STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr McCORMACK (Riverina) (13:54): Great War historian and Australian War Memorial founding father Charles Bean said this of the institution: Here is their spirit, in the heart of the land they loved; and here we guard the record which they themselves made. Tonight we will come together as a parliament to commemorate and celebrate the opening of the atrium and the new galleries in the Australian War Memorial.

But the government cannot crow about doing things for veterans when at the same time it is slashing benefits to our veterans by capping the allied health services to $5,000 per annum. What this does is make $748 million of savings to the Treasurer's bottom line in the budget, in the insidious budget, in the cruel budget. This is not right.

This is not fair. When our veterans, who had our backs when we sent them as a parliament to do the duty for this nation, need us to have their backs, we desert them in this way. I say to Labor: reconsider this.

Just like you reconsidered the capital gains and the trusts and the Invictus Games and the Doug and Kaye Baird travel benefits, reconsider the cruel cuts to the allied health cap that you imposed in this insidious budget.