December, age pensioners 3.1 per cent and welfare recipients 4.5 per cent. The CPI grew 2.7 per cent. The bureau
says there are different reasons for each group. Age pensioners spend a relatively high proportion of their income on utility bills and fruit and vegetables, both of which shot up in price in the year to December.
Does this mean the consumer price index is a poor guide to living costs? The bureau says it does. It is meant to be a measure of inflation rather than living costs, a very different concept, which is why the bureau produces separate living-cost indices.
The good news for pensioners is they get a choice. Their payments are adjusted twice a year in line with eitherthe CPI, the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living-Cost Index or Male Total Average Earnings,
whichever has increased the fastest. For Military superannuants of course there is only bad news!
SENATE QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
On a closely related matter, the Department of Finance and Deregulation continues to drag its heels by its delays in responding to the Questions placed by Senator Humphries on 16 November 2010 on matters
relating to the flawed Matthews report and other matters relating to indexation. To date, replies to just one question out of nine have been received, and that over two months after it was due.
REVIEW OF DVA FUNDED ADVOCACY AND WELFARE SERVICES REPORT
The Association will closely examine the Review of Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)–Funded Ex-
Service Organisation (ESO) Advocacy and Welfare Services Report which was released yesterday. Whilst the aims of the review are laudable ie, to provide a prescribed framework to ensure veterans, war
widow/ers and their families have access to quality advocacy, welfare and support services – there may be unexpected consequences that will need close examination.
The Review covered the Building Excellence in Support and Training Program (BEST), Training Information Program (TIP), and the Veteran and Community Grants (V&C) program.
MINISTER’S RESPONSE - RELEASE OF SERVICE RECORDS
The Association was pleased to receive a detailed response from the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel to our concerns about the release of Service Records by the National Archives. The Minister
acknowledged that the fairness of a particular decision to release information is not an issue that can be easily resolved.
Of specific interest was the Minister’s advice that both the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Federal Court have determined that information relating to a person’s professional affairs, including their employment performance, is not considered to be their personal affairs. The Association acknowledges this however suggests that ADF records are, by their nature, more detailed and contain more sensitive and personal information than any civilian employment record would contain!
The Minister also advises that the National Archives policy for the release of deceased members’ medical information is that it will release information unless it contains information about medical conditions that are hereditary and that such release may constitute an unreasonable disclosure of a third party’s personal affairs.
However, the Association wonders whether National Archives officers are medically qualified to make such a decision?
OUR THANKS TO THE ADF
The Association, along with its partners in the Alliance of Defence Service Organizations, expresses its thanks to the ADF for the support provided in the recent natural disasters that have plagued Australia. Once again the true grit of the members of the ADF was on display for the Nation to see and the community owes them a great deal.
We offer our sincere and profound sympathies to all those who were adversely impacted by the disasters.
Media Contacts
Executive Director: Les Bienkiewicz 0411 444248 www.dfwa.org.au
National President: David Jamison 0416 107557
ALL 8RAR MEMBERS DFWA IS ALLIED WITH RAR NATIONAL TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS AND ENTITLEMENTS THEY NEED MEMBERS.
♦
PRESS RELEASE
28 July 2010
MOVING FORWARD … SLIPPING BACK !
As Australian servicemen and women continue to put their lives at risk in Afghanistan on behalf of their country, a partnership of Ex-Service Organisations has called for a better indexation system for defence superannuation which – for more than a decade – has seen defence families receiving less favorable treatment than that given to welfare beneficiaries.
As long as the current indexation formula for their military superannuation pensions remains unchanged, ex-service men and women will continue to bear the brunt of rising costs of living and suffer the continual loss of purchasing power of their modest superannuation benefits.
This inequity has been in place since 1997, when the then Government recognised that a CPI-based indexation system was fundamentally inadequate and in order to protect purchasing power changed the indexation of age/service pensions to a formula that includes a wage index.
Military and public sector superannuation pensions however were not changed and have continued to be subject to a discredited CPI-based indexation formula.
National spokesman for the FairGo! Campaign, David Jamison, said that while successive governments since World War I have acknowledged the “unique” role of the Australian military, the current Labor Government has not been prepared to recognise that by providing adequate superannuation treatment for those who have served their country.
“A major issue with the Labor Government has been the concern that changing the military superannuation pension indexation formula would have a flow-on effect to hundreds of thousands of public sector pensions,” Mr. Jamison said.
“Their focus on an economic flow-on is simply unfair to former military people who have served their country.
“Coalition leader, Tony Abbott, has announced the Liberal and National parties will move to introduce the revised formula for DFRDB and DFRB superannuants over the age of 55. The Greens also support the change and extend it to all military superannuation schemes.
“In this election campaign we call on all the political parties to commit to improve the indexation of all military superannuation schemes without further delay.
“For the Labour Government to claim that the costs are too great, it follows that the cost is too great to send ADF members into combat and to risk their lives implementing government foreign policy.
“It is time for governments to come clean on the true costs of war and for the nation to pay the proper price instead of putting an unnecessary and unfair burden on its service men and women by neglecting them once their service is completed.
“To that end, we will be activating a series of Local Action Groups in 49 marginal electorates and asking candidates to state what their position is on this issue, then letting the voting public know so they can make an informed choice at the ballot box”.
Contact: Allan Yates Maxim Communications 0421 150 229
David Jamison FairGo! Campaign 0416 107 557
SOME FACTS ABOUT MILITARY SUPERANNUATION
• Military superannuation pensions do not keep up with the cost of living. They are indexed using an outdated formula that erodes their purchasing power. This formula is based solely on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) states “CPI is not a purchasing power or cost of living measure.”
• In 1997 the solely CPI indexation formula was abandoned for Age and Service pensions. Their current formula is effectively based on the greatest of CPI, the Pensioner & Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) and the wages based measure (Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE). As a result, Age/Service Pensioners have their purchasing power and therefore their standard of living protected. Military superannuants do not.
• After 20 years using CPI to index a $20,000 commencing pension, the military superannuant receives far less than they would have received had their pension been indexed in the same way as the Age & Service pensions.
• Military retirement and disability pensions now stand out as being more harshly treated than almost every other long-term Commonwealth payment that is subject to regular appropriate indexing to maintain its value. That’s not fair.
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