Talking Point

with Simon Thomsen

The price of freedom

For Australians, and especially Catholics, it has been the saddest week.

It is bitterly ironic that after being involved in peacekeeping in East Timor, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the nation should suffer its greatest loss of military personnel while engaged in humanitarian aid operations in Indonesia.

The nine servicemen and women who died - six from the Navy, three from the Air Force; seven men, two women - were responding to the call of duty with bravery equal to those serving in war.

With the 90th anniversary of Anzac Day less than three weeks away, the loss should be seen in the context of the 60,000 who gave their lives in WWI, 39,000 in WWII, 339 in Korea and the 520 in Vietnam, but it is no less tragic, for like the generations before them, they have left behind many loved ones.

Leading Seaman Scott Bennett, an aircrewman, has two young boys, Courtney and Jarryd, who had not seen their father in three months. They will now grow up without him.

Lieutenant Paul Kimlin, a pilot, has a baby nephew, Hugo, who lost his father before he was born. Paul's partner, Laura Ryan, has been so remarkably brave while talking to the media about the man she planned to spend the rest of her life with. Her dignity in honouring his memory has softened the pain for the nation. Yet when Lt Kimlin's body came home yesterday, along with his eight comrades, for a solemn service at Sydney airport, her grief was all-too-painfully obvious.

There are many other stories involving those who also died: Flight Lieutenant Lyn Rowbottom, Sergeant Wendy Jones, doctor Lieutenant Mathew Davey, helicopter observer Lieutenant Matthew Goodall, pilot Lieutenant Jonathan King, medic Petty Officer Stephen Slattery, and senior medical officer Squadron Leader Paul McCarthy. Long after their names and stories have faded from the media spotlight, their families will be left to get on with their lives.

And while the talk has turned to medals and honours and the best way to remember our fallen, there is one very simple issue the Government and the community have yet to fully grasp - compensation for those left behind. It's hard to understand how a medal will help raise Scott Bennett's children.

To its credit, the Government overhauled the Military Compensation Scheme after SAS trooper Sgt Andrew Russell was killed by a landmine in February 2002. His widow, Kylie Russell, was offered $187,000 as lump sum compensation. Instead, she accepted a $13,000 annual pension, tax free, for life, as well as other benefits. In comparison, the spouse of a federal parliamentarian receives $50,000 upon his or her death, while the partner of a killed police officer or firefighter will receive a lump sum of around $300,000.

The new compensation system is more generous, but no-one yet knows if it is adequate. The payments "depend upon the length of service and a number of other factors" the Prime Minister has said. It's hard to understand why being in the army for one day or 10 years matters when you die in the line of duty.

But even if the new system doubles the payments to those left behind, it doesn't take a financial genius to know that Scott Bennett's wife will struggle to raise two boys on that money.

Australia has a proud 82-year history of caring for the families of ex-service personnel thanks to the Legacy organisation, but the federal Government, irrespective of its political persuasion, also needs to accept its responsibilities for placing the military personnel in harm's way.

Politicians receive generous perks for the 'hardships' they 'endure' in having to work in Canberra. In February, the PM announced plans to send 450 more troops to Iraq. Surely they and their families deserve more than just kind, sad words in the face of tragedy.

The rest of us can only pray and hope that it's never needed.