BigBlog

5th November 2008

The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Ken      and I have been a volunteer pension officer with the      Branch and other ESO’s for many years since my return from Vietnam & Papua New Guinea. "I am also the administrator of a leading Australian Military Forum http://www.tri-service.org/ and represent the members on this issue.

Over the years one thing has really got me mad and that is the amount of effort that some widows have to go through to receive a War Widows pension from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

The majority of widows do not have much trouble if their veteran husbands have had their war caused injuries/illnesses accepted as war or service caused, however there are many veterans that have not had these recognised for one reason or another.

The reason for this could be due to the fact that they have either;

•   Completed their own claim many years ago and what they submitted is held against them,

•   Some are too proud, especially with the information that they have to put on smoking & alcohol questionnaires

•   Some were rejected years ago, but now with the Statement of Principles changed, many would have been accepted.

•   Some have died from illnesses/diseases or the effect of trauma that the SOP’s don’t cover or is restricted to a minority. One of these being Prostate Cancer, this is only accepted if you have service in South Vietnam or served in the territorial waters of SVN.

•   Many have died from accepted disabilities that have been masked by non accepted disabilities, i.e. Prostate Cancer.

Whatever the reasons, some of these have come back to bite them on the backside later in life and their widows/carers are suffering.

Let us have a look at what these widows/carers have done in their long life. These are the wives/partners/carers of returned servicemen who have put their life on the line for this country, whether it was voluntary or through National Service. They have gone off to war when asked by their governments and fought to make this country what it is today.

On their return the majority of them continued working for this country whether it was in the services or through the civilian workforce. They have returned different people to what they were when they went away and many have come back with injuries, illnesses, traumas, both mentally & physically, but they have kept on working. The main reason that they have been able to continue is through the loving and caring of their wives/partners.

These ladies and (for those who have not married) their carers have been more than wives & carers to these people, they have been their doctor, their nurse and their constant companion. They have cared for them day in day out with never a complaint in the world for this is why they live as wives/carers. It is a commitment that they made to each other many years ago. They have not only lovingly looked after these men & women through the hell that they suffer on return from war, but they have saved the government millions of dollars by enabling these people to remain in their own homes, thus freeing up the many beds that they would have occupied in hospitals or nursing homes.

Over the years the RSL, VVAA, Peacekeepers/Makers and many other ESO’s have been fighting to have this recognised & corrected by previous governments on both sides of the political fence, but we have failed. One of the main reasons that this has not been accepted, is the cost would be too great. This cost is not the financial burden that these widows/carers would be, but the amount that it would cost by them receiving the Gold Card.

To me this is not the Australian way of doing things, we look after each other in this country and we should look after those who have looked after our finest. If the cost is too great then we should have a look at the amount of money that we send overseas in aid to other countries. Let us have a look at what it will cost to look after these great Australians and cut that amount from our foreign aid program. After all, we are always told to look after our servicemen & women, it is about time that we did this for their widows/carers. I don’t think that there would be one Australian who would object to this.

What amazes me is when the honours and awards are bestowed on people each year  on Australia Day & on the Queens birthday, one rarely sees an award given to these people who are the salt of the earth. No, we see High Court Judges, Millionaires, Sportsmen etc.

I realize that we cannot give all of these people awards, but surely we can look after them when their caring is done. Prime Minister, I implore you and your Minster for Veteran’s Affairs to give this request considerable thought whilst framing the next budget for this country. Why, because they deserve it, as did the people that they cared for.

Myself, I am a single TPI veteran who has served his country both in SVN, PNG and Australia, and I been looked after by a carer for many years, and I know from experience that they deserve every cent they get and should be looked after later in life. We are in debt to these people and it is about time we paid that debt.

I hope that you take this on board as I know that I am talking on behalf of all the veterans of this country.

Yours Sincerely



Ken       JP.

Ken was contacted by the minister's office........

I received a phone call yesterday from the Ministers advisor, Mr Kevin           (he used to work at DVA) regarding the letter below that we sent to the Prime Minister. We had a good chat but really didn’t achieve anything, at least they answer and talk to you. The outcome of the conversation was.

