QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE: TAKE NOTE OF ANSWERS
Senator McGRATH (Queensland) (15:12): I would like to apologise to the veterans and their families for the fact that you have a minister for veterans affairs who is the worst minister for veterans affairs since the creation of the department in 1976. By the way, the Prime Minister has full confidence in this minister's incompetence. This is a minister who refused to take a meeting with veterans yesterday who wished to raise very important issues concerning the health treatment and the health services available to veterans.
This minister refused to take the meeting. He was shamed into then taking the meeting and—I know this as a fact—he walked into the meeting and refused to shake the hands of the veterans. What a disgrace to the veterans and their families.
A disgraceful minister refused to shake the hands of the veterans. He sat in this meeting, folded his arms—like this—and rolled his eyes at the veterans because he was upset that he was unable to go to a social function at Government House. He was upset that he had to give up having tea with the Governor-General.
Instead, he had to do his day job, which was to meet with veterans to deal with the issues that impact their lives. This minister is the worst minister for veterans affairs since the creation of the department. Ever since he's been sworn in as a minister, his decisions have had to be reversed.
He's had to backflip on serious decisions because he has disrespected the veterans and their communities. The Prime Minister might have confidence in the minister for veterans affairs, but the opposition does not, and I can say that every veteran and every veterans group that I know—and I know quite a few—do not have confidence in this minister for veterans affairs.
They know that he's not up to the job. They know that he does not understand that this country is safe because of these men and women putting their lives at risk. I'll give you another example of this minister's incompetence.
Three years ago, the defence honours tribunal brought down a decision and made a reference to the minister. This minister sat on that decision, concerning the service of the men who served in Rifle Company Butterworth in Malaysia during the Malayan emergencies. The minister has sat on the decision of this tribunal for three years.
This is a classic case of delay, deny, die. This minister refuses to meet with veterans, hoping that they'll fade, that they'll go away, using bureaucratic language, because the minister's response is that it needs a whole-of-government response before he can make a decision. Well, I say to the veterans of Rifle Company Butterworth and to the veterans who were in the non-meeting earlier this week that I'm sorry that you have such a poor minister for veterans affairs.
I am sorry to Australians that you have such a poor minister for veterans affairs. I am sorry for those men who have died for Australia that we have such a poor minister for veterans affairs.