Summary

3 Oct 2011

What we Want

All we want is an indexation regime that again protects our military superannuation pensions purchasing power, and that the present Age pension indexation regime does no more and no less than just that.

We want the Age pension indexation regime.

Our DFRB/DFRDB/MSBS superannuation payment is NOT A WELFARE PENSION.

We all contributed compulsorily to our own superannuation scheme while in uniform. The Government for its part said that our superannuation pensions indexation would have its purchasing power protected. We kept our side of the contract; the Government has not kept its side.

The Government, morally if not legally, is in breach of its contract.

 THE CORE OF OUR CAMPAIGN

 There is a breach of a contracted condition of service that compulsory military superannuation indexation based on CPI would maintain its purchasing power in the cost of living. It hasnt since 1997.

CPI has not been a measure of the costs of living since 1997 when the Government changed Commonwealth age and welfare pensions from CPI indexation to an additional measure of wages inflation (MTAWE) and again in 2009 to add a further measure of Pensioner & Beneficiary Living Costs Index (PBLCI) to keep pace with the costs of living. CPI remains the indexation measure for military superannuants. This is inequitable, morally and socially unjust.The continued use of CPI as an indexation measure of the costs of living is fraudulent.The Governments costs objection to changing the CPI indexation is significantly overstated.

The Governments explanation that while our cause is worthy it fails on costs and the assessment of greater priorities to other more important expenditures. ( statement by Penny Wong at a public debate titled “The Major Parties are Failing Us”, held in Melbourne on the 5 April 2011) is rejected when we see what the “other more important” uses are.

To date the Campaign has progressed through two Phases:

Phase 1: Pre 2010 Federal Election (20 August 2010). Read Update 1/2011. In this phase we lobbied all parties to determine their intentions in regard to our four objectives: reform to provide fair military superannuation pension indexation;equitable treatment of veteran disability pensions; certainty in military compensation, and aspects of veteran health care. A summary of the major political parties response is here.

Phase 2: Post election to the Senate Rejection of the Fair Indexation Bill 16 Jun 2011. A short summary of where we were up to at February 2011 is here Read Updates 2/2011 and 3/2011\

With the legislative opportunity curtailed we have begun Direct Action Phase 3

To understand the Consumer Price Index (CPI) listen to this radio broadcast on Radio National on Friday 11 February 2011

{play}http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2011/02/lms_20110211_0905.mp3{/play}

To understand the Campaigns background and history refer to the HISTORY below Australian Military Superannuation. “A major consideration that Australian Politicians refuse to Address – All we want is Equity”. The site was established by the late Lt Col John Graham who as a “pioneer and forward scout” kept the unfair military superannuation matter alive in the defence community and with the Parliament. A very valuable site for history of the subject. It provides past & current information related to Military Superannuation. The websites purpose is to help reverse the damage done by successive Governments to our retirement funds. This site provides a means of keeping superannuates up to date with matters that affect or have affected their entitlements.