Whilst they agree with the comments that we made and that some of them are pertinent there will be no change to the VEA on War Widows being granted the WW pension on the death of a veteran with operational service. This has been in since WW1 and it will be basically too expensive to change.

There are currently about 225000 widows in Australia that have been rejected the WW pension, and if the government just granted them the Gold Card it would cost $3.6b out of a DVA budget of $11b.

I spoke about the point I made regarding Prostate Cancer only being accepted for VV {Vietnam Veterans} veterans and how many of the older vets are dying from this when they have other underlying illnesses that could have caused the death of a veteran. He believes, the same as I, that many of the veterans that die from Prostate Cancer with other underlying illnesses is a problem, and the cause of some of the problems is that the doctor that signs the death certificate often puts Prostate Cancer as the primary cause of death (it has to be present) to enable the family to bury their husband, son, brother etc quickly.

We also discussed the problem of veterans completing questionnaires many years ago stating that they did not smoke or drink as they thought that it was socially unacceptable or they were just too proud to own up to it. If we come across this problem with the widow and she states categorically that her husband smoked and/or drank then we should submit an application with supporting letters or evidence and try to get the claim accepted. I have done this myself before and have had the questionnaire overturned and the WW pension granted.

So there it is folks - war widows get knocked back because it costs too much - they have knocked back 225,000!.

There's nothing more I can say.

I just had a thought.

You know how those terrorists all seem to have something to do with Pakistan?  Well maybe it's because we thrash them in cricket.

Now stay with me on this.

If we throw a few games, let them win a few times, they will look good in the eyes of the population.  Everyone will feel good at beating the Aussies and there will be no need to go out and blow people up.

I'd better start preparing my speech for the Nobel Peace Prize next year.

It's still there....

The moon and a couple of planets form a smiley face in the western sky.

I tried to get some pics but there was too much high cloud.

Maybe the papers will have a picture tomorrow.

This is my grandmother, Margaret Lee Foo

This is Lee Foo who came out to Australia December 1899

This is a picture of my mother's family - her sisters and brother.  My mother is the one slightly crouching in the front.

This picture was taken in 1982, 83 years after Lee Foo came to Australia.

So there you have it.  Lee Foo from China on my mother's side; and Owen Cavanough, first fleet, on my father's side.

Beat that you peasants!

I am one proud dad.

It seems like only yesterday when number three son looked like this:

Cute, huh?

This is what he looks like now....

This was taken the day of his march out parade at Kapooka (near Wagga) he is up at Brisbane now completing his corps training in infantry minor tactics.

I was surprised at how proud I felt watching Chris and his mates walking 10 feet tall as they completed their three months basic training - it really has turned them into men.

Not much has changed at Kapooka in 39 years.  I was there in 1969 when they landed on the moon.

Yep, sad but true.

I'm still alive and kicking.

I've neglected the blog for some time; I guess there are only so many pictures I can post of me before eveyrone gets tired of my gorgeous good looks.

Still I have a lot to write about.

I'm a grandfather again

My youngest son has joined the Army (Infantry of course)

I am meeting some very interesting WWII blokes I'd like to tell you about; and

I am learning a lot of stuff about veterans law.  It seems those years of watching Perry Mason were not wasted on me after all.

So I'll do a few posts over the weekend; and maybe I'll post just one or two pictures of me for you to salivate over.

Cheers

Cav

Last year I said Howard would be re-elected.

Well I wuz wrong.

I also thought that Nelson was a good and decent bloke - apparently that gets you nowhere in politics.

Let's face it - I know nuthin'!

Tell me, what is the purpose of the weatherperson on TV?

Why have a graphic of the weather around Australia and then stand in front of half of it?

It really annoys me that I have to listen to them prattle on about nothing when all I want to see is the icon and max temp.

Why can’t they stand to the west of Australia rather than the east?

Why have a weather person at all?

What do they do for the rest of the day? 

I’ve been neglecting the blog over the last few weeks.  

In my spare time I am a volunteer pension officer/advocate for war veterans and war widows. I help them claim their entitlements under the Veterans Entitlement Act through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).  I find it very rewarding and it keeps my brain active

Recently we have expanded further afield because of the lack of experienced people in country areas. We just completed a couple of days travel and seeing a number of people and travelling over 300kms. We are volunteers, we don’t get paid, although we do get accommodation and travel expenses reimbursed through grants from DVA.

