Thread: a message for all serving and ex military members

Late mail, could be interesting, Bob

It’s Time to Listen and Act

Peter Criss will be interviewed by Greg Carey in the 4BC studio tomorrow (Wednesday 20 March) at 10.00 am Queensland time. The interview will last as long as required to cover the issues and listener interest is there.

This is a great opportunity for Peter to clearly explain some of the matters that are often curtailed because of time pressures in radio interviews. BUTit requires your support to make it successful. It is hugely important that we support Peter and the Greg Carey to show the public, politicians and other media that there is a large groundswell of veteran support.

Here’s what we ask you to do.

Once the interview is underway, start emailing the station with your supportive comments and/or ring the Greg Carey Show to voice your opinions. Even if you only get to the Station switchboard, your comments will be noted.

After the interview continue to call the station and on their website leave your comments once the podcast has been uploaded.

You can listen live to 4BC here:
http://4bcsaves.com.au/stream/listen.php

You can email the station here:
http://www.4bc.com.au/contact-us.html (Select Greg Carey)

You can ring the Talkback line here:
Talkback Line – 13 13 32
Talkback Line (if calling from outside of Brisbane) – 07 3908 8800

You can send a text message here:
SMS – 0427 13 13 32

Please do whatever you can to support this event and spread the word quickly to all of your contacts.

The momentum is building, looks like the Commonwealth Public Servants are on board. Bob

Diggers take shots at Prime Minister Julia Gillard over superannuation scheme

Arising from our ADSO Fair Go Campaign Rally at Rooty Hill recently the Sydney Daily Telegraph has taken a keen interest in the matter with Simon Black following up on his first article PM snubs veterans with his latest article in Monday's Daily Telegraph here .
That was an abridged version. Here is the complete article:
AUSTRALIAN ex-servicemen and women have warned Prime Minister Julia Gillard they have the power to deliver western Sydney to Tony Abbott if she refuses to make changes to the military superannuation scheme.

Under the current scheme, tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), an individual on a military pension can receive thousands of dollars less per year than someone on an aged pension, which is referenced at the very minimum to 27.7% of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE).

Diggers said they have been heartened by meetings with both the PM and opposition leader Tony Abbott in the last week but warned they wouldn't be "led up the garden path"
"We're at the end of our tolerance," Defence Force Welfare Association National President (DFWA), David Jamison, said. "Hopefully these meetings weren't designed solely to placate."
Mr Jamison said his organisation had been working behind the scenes with MPs trying to find a solution.
"(But) if that solution is not part of the budget announcement we believe we have been led up the garden path again," he said. "If needs be we can work hard to swing elections."

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information reveal individuals on Defence and Commonwealth Defined Superannuation Benefits (DCDS hold the difference in a number of Western Sydney electorates as well as dozens of others nationally.
The seat of Greenway, held by Michelle Rowland, has 92256 registered electors. Of that number 4305 are on DCDSB, making up 4.67 per cent of the electorate.
With the seat only held by a margin of 0.88 per cent their votes could swing the seat in the September Federal Election.
The same is true in Anthony Albanese's electorate of Grayndler, Lindsay - held by David Bradbury, Reid - held by John Murphy, and Banks - held by Daryl Melham.
In six other electorates their votes would shrink the margin to a knife's edge.
In 44 of the 150 Federal Electorates individuals on DCDSB exceed the margin, in some cases by as much as double.

Federal President of the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers' Association, John Coleman, said people on commonwealth defined benefits would stand shoulder to shoulder with Diggers in lobbying for indexation changes.
"People are really really angry about this," Mr Coleman said. "It's been going on for so long."
"I've talked to members all over the country and they will vote on this."

Economist for the DFWA Peter Thornton cited a 2001 statement to the senate select committee finding CPI was "not a measure of cost of living" but was "a measure of inflation...there are differences between those two".
"Twelve years later (and) the money we're supposed to be living on has been steadily eroded," Mr Thornton said.
A spokesperson for Julia Gillard confirmed the PM had met with the Diggers and said she would consider "alternate costings" to the government's estimate of $1.7 billion if they were provided to her.

But Mr Thornton said the government's costings around the program were an example of "the dark arts".
"The costs of the program are a projection over 40 years," he said. "Look at us. We'll all be dead before the 40 years are up."

