The Senate has rejected the Albanese Government\u2019s plan to put a use-by-date on \u2018we will remember them\u2019 and impose a 20-year limit on reviews of military honours and awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a stunning condemnation of Labor\u2019s plan to restrict the timeframe for reviewing heroic actions by Australian Defence Force personnel, the Coalition joined forces with the crossbench to discharge the Defence Honours and Appeals Tribunal Bill 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the outcome was a humiliating defeat for the Prime Minister and his Veterans\u2019 Affairs Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great victory for veterans, their families and ADF personnel,\u201d Ms Ley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPutting a time limit on honouring acts of bravery was disrespectful and completely out of step with Australian values. Our nation believes in recognising service and sacrifice whenever the truth comes to light, not only when it suits a government\u2019s timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Ley said the Senate\u2019s decision reflected what the community already knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cService to our country doesn\u2019t expire after 20 years, and neither should the chance to correct an injustice. Australians expect fairness for those who wear the uniform, and the Senate has protected that principle today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shadow Minister for Veterans\u2019 Affairs Darren Chester said the Government\u2019s failure to demonstrate a single shred of veteran support for the proposal spoke volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn Question Time, the Minister for Veterans\u2019 Affairs couldn\u2019t name one veteran who supported the Bill, and the Prime Minister cut him loose. This was a disgraceful and unnecessary attack on an independent Tribunal and a complete distraction from the real issues impacting veterans\u2019 wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Chester said the Senate\u2019s decision was a forceful rejection of Labor\u2019s attempt to wind back rights that veterans and families have relied on for more than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the Albanese Government persists with this mean-spirited plan, the Bill will have to return to the House of Representatives, but the Prime Minister should face reality and bin it permanently,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis Bill was opposed by veterans, ex-service organisations and the Tribunal itself. Defence officials even admitted they didn\u2019t consult the independent Tribunal before drafting it. That is an extraordinary failure of respect and process. Our veterans deserve better than a government that tries to strip away their rights and silence their appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe current system works because it is independent, fair and trusted. Labor\u2019s Bill would have shut the door on cases that deliver long-overdue justice and recognition, undermined the Tribunal\u2019s integrity and damaged confidence among those who have served. The Senate has done the job the Prime Minister refused to do, which is stand up for veterans and protect their rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Established in 2011, the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal provides an independent pathway for reviewing Defence decisions on medal recognition dating back to 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tribunal warned Labor\u2019s changes would gut most of its work, including landmark reviews such as those involving Victoria Cross heroes Teddy Sheean and Richard Norden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Senate inquiry received 63 submissions, with only one supporting the Bill from the Department of Defence, which wrote it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tribunal Chair Stephen Skehill told the inquiry it would strip Defence personnel of their rights and \u201cwork against the wellbeing of Defence personnel\u201d, while RSL NSW said the proposal was \u201cdisgraceful\u201d and would devalue service and harm veterans\u2019 health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Chester said Labor had completely misread the veteran community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was arrogant and deeply disrespectful to those who have served our nation. Veterans fought this Bill and today they won.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Senate has rejected the Albanese Government\u2019s plan to put a use-by-date on \u2018we will remember them\u2019 and impose a 20-year limit on reviews of military honours and awards. In a stunning condemnation of Labor\u2019s plan to restrict the timeframe for reviewing heroic actions by Australian Defence Force personnel, the Coalition joined forces with the … Continue reading “Honours Bill Thrown in the Bin by the Senate”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35911,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35910\/revisions\/35911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}