Thread: a message for all serving and ex military members

All serving members & ex members should read this.

Military Superannuation Pension Indexation – A Reminder of the Issue
The core issue is the employment "contract". Military superannuation, a condition of military employment, required a compulsory contribution from pre-tax pay. In return, military superannuation pensions would be indexed to maintain purchasing power. That condition has been breached for over two decades.
Indexation was updated in 1997 for Commonwealth income support pensions (Age and Service pensions etc) to a new method that helped maintain purchasing power, but ADF men and women were left on CPI. In 2009 that method was further updated but military superannuants were again left on CPI, adding to the injustice and unfairness.
We want restoration of our service condition and that will be achieved by receiving the same percentage increase given to the Age and Service pension. (Remember that the only rational reason to index any taxpayer-funded payment is to protect its purchasing power, which means that all should be indexed identically.)
CPI Inadequacy Exposed
As events move quickly we need to capture every opportunity to reinforce our claim. The latest opportunity came last week when we all received our increased CPI superannuation payment of 0.1%. What better practical display to all Australians of the inadequacy, unfairness and injustice of the Government's insistence that CPI is a fair measure of maintaining purchasing power to keep pace with the cost of living?
And the latest from the Treasurer who said that our superannuation scheme is "a generous one". Mr Swan made that statement on 4 BC the same day as the announcement that Parliamentarians would receive another salary increase from a 3% CPI Tribunal decision (that is passed on to their superannuants by their wages based indexation method). Listen to the interview and hear Wayne Swan dodge the Is it Fair? question.
If the Treasurer regards our schemes' increase as generous, how would he describe his increase?
If our indexation had been restored to the service condition of "maintaining its purchasing power" using the same formula as the Age and Service pension method, our CPI percentage increase would have been about 0.9%. So in dollar terms using the DFRDB average pension of $24,836, the payment would have increased from 93 cents to $8.37 per fortnight. That's FAIR!
You can calculate the ravages that CPI only indexation has done to your military superannuation pensions here
Peter Criss sprang back in action on the radio airwaves last week to highlight the impact of the CPI increase on military superannuants and widows and make the comparison with the Age and Service pensions and the politicians' increase.
His interviews included
• 2UE (Sydney) with Jason Morrison.
• 4 BC (Brisbane) with Greg Carey. Pete's interview here exposes Wayne Swan's "spin" here on the previous day interview with Greg Carey: both interviews must be heard.
• 6PR (Perth) with Howard Sattler.
Neil Mitchell 3 AW (Melbourne) also broadcast a request for information from military superannuants on their meagre CPI indexation amount: many responded but no pod cast was made.
In the public interest we encourage those radio stations to sponsor a live on air debate military superannuation indexation with Pete Criss (our David) and Wayne Swan (The Government's Goliath) or any other Government "champion".
It is very difficult to give you early warning of radio interviews but we'll try by email if possible. Failing that how about you check the www.standto.org Home page each morning for future interviews or listen to the pod casts of ones you missed?
Have your say and enter the fray!
You can help us by listening to the interviews and responding immediately on air call back if offered or write a comment on the stations' web sites. An effective way to be heard is to email the radio station and register your interest and availability to receive calls on that subject from the station. Howard Sattler howards@6pr.com.au encourages that.
CPI PROTEST
Today we protested the CPI's inadequacy nationally at selected ALP marginal seat Electoral Offices with small representative teams and by sending ADSO Protest Letters to all Parliamentarians. You can help by sending your own letter to your local MP and the PM, Treasurer, Finance Minister or DVA Minister. Or use our template located here. Please read the instructions on how to use the template here.
Rod Oakeshott's Motion in the House of Representatives - Progress Report