He also pointed out the governments $1.7 billion cost had treated the payments to veterans as a lump sum debt, "but this cost is ridiculous because no debt exists. Instead payments should only be treated as a non-discretionary obligation sourced from Consolidated Revenue when they fall due".
"The Government's cost is completely disingenuous," he said.
Tony Abbott last week resigned a commitment to change the indexation around military superannuation, stating that: "As far back as 2007, Labor led people to believe it would provide a fairer deal for ex-servicemen and women". "Labor has never delivered."

A spokesperson for Mr Abbott said the coalition had costed changes to the scheme at $100 million.

Mr Thornton said the estimate was consistent with his costings but stated: "this commitment does not cover all retirees".
"It only covers those over 55 years of age on older military schemes now closed," he said.
"When you consider younger veterans or widows who rely on the current military super scheme then where's the equity in that?"

A bit long winded, but excellent ADSO training video on standto.org Bob

[ame="http://vimeo.com/54420216"]StandTo Website Introduction on Vimeo[/ame]

Bravo Zulu, for those who participated, Bob

4BC Interview with Peter Criss

4BC Interview with Peter Criss
If you missed the excellent interview on 4 BC this morning with Greg Carey then listen to it here
Greg Carey was very generous with his time, giving Peter about 50 minutes to talk about the issues and take a number of phone calls from listeners. It was a very valuable opportunity to create further awareness of the campaign in the public arena. That was achieved as measured by the 4BC's switchboard being bulked out with cued callers and many couldn't get through as well as the volume of emails and text messages sent during the show. This is a great effort, and our sincere thanks goes to all who acted even with such short notice. It is obvious that we do have a national ready reaction force. Thanks for your support.
After you have listened to the podcast continue to act and have your say by completing the Comment Form on the podcast page.
Keep those comments coming: the more we have reinforces the level of community support to our issues.
And please pass this message and encouragement to all of your contacts.
All for one and one for All
The Fair Go Team

From Ross Eastgate, Townsville bulletin




Analysis: FOR those who trust in such things this year's calendar may hold portents for the outcome of the federal election.
If the Prime Minister is true to her word it will be held on Saturday, September 14, now 177 days away.
The superstitious among you will realise this follows Friday the 13th, unlucky for some.
The following day, September 15, commemorates the Battle of Britain about which Winston Churchill said of the gallant but numerically inferior Allied pilots, never was so much owed by so many to so few.
That could be interpreted in any number of ways depending on your politics.
Electoral pundits aren't the only ones closely monitoring the calendar.
For many politicians the remaining 177 days could be the last of their political careers.
For some an unceremonious eviction from the parliamentary club will end their hopes of procuring a lifelong, taxpayer-funded pension generously indexed to current parliamentary salaries.
Them's the breaks but they are unlikely to attract any sympathy from military superannuants who have watched their compulsory, self-funded pensions erode as successive governments have refused to listen to their legitimate concerns.
The arguments are not difficult to understand.
Military superannuants under the old DFRB/DFRDB schemes made compulsory contributions to the scheme, which could be accessed only after 20 years service.
Those pensions were neither a welfare payment nor a benefit, they were a condition of service funded by a 5.5 per cent pre-tax salary deduction.
Contributors were assured then subsequent pensions would be indexed to maintain their purchasing power.
They were until the late 1980s but are not now as they are linked to CPI, which means their purchasing power has been gradually eroded.
Those disadvantaged superannuants now simply want their pensions to be indexed fairly to restore their purchasing power.
That's not a big ask but it has been a question both sides of politics have been reluctant to listen to, though they have had plenty to say on why unfair indexation of military superannuation should not be changed.
Some have even suggested military superannuation pensions should be means tested, a proposal all Australian superannuants should regard with alarm.
However it's amazing what an imminent election can achieve.
The Coalition recently gave a written commitment to index most military superannuation pensions fairly, should it win the next election.
The apolitical Alliance of Defence Service Organisations has cautiously welcomed that commitment.
When the Prime Minister was politely confronted by a small group of ex-service personnel during her recent Rooty Hill sojourn, she agreed to meet ADSO leaders in Canberra as early as this week.
Former Army lawyer now Minister for Defence Material Mike Kelly also met a small ADSO delegation last Friday, the Ides of March.
Kelly should be sympathetic but has not demonstrated so far that he is prepared to override his ideological colleagues who have more pressing agendas than the plight of the superannuated ex-service community.
The Gillard government could easily rectify the situation in the May budget, or voters could decide in 177 days.

