Labor has successfully put a hold on the Government’s cruel cuts to the children and orphans of war veterans who have been killed or injured.

 

Two disallowance motions in the Senate have stopped the Government scrapping the Income Support Bonus payments to veterans’ children under the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme (VCES) and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme 2004 (MRCAETS) programs.

 

The success of Labor’s disallowance motions in the Senate will ensure these payments stay in place – recipients are receiving half their payment ($107.80) this fortnight.

 

Tony Abbott must now rule out once and for all re-introducing his heartless cuts to payments for 1,200 children and orphans of war veterans.

 

Shamefully, Coalition politicians in both houses voted against retaining support for the children of war veterans by backing the legislation to cut the $215.60 annual payment.

 

Coalition MPs and Senators should be standing up to the Prime Minister on behalf for the children of war veterans, not voting to cut their payments.

 

What sort of priorities does this Prime Minister have if he can find an extra $75,000 for a high-income earner to have baby but is cutting $215.60 from the children of war veterans?

 

Payments to these children are now protected even if the government passes its MRRT Repeal legislation in its current form.

 

To cut these payments, the Government will have to go out of its way to target the children of war veterans which is surely a callous step too far - even for the Abbott Government.

 

It would be beyond brutal if the Government again sought to callously reintroduce specific measures to again target these payments to veterans’ children.

 

WEDNESDAY, 26 MARCH 2014


MEDIA CONTACT: JOAN ATKINSON 0422 916 496