The motion was debated in the Federation Room on Monday 18th June and adjourned to the next Parliamentary sittings commencing 14 August Speculation has it that if the motion has the Coalition's support and at least three Independents (Note that Rob Oakeshott's motion is seconded by Tony Windsor and a similar motion in May 2010 was seconded by Bob Katter) then it will be carried. If the vote is even then the Speaker has the deciding vote.
Operation AWARE
Op Aware 1. Thanks for your feed back. We learnt some valuable lessons to be applied in Op Aware 2.
Op Aware 2 is planned for the period 4-18 August in the lead up to Vietnam Veterans' Day. Dual emphasis will be placed on the restoration of DVA TPI and disability pensions' indexation AND military superannuation pension indexation.
What They Say on Significant Issues
Follow the correspondence between the Hon. Stephen Smith Minister for Defence and DFWA/ADSO's David Jamison and compare the positions on significant issues including:
• military superannuation (indexation, access to employer benefits, commutation, maximum benefit limits, ADF Reserves access, taxation and single governance structure)
• Veterans' Disability Payments
• ADF Workplace Remuneration Arrangements for current servicemen and women
• Other matters
The Future?
The Government's intransigence means that they will oppose any legislation to change the current CPI indexation formula for military superannuation pension's on the basis of the Matthews' Report finding that CPI is the right index. And they use financial data analysis from that report to "prove" to the Parliament that it is too costly to implement the changes we propose.
We continue to produce evidence that challenges the financial data used by Matthews for its assumptions, accuracy, completeness and accounting treatment (the Dark Arts as stated by the previous Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner, in his book "Sideshow – dumbing down democracy", see page 108). Still the Government ignores our request for an independent review by a professional body.
The real issue is the denial or the erosion of our individual right to receive a vested condition of service related to our superannuation indexation. That condition requires a non discretionary payment.
The Coalition has pledged that in Government it will legislate in its first year to index the DFRDB pension, excluding persons under 55 years old, to the same percentage as the Age and Service pension. This is only part of our need to apply it to all military superannuation schemes
New MSBS Video Released
Unfair CPI Indexation doesn't only affect DFRDB pensioners. We have released a new video featuring AVM Peter Criss clearly explaining how MSBS pensioners are also disadvantaged by unfair indexation. Even if you are not an MSBS retiree, please support us by watching the video and leaving a comment, and passing the video link on to your contacts. It is important that current ADF members see this video and the only way this will happen is through viral distribution through your email and facebook contacts.
Changes in ADSO Leadership
At the RAAF Association's AGM in June, Air Vice-Marshal Brent Espeland AM (Retd) was elected President replacing AVM Roxley McLennan AM (Retd): welcome to Brent. Thanks Roxley for your support and guidance in both ADSO's formation and governance of the Fair go Campaign.
Ray Gibson, my Fair Go Campaign Co-Director has reluctantly decided to retire from this role to the reserve bench for precautionary health reasons. Alf Jaugietis (DFWA) is Ray's replacement until Les Bienkiewicz (DFWA) returns in late September. In the meantime, Ray will continue to assist us particularly in creative marketing and PR work with flyers and video clips etc.
Appeal to Campaign Subscribers.
As the Campaign's tempo increases and we move to scale up to more direct action, we invite you to upgrade your commitment by joining our Action Group in your Federal electorate. Look at our volunteer form to see the sort of tasks they perform. Or join any one of our Advisory Groups.
You are all a vital link in our communications chain so please relay our reports, appeals and messages to your own social media and other networks.
There has been an increasing number of family members, particularly spouses and mothers of current serving men and women joining the Campaign. They bring to us a broader family, operational and marketing perspective. Invite your family to join with us now.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