Well I was attacked this week via the internet and accused of being deceitful, and that I was rorting the GST exemption provisions on motor vehicles given to disabled war veterans by the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

Now the one thing a pension officer values most is his honour and integrity. Loose that and you are no help to anybody. So that’s why I am bringing this out in the open.  

I challenge this person to put up or shut up. Here are the details of my transaction if you would like to pass them on to the ATO.

I purchased a 1998 Ford Mondeo registration number AE08EN, from Gateway Holden in January this year. If the person who says I am rorting the ATO GST exemption system would like to report me to the ATO, please be my guest.  

You know my full name.

This is some of the stuff she writes about me:

your reputation (from comments made to me) appears to be shot to bits.

One thing I have noticed is that these people who rort the system haven't got enough sense to keep their mouths shut

on this occasion, I felt the need to rub it in so to speak, to you.

by your attitude, deceitfulness, etc, you are not the type of person I would like to have as a pension officer

not worthy of being described as a "man". In my opinion, you are a spoilt little brat, who wants his own way all the time.

Most of the comments on your blogs are also in the negative, except the ones from those stupid sex orientated ones from who I can only imagine are teenage kids with no brains at all. You must be sick to leave them on your blog sites

Another book written by a soldier of the Vietnam War has been released and mentions some not very nice things that Australian soldiers did during the war.

I too went to Vietnam and served 12 months as a ‘grunt’. 

I am not aware of any atrocities committed by our blokes. 

Yet the author of this new book, Don Tate, mentions a couple of incidents where enemy bodies were blown up instead of being buried; and of dead enemy being dragged behind an armoured personnel carrier and dumped in the village with their heads missing.

If these things occurred, as reported by Mr. Tate, there should be an enquiry and those responsible should be charged with war crimes.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23991314-662,00.html

The buck stops with me.

I share the very real concern of the veteran community who feel they have been forgotten by this government.  I want to assure the veteran community that I will bring an end to the blame game and look after our most treasured citizens - those who put their lives on the line for this great nation of ours, ostraya.

I have therefore decided to act decisively in this matter, unlike the previous government who did nothing and nothing.  I want to bring to an end, the neglect to our veteran community over the past 11 years by the previos government.  So today I announce that the government will set up a panel whose terms of reference will be to look at how we as the new government comitted to the veteran community, will look into the adequacy of government support to those long suffering war veterans and their families .  It will be an all of government approach, not just a review of just the Department of Veterans' Affairs,  but a review of all government services to the veteran community. 

The government is committed to efficient, effective and long term stretegies of assistance to the veteran, not just a short term fix at election time like the previous government who neglected the veteran community for 11 long years.

To ensure a speedy response, the committe will conduct their first meet BEFORE December 2008.  The first agenda item that the committee will discuss will be a name for the committee.  The committee will report to my office NLT July 2009.

Once a name has been established, it will be enshrined in L-A-W law that this committee, by it's very name, will stand for fair and balanced treatment of oztraya's war veterans and their families.

Blah blah blah blah....

You get the picture now?

I saw Brendan Nelson speak a number of years ago.  He so impressed me that at the time I thought he was prime minister material.  However he has had a tough introduction as leader of the Opposition with his approval rating nearly in single digits.

But I commend you to watch him speak.  At the sorry day occasion, the prime minister ambushed him and only gave him a moment's notice to talk.  Nelson accepted the invitation, he stood up and he spoke very well, even if he was lambasted for what he said.  He spoke eloquently, with little notice, and without notes.

If you saw Nelson in parliament today you could not but be impressed by his ability to stand and talk from the heart. 

Firstly the prime minister stood and spoke for 20 minutes about the good job our military has done in Baghdad and it was time to bring the combat soldiers home.  He also stuck the boot in to the former government as to why we shouldn’t have been in Iraq in the first place. 

Rudd read from a prepared speech.

Nelson stood up in reply and I was mesmerised by his performance.  Without referring to notes (except to quote Rudd’s belief in WMDs prior to the invasion), Nelson gave a history on how we came to be in Iraq.  He mentioned dates, peoples' names, aircrafts, ships, units and places where Australian’s served. 

