QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS

Senator POLLEY (Tasmania) (15:08): Well, that was an interesting contribution from the good senator on the other side. Obviously she's got her speaking notes. Yet again they want to whip up a scare campaign when, really, we need to talk about the facts.

Let's talk about the facts of what this government has done since we came into office and cleaned up the mess that those opposite left behind. But, before I get into that, as somebody who is very proud of my family's contribution to serving this great country in the Defence Force—generation after generation—I can tell you from firsthand experience who was in government in the fifties and sixties, who neglected the veterans who came back from the Second World War and who did nothing at all to support them or their families.

That's the reality of it. Let's look at what happened while you were in government in the previous decade. What happened then?

Everything was absolutely run down. You did nothing in terms of providing accommodation or giving veterans the support that they needed. I honestly don't think—well, there might be some people in that corner down there, but the majority of people in this chamber actually respect and want to honour the brave men and women who are enlisted in the three defence forces that serve this country, and every one of us should be very grateful for them.

Too many of them have lost their lives in conflicts and also suffered greatly on their return. But, as to the reality of what's happening, those opposite do little when it comes to being truthful about the facts. Since we came into government, the amount of investment that has been made by this government is in the order of more than $233 million.

That's the reality of it. We have also rebuilt the Department of Veterans' Affairs because those opposite allowed it to be run down so that it was an ordeal trying to get support from the department for those very real veterans that those opposite are now trying to use for their own political advantage. Labor also has acted to simplify the complex veterans compensation scheme, and the government has progressed the reforms to harmonise and simplify the legislation, responding to the first recommendations of the royal commission.

They want you to believe that there was nothing to see on that side when they were in government for 10 years and all the problems are here. I will say that at least the minister acknowledged that he made an error, unlike the former minister, who was the minister for colour coding and rorting the grants that she had responsibility for, Senator McKenzie. At no time did she ever apologise for what she did.

I'm going to run out of time, but I also want to put on record, when it comes to housing, the record of those opposite, who joined with the Greens and held up legislation dealing with the Housing Australian Future Fund for an entire week in this chamber to avoid having a vote, because they wanted to play politics with housing and homelessness in this country.

What they do when it suits their political narrative is to come here and cry those crocodile tears, but, when you look at what we have done in the time that we've been in government, as opposed to those opposite, the record is very, very clear. (Time expired) The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Polley, I will advise you to be cautious in your use of language. Some of the language you used was getting very close to an imputation.