12. Hon RICK BARKER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Veterans' Affairs
When can veterans expect a full response from the Government in response to the Law Commission report titled A New Support Scheme for Veterans: A Report on the Review of the War Pensions Act 1954 that was presented to Parliament on 1 June 2010?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Veterans’ Affairs) Link to this
When it is ready. For the member’s information, it took 3 years for the Law Commission to present its report, with 170 recommendations. It did not provide draft legislation and it did not provide costings. It could not even tell us how many veterans there are in the community. But as the Law Commission noted, it has proposed significant changes, and it would not be possible to implement the proposed changes quickly.
Does the Minister disagree with the contention of the Law Commission that, in some instances, a veteran has less support by way of the War Pensions Act than a comparable ordinary citizen who is supported by ACC; how can this disadvantage to the veteran be justified, and when is the Minister going to put right this injustice by implementing the provisions of the Law Commission report?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
The member is quite right. The situation is unfair, and we are aware that 39 veterans, if we were able to proceed with the Law Commission’s report, would transfer to the veterans’ weekly income compensation. However, I note that this anomaly is not new, and the previous Government was in the situation where it could have rectified that. It is certainly one of the recommendations that we are taking very seriously.
Does the Minister agree with the Law Commission on the establishment of an expert panel to develop prescriptive decision-making processes and guidance; if so, why has the Minister disbanded the expert panel this year, how does this demonstrate good faith to the veteran community, and, if the Minister disagrees with having an expert panel, why?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
Because one of the proposals is that I put forward another expert panel, which will be able to assist us in a much greater way. The fact is that this Government brought in the expert panel. The previous Government promised it; we brought it in. It has now fulfilled its requirements, and we wish to have another one that will better meet the needs of veterans. But after 9 long years of the Labour Government I think we have made a lot of progress.
Is it correct that the delay in responding to the Law Commission report on the review of the War Pensions Act is because of the cost to the Crown, which in reality means a financial loss to the veteran community, and how can this be justified as being fair to veterans?