A mighty performance – all without notes.  It was a passionate, logical and detailed account.

We need to keep this man. 

He seems to be one of the few ministers in politics that believes in what he says; he is a person who can speak from the heart.

You see it everyday. 

Someone has a misfortune in life and we don’t even care.

Maybe at best we hope it doesn’t happen to us because we don’t really know how we would react to a life changing event. 

So today I want to tell you about Skip. 

I don’t know the man, but in many ways I do. 

You see Skip is a Vietnam Veteran, and the one thing we veterans have learnt is that life is a gift – so no sitting around on your bum, get out there and experience what life has to offer. 

Skip was doing just that. 

He flew to LA and planned to ride his motor bike to Washington to visit The Wall.  He even had some stuff to leave there as a tribute to the American Vietnam veterans.   

He didn’t make it. 

Four days into the journey he crashed. 

Skip is now a quadriplegic …….. 

There’s nothing more that can be said, except that his mates are organizing a fund to help him out. 

You can help too. 

Donations can be made to the following account:

Bank of Queensland
Logan Central,
Queensland,
Australia
4114

Account Name:  Bruce Eklom Trust Fund.
BSB Number: 124-034
Account Number: 20671437

Read about it here

http://www.qldvvmc.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=2  

Remember how Vietnam veterans were treated when they came home from Vietnam? 

Maybe we can put all that behind us and show our support for Skip, his mates and family.

OK, OK… 

I joke about being an old fart, if you can’t laugh at yourself… 

But there are a couple of signs… 

I’ve fallen over a couple of times in the last couple of weeks.  I’ve discovered that it takes longer for you to get up than to fall down! 

The first time I fell over, the day after I sliced through a live electric cord with the electric hedge trimmer, I was not aware that I was falling.  At about halfway down, I realized that I was heading for the speaker in the lounge room.  It all happened v-e-r-y slowly.  I reached out for the wall, but it was too late – I crashed into the speaker, pushing it off the stand and it crashed to the floor followed by me. 

A few bits and pieces were damaged and the speaker had minor damage as well. 

The second time I fell was yesterday, in Bunnings.  I fell backwards, in slow motion, onto a pile of their merchandise.  Paula saw it all, and couldn’t stop laughing; so I laid there until she helped me up! 

Falling is very weird. 

It happens in slow motion, as I said, but another phenomenon is that there is a point where time is suspended.  Where gravity ceases to exist for just a split second….. then you fall. 

You can see it on Funniest Home Videos – that pause I mean. 

Maybe I should carry a camera with me! 

 Am I really at old fart status?   

I thought that happened when you turn 60, and I don’t turn 60 until late next year.  But I have been contemplating putting a hat on the rear parcel shelf of my Fairlane, luckily I don’t wear a hat; not even those yank caps! 

And speaking of caps, what on earth are our authorities doing with the uniforms of our public groups?  You know, police, ambos; and the defence forces. 

All we need now is for the army to throw away the slouch hat and join the rest of society and the total change to American culture. 

But wait a minute. 

The yanks have great uniforms for their cops and defence forces – they haven’t changed them. 

We got our ideas from the poms, and now we are changing our uniforms to yank stuff that the yank public servants don’t even wear. 

What is going on? 

The army doesn’t have a winter uniform.  Well yes they do, short sleeve polyester shirt, long trousers and boots. 

Very bland. 

It pains me to say this, but the navy still looks good in uniform, that’s because they haven’t messed with traditional uniform. 

Look how the cops have messed up their uniforms.  No peak hat anymore, it has been replaced by the yank cap.  And look at their trousers!  They look like overalls!   I don’t think the police look smart anymore.  There is something to be said for a nicely ironed, crisp looking, shirt and trousers and shiny shoes. 

The yank coppers still have theirs, even with a bullet proof vest, the uniforms look much better than our guys and gals with their baggy pants and loose fitting shirts; and the collars are not ironed flat. 

I think I had better put an akubra up on the rear parcel shelf just to warn everyone of my approaching old fart status, or maybe I have arrived there already. 

There was a debate about family members of veterans marching on Anzac Day. 

Some say that this is a good thing, that relatives should be able to march for their loved ones.  After all, WWII veterans are in their 80s, and the youngest Vietnam veterans are now approaching 60. 