It is not restricted to ex-military personnel. Retired Commonwealth public servants who were in the CSS (Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme) are in the exact same boat as regards indexation.

The pension paid by the government as representing the government's input is classed by the ATO as taxable income. This is because succeeding governments did not pay anything into the Scheme. Your pensions are paid by Treasury out of consolidated revenue each year. Everybody else who receives a superannuation pension receives non-taxable income.

Interestingly, if you left your own contributions in the scheme to receive a fixed pension, then this is non-taxable.

I think the public servants have a very different situation. I post a letter written by a retired Officer, to his local member. Bob[ Please read all of it , a bit long winded, but to the point.]

Hon. S. Smith, MP
953A Beaufort Street
Inglewood, WA, 6932
Dear Mr Smith,

I’ve just been notified of a six monthly cost of living adjustment of

0.1% to my military superannuation

pension, an increase of

(79c) per week, before tax.

You and your government say this is fair because you say CPI maintains purchasing power of our

pensions.

I’m writing to tell you that this is not fair and that 0.1% does not come close to reflecting my

essential cost of living increases over the past six months.

This latest CPI “increase” demonstrates yet again the absolute inadequacy of the CPI as a genuine
cost of living index for retired military families, Defence widows and those on invalidity pensions.
According to ABS statistics used to generate this CPI increase, over the last six months:
Health Costs increased by 3.2% ~ Insurance Costs increased by 1.6%
Transport Costs increased by 1.1% ~ Housing Costs increased by 1.0%
Food Costs supposedly reduced by 3.7% ~ but this is skewed by a banana price drop of 46%!
These are the essential costs that matter to me and many military retirees like me. But that’s not all.
Today’s CPI then offsets the rises in essential items against significant falls in discretionary items with
little relevance to my wife and me, including holidays, computers and household goods such as fancy
TVs.
I am outraged at your government’s continued discrimination against me and tens of thousands like
me, together with your refusal to support a change to the same fair indexation method used for Age
pensions. If you or any of your colleagues really believe that CPI indexation is fair, then you live on a
different planet from me.
Serving and former Armed Forces men and women are not second class citizens, so why won’t you
protect the purchasing power of our military superannuation pensions?
I do believe that when I raised my hand in 1967 and swore to “truly serve my sovereign lady, Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors, and the people and constitution of Australia...”
that my nation undertook some reciprocity in this sworn contract. A contract that included certain
recruiting rubrics (encouragements) such as


a war service loan adequate to purchase a metropolitan home at a reduced rate of interest,



should I be disabled as a result of my war service then a War Service pension based on the

average wage (as it had been since 1916), and



an independent superannuation scheme sufficient to retire on.

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These recruiting rubrics have been compromised as follows:



The War Service Home Loan has been privatised and now would even be an embarrassment

as a War Service Car Loan,



The TPI War Service Pension is now some 42% of the average wage,



The superannuation scheme was compromised; first by Whitlam sucking its funds into [note]

consolidated revenue, then in the early 90s for two years Keating just killed any CPI

adjustment, and it is now, due to its unique CPI indexation it is for the average military

DFRDBF superannuant some $5,000pa LESS than the Aged Pension!

I highlight this last point, any other Australian who chose to NOT pay superannuation and rely on the
largess of government is some $5,000pa better off than those of us whom served our nation and
contributed to a superannuation scheme. In current texting parlance, I must comment – WTF? [note]
Your governments inaction on this issue has had the effect of making most retired professional
service personnel your best anti-recruiting team in the nation. I shall certainly be be presenting the
argument to my fellow veterans and service personnel; “Is it now about time that we boycotted all
Veteran's events that draw media, and politicians, and organise our own, sans Canberra suits and
super-dooper-annuation?” We are big enough to pay respect to our Mates whom are no longer with
us, without masonry, media and marches - in alternate locations.
Further, Minister, do you see the service provided (mostly army) by Rehabilitation Centres
established by General Gillespie at major Field Force locations, Townsville, Holsworthy, Brisbane?,
as an admission or acceptance by senior serving officers of our Armed Forces that DVA is both
incapable and incompetent in caring for our wounded, in spite of their 11 or 12 billion$ a year, and
therefore another part your government's plan to eliminate DVA?
As far as this contributed superannuation pension is concerned, and its impact not only on the
uniformed, you should consider the electoral and election implications. Some 300,000 in the ex
service community from all wars whom have been progressively “done over” by government's one
way or another, on average, each is wed and has at least one child whom will vote the same as the
dad or mum who served, that is a good as a million votes Mr Smith, can you and the remainder of this
government afford it?
What is clear to even many members in the Parliament, is that the CPI methodology of indexing
military pensions is decidedly

NOT FAIR. Using CPI is simply not a means by which retired military

families, widows and those on invalidity pensions

can keep pace with the enormous cost of living

increases.

I strongly appeal to you to take early action to restore a

Condition of Service that would see the

buying power of military pensions maintained, not eroded, over time. That means that these

pensions, must at the very least be indexed in the same way as that which was applied to Age and

Service pensions in 1997 and again in 2009 to maintain their purchasing power.

Please be aware of the growing discontent within the defence family, particularly with military
superannuates especially when we see all Parliamentarians receive a 3% salary increase to their
salary with its resultant flow on to their superannuates.
I am deeply aggrieved that, having served my country willingly with my life at risk, I am being denied
a promised right and being let down by Governments that have promised but failed to deliver.
I must also mention your predecessor in the seat of Perth, Dr Rick Charlesworth. At that time I was,
over time, Chair of three school boards in the Perth Electorate, and research officer of the Deaths In
Custody Watch Committee. At any time I called his office for an appointment, I usually got one within
the week. Since you have been the the incumbent, in spite of repeated attempts, in a decade, not
once has your staff been able to provide me with a face to face encounter with you!
Its time to stand and deliver!

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Please fix this now.

I do wish I could conclude this letter Sincerely or maybe even Faithfully, I cannot,

Captain – Canungra Commission

RAE & Dog Handler – Retired