A slap in the face
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G’day John,

Yesterday I took part in a Senate inquiry about a shocking Bill that's not only unnecessary, it’s a slap in the face to all veterans.

It's called the Defence Amendment (Defence Honours and Awards Tribunal) Bill 2025 (Bill). The government says it's about ‘modernising’ the operations of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal), but don't be fooled!

The government reckons the review process is too broad because it allows appeals to be made on honours and awards decisions dating back to 1939. So, they want to ‘modernise’ the rules and introduce a 20-year limit for reviews. They are essentially saying that unless the service occurred within the last two decades, it's not worthy of consideration.

That would mean heroes like Teddy Sheean, whose family and supporters, including me, campaigned for years to have Teddy’s extraordinary bravery recognised with a Victoria Cross, would never have had his day. The same goes for Richard Norden and many others.

If this Bill passes, it will exclude whole generations of veterans (including those who served in WW2, Vietnam and Korea) and invalidate reviews for heroes like Teddy Sheean and Richard Norden. 

It also excludes advocates and supporters who often stand in for veterans who are too physically or mentally unwell to apply themselves. For a Defence honour, the Bill allows only senior ADF members or eyewitnesses to apply for a review, provided they have the consent of the member or their immediate family.

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If this Bill passes, it will exclude whole generations of veterans (including those who served in WW2, Vietnam and Korea) and invalidate reviews for heroes like Teddy Sheean and Richard Norden. 

It also excludes advocates and supporters who often stand in for veterans who are too physically or mentally unwell to apply themselves. For a Defence honour, the Bill allows only senior ADF members or eyewitnesses to apply for a review, provided they have the consent of the member or their immediate family.

This is a bad bill! Every witness (except the Rear Admiral who was spruiking for Defence) told the Senate inquiry just that. They also said that there was almost no consultation on this legislation with the veteran community!

And here's the kicker. Out of 63 submissions to the Senate inquiry, 62 opposed it. The only one in favour? You guessed it, the Department of Defence. It seems that the government and Defence have learnt nothing from the Royal Commission.

Even the Chair of the Tribunal strongly opposes this Bill and warned that it would abolish key rights for veterans and their families.

I’m going to fight this all the way – it’s an outrageous insult to all our veterans and their families.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee for inquiry which is expected to produce a report by 30 October 2025.

I’ll keep you posted!

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