If family members don’t start marching then who will march in the future? 

Or should the Anzac Day march be limited to those who have served their country in times of war and conflict, including peace keeping?  Those who were prepared to lay down their lives for their country.   

We veterans march on Anzac Day to remember one thing – to remember fellow brothers in arms that cannot march – whether they died in battle, or died from old age. 

We march for them. 

It is an exclusive club.   

It’s about honouring the fallen. 

Now you may say that a family member, in marching on Anzac Day, is doing the same thing – honouring their fallen grandfather, father or brother for example.  Well that may be so, but should they march beside the veterans?   If so, is it open slather?   

Can anyone now march with the veterans on Anzac Day? 

This has to be a joke, right?

Diggers have been warned that if they are travelling to Anzac Day activities, they cannot wear their medals, or have them in their carry-on luggage, because they are regarded as a weapon.  It is the pin at the back that allows the medals to be pinned to the jacket that renders them a dangerous item.

For the first time in my life I am speechless!!!!

Are the Kovkos happy now? 

Jake shot himself. 

Not only did it confirm the Army finding that Jake was skylarking with his weapon, we also found out some new stuff - like Jake was sexually abused as a youngster, that he contemplated suicide, and that he had an affair prior to deployment to Iraq. 

Is this what his children will have to carry with them all their lives? 

I cannot understand what these women wanted, that someone murdered Jake perhaps?   

Don’t they understand that soldiers are prepared to lay down their own lives for their mates? 

In all wars there have been deaths from someone’s own hand, deliberate or by accident.  The Army tries to protect the family by announcing that the soldier was fatally wounded when a weapon he was cleaning accidentally discharged. 

But somehow this wasn’t enough for the Kovkos; they wanted the truth.   

Well now they have it.   

I hope they are satisfied. 

Did they consider for a moment that they may be putting the kids’ compensation payment in jeopardy now that Jake died as a result of a willful act?  

Rest in Peace Jake Bruce Kovko, from a fellow brother-in-arms.

Glenn Milne of The Australian wrote this today….

POLITICAL spin by its nature borders on deception. Hands up those of you who thought that Kevin Rudd clinched the deal John Howard could never close on the $10 billion Murray-Darling Basin rescue plan by giving the hold-out state of Victoria an additional one thousand million dollars? It was that money that allowed Rudd to portray himself as the saviour of the nation's food bowl and in the process claim to have ushered in a new era of co-operative federalism.

Except that the "extra" $1 billion that locked in Victoria doesn't actually exist.

Read all about it here…

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23456621-7583,00.html

I dunno why I am starting to write about political stuff here – I think I must be a biased old fart.  I must have been the only person in Australian (except for Jeanette) who regarded Howard as fair dinkum. 

Everyone else called him a lying rodent. 

I believe that Howard did what he felt was right.  And he stuck to his guns.  He is even ridiculed for this because he lost his seat as well as the government.

I guess that’s why we have politicians now who will not tell us what they think until they have checked the polls.

I look at what Rudd says - nothing except the same mantras over and over. 

No substance.

But again, it seems I am the odd one out.

So it must be me.

This old biased conservative fart is going to have a cuppa and a lie down

.

It’s all Howard’s Fault

Well I’m getting a little sick of hearing this everytime the new government looks at a problem.

Look at the economy – Howard’s fault – he did nothing about blah, blah, blah…

Do your eyes glaze over as mine do?

When will the new government actually do something constructive about the economy in stead of scaring the shit out of us about how bad things are and that it’s John’s fault.

So what is happening on THEIR watch?

Swan says that banks are running a business and they have every right to raise interest rates.

Costello would NEVER have said such a thing – or even more importantly, allowed it to happen!.

Swan lamented, “The inflation genie is out of the bottle!”  What inflation?  4%?  Gee if only the new government could keep it at that level – we’ll wait and see.

And now the Reserve Bank has said that the banks can raise their rates over the official rates.  Really?  Could you imagine Costello accepting such a situation?

WE have to feel sorry for the banks though.  Their job is to make THEIR profits with OUR money.  They invest in America and its housing market and when it goes belly up, they put interest rates up for Australians to pay more, and now with the blessing of the Reserve Bank as well as t