Greater support for Wide Bay Veterans
13th August, 2010
Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss today said a Liberal Nationals Government will provide greater support to Australia’s veterans and their families.“Australia’s service personnel, past and present, give so much to our country and deserve respect and recognition from the community for their service and sacrifice,” Mr Truss said.
Our plan includes:
• The introduction of new indexation arrangements for the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme (DFRDB).
• $38 million to extend the Pharmaceutical Safety net — which will remove of out-of-pocket expenses for pharmaceuticals for disabled veterans in receipt of 50 per cent of the General Rate of Disability Pension or higher (including EDA and TPI).
• Extra support to make the transition from post-deployment and military life through the ‘We’ll Be There’ program which will provide training and support for volunteer veterans and ex-service people.
• $7.5 million to expand the Building Excellence in Support and Training (BEST) program and the Training and Information Program (TIP).
• Establish a VWWInc website for networking, information and advice for Veterans’ widows and wives.
“At the 2007 election, Labor made grand announcements but then turned its back on the veteran community, stalling and delaying on key promises.
“The Coalition does not believe in unfairly raising the expectations of the veteran community by making unrealistic commitments only to break this trust once elected. We take every commitment in our plan very seriously. The Coalition will deliver on its promises,” Mr Truss said.
“I truly value the service and sacrifice our veterans make and in Government I will continue to honour Australia’s former and serving defence force personnel, to deliver a fair share to the veteran community in Wide Bay.”
