Is it reasonable to expect veterans who once proudly wore the uniform, learnt self-discipline, performed duty most civilians would baulk at and risked their lives and sanity to prosecute their government’s policy to line up at Centrelink? Should they try to explain their problems to someone who is not trained to deal with them? 

This is the very real prospect confronting war veterans as the Abbott government looks into every nook and cranny to find ways to slash expenditure.

The veteran support network they fought so hard to establish faces closure and being rolled into the functions of Centrelink, which seems a great injustice given the nature of the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women and the unique problems they face.

What seems more unjust still is that veterans – of whom there are many in this electorate – not only fight battles in the conflict zones to which we send them but throughout our country history have had to mount campaigns for simple entitlements and recognition when they returned home.

We are concerned that a whole new generation of veterans scarred in the long asymmetrical conflict in Afghanistan, many of whom will be haunted by their experiences for years to come, will be denied the support they need because of budgetary cuts.

Far better, we say, to cut from the obscenely generous entitlements afforded our politicians than to take services from veterans.