The Federal Labor Caucus is holding a “brainstorming session” on Sunday 5 February 2012 in Canberra to formulate its policy ideas and strategies and to have its members (MPs and Senators) raise issues of concern from within their electorates.
This is a great opportunity for us to make sure that our grievances and the Governments unfair treatment of them is made known at their workshop. We do not need to go into the details of our issues: they have been received by the politicians in earlier campaigns. This call to action is to make our presence felt and known that we will not relent in achieving our “Fair Go!” Campaign objectives
At the “head shed” ADSOs David Jamison has sent a letter to the PM and Cabinet Ministers and Neil Weekes has distributed his Situation Report No 10 “Butchers Paper Raid”. The “Two Front Strategy” is in sync.
At the “sharp end” we call on our State and Local Electorate Action Groups and all our supporters to act in a show of strength for our major issues: military superannuation pension indexation and the restoration of the value of Veterans Disability pensions.
HOW?
1. Make you concern known to your local Labor MP before Friday afternoon. Use any one or more of the following means:
• a personal visit to the MP and/or the Electoral Office,
• make a telephone call to the MP and/or the Electoral Office ,
• send an email to the MP, the Electoral Office and the Parliamentary Office,
• post an entry on the MPs facebook, or
• post a short letter.
2. Make you concern known to other Labor MPs, Labor Senators, the PM and her Cabinet Ministers. Their contact details can be found at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/mi-party.asp
We suggest you compose your own. As a guide, use any of the following:
We want the Government to adopt the same formula used for Age/Service pensions for all components of Military retirement pensions (DFRB/DFRDB/MSBS)
Successive Australian Governments have breached a condition of military service (employment), related to the indexation of the military superannuation payment (pension), that it would retain its purchasing power. It hasnt since 1997 when the Government discarded CPI indexation for the Age pension to another formula that retains purchasing power but kept CPI for military superannuation pensions.
The Labor Partys promise, prior to the 2007 Federal Election, that in Government it would “fix” the unfair military superannuation indexation and the indexation of disability pensions, established a bank of goodwill and voting support amongst the defence community. That goodwill has been exhausted by the Labor Governments failure to deliver.
We want the Government to restore the value of Veterans Disability Pensions by adjusting them to reflect increased community living standards since 1997, as it has for Age and Service pensions.
It seems that Labors principle of a Fair Go for everyone (“We will not leave anyone behind”- PM) does not apply to many in the Defence Family.
And ask any one or more of these questions:
1. When will the Government deliver on its 2007 election promise to fix military superannuation indexation?
2. Why doesnt the Government restore fair military superannuation indexation to its veterans?
3. When will the Government introduce legislation to restore fair military superannuation indexation to its veterans?
4. How much longer does the Government believe it can cling to its discredited position that CPI indexation alone is inadequate for age pensions but perfectly acceptable for military superannuation?
5. Is the Caucus aware that the Governments failure to honour it pre-election commitment of FAIR indexation has lost the respect and good will of the Defence Family?
Ask for a reply
In your contacts and correspondence be assertive and courteous but please avoid personal abuse.
Here is some information on the Defence Family (DF) (current and past serving ADF members and their related families):
1. DF (estimated at over 3 million people) represents a large portion of the Australian community
2. DF is dissatisfied because the Government has failed to deliver on its 2007 promises to fix the unfair military superannuation (DFRB/ DFRDB/MSBS) pension indexation and disability pension indexation.
3. The Australian people hold the DF in high esteem and trustworthiness. They are increasingly aware of the Fair Go Campaign and supportive of our call for A Fair Go.
We know that Politicians react to numbers particularly in marginal seats and when the issue discredits their Partys public image.
The Call to Action is NOW.
Please pass to your network of family and friends and encourage them to follow your lead.