The latest update, amazing what an election brings out. The MSBS people are still getting shafted, though, Bob

This email contains graphics, so if you don't see them, view it in your browser.

ADSO UPDATE 31 - COOKING WITH GAS - 1 August 2013

Cooking With Gas


Tuesday 30 July was an eventful day for our Fair Go campaign’s progress to achieving its military superannuation indexation objective. Mike Kelly announced the Government’s change in policy. The two best things about the announcement were that::

• Both sides of politics now officially admit that CPI indexation alone does not keep up with the cost of living over time. The Coalition admitted this in June 2010, three years ago, and it is pleasing to see the government catching up, albeit belatedly; and
• now have a direct comparison of each major Party policy.

The worst thing about the announcement is that most DFRB/DFRDB members are still out in the cold. So are all MSBS members. Our objective is for all components of all military superannuation schemes (DFRB/DFRDB/MSBS) to be indexed by the same % and with the same frequency as the Age & Service Pensions.
The reason DFRB and DFRDB are getting all the publicity at the moment is that those are the schemes we have been able to get the political parties to make a move on. From the first announcement back in 2010 we have pushed hard to include those excluded including MSBS members. MSBS is not a second order issue for us!
But, a quarter-century since changes to CPI precipitated unfair indexation, and six years after Mr Rudd's 2007 pre-election promise, and four+ years after the discredited Matthews report was handed to the then Finance Minister, Mr Tanner, there is a flicker of light at the end of a very long tunnel and we believe its not an oncoming train.
Following Minister Kelly’s announcement the Coalition re-affirmed its commitment to their existing fair indexation policy.
ADSO responded to the Government’s changed policy with David Jamison’s media statement and with this Pete Criss video. The video explains the details of the new Labor policy and compares the promises of the two major parties. Share the video link widely with all of your contacts and do click the like button and leave a supportive comment (no matter how brief) in the comments box.
The media have been active in reporting the event in the press, and on radio and TV. Our national media spokesperson, Pete Criss, was interviewed on radio 2UE Sydney, 6PR Perth and ABC Radio PM. On 6 PR Pete Criss gave a comprehensive analysis of the MSBS: it is a must listen to for all MSBS superannuants and contributors.
The restoration of Veterans’ disability pension’s parity is a major objective but the major parties seem unwilling to engage with us. An election date decision should force a statement of their policy.
You will no doubt have your own views on this latest development so why not have your say in the ADSO forum pages at www.standto.org and on the ADSO facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/ADSOAustralia


Our Campaign is proving to be effective. But there’s more to do in the “front line” marginal electorates by:

• Direct engagement with the election candidates individually, and in open forums, to reinforce the necessity to keep their promises and to gain their support to include the DFRDB under 55s and MSBS as well as getting a commitment to move on the veteran disability pension issue; and
  
• Promotions to our Defence family, especially the ADF members, and the Australian people using all means especially social media.

You can help by joining your State Action Group and local electorate Action groups – volunteer here
As the election date nears the action tempo will increase. Make sure you keep up to date with latest developments by visiting the standto website regularly.
Thanks for your ongoing support.

The Fair Go Team
Campaign Directors: Ted Chitham, Alf Jaugietis
Campaign National Spokesperson: David Jamison
Campaign National Media Spokesperson: Peter Criss

ADF retirees win Super fight. Courier Mail, Sat. March 15, 2014.


" Almost 60,000 retired military personnel and their families will be quarantined from their the Abbott governments budget razor gang, with a $160 million boost to their pensions. After years of lobbying, military superannuants will have their benefits indexed in line with the age pension. Legislation will be introduced next week, to reform the retirement scheme for the defence forces, and boost their pensions in line with the cost of living. The changes will affect 57,000 retired servicemen and their families,"


The fight is not over. That is just bringing the DFRDB system back to where it should have been, from the start. The super system for serving military members has to be sorted. But it is a good start, Bob.

Yes but labor and the greens knocked it back last time and could do the same in the Senate this time.

Lobby your local Labor and/or Green Senator.

Garry