Letters
to the Editor
Some
answers please
IN AUGUST
2003, I deployed to the Solomon Islands as a part of Op Anode with 2RAR
and achieved more than 91 days continuous service.
During
that time and ever since, I have been after a straight answer as to
what happens with our yearly earnings estimates that were given to the
Family Taxation Office and to the Child Support Agency.
The amount
of handpassing that has ocurred with my enquiries would have made Ron
Barrassi a very proud footy coach indeed.
The aforementioned
agencies, including the Tax Office, still can't tell me whether I will
owe money or that I will not be fined for overpayment due to my tax-exempt
foreign income.
The questions
I would like answered are as follows:
- Will my
tax-exempt foreign income be included in my child-support assessment?
- Will my
FTO estimate be affected and will I be slugged with an overpayment bill?
Or better still, seeing as I didn't change my estimate from my normal
working wage, will I get a cheque in the mail?
- Finally,
how will my group certificate look in July? Will it include the foreign
tax exempt income or not?
Hopefully
my questions can be answered, as I think there will be a few soldiers
out there that are just as confused as I am and have also been told
conflicting stories by those that supposedly know what they're doing.
Sgt I. L. Polanski
Instructor
ADF School of Catering, HMAS Cerberus, VIC
Editor's Note: this letter was sent on April 2 to the Defence Tax
Management Office, DPE, for a response. As yet, no response to Sgt Polanski's
questions has been received.
Where
to split
I FIND
myself as another one of the statistics involved in a marriage breakdown.
The causes of the breakdown are many and varied but suffice to say that
my service in the military was one of the main reasons.
I have
been separated for nearly three years and have been endeavouring to
get a property settlement sorted out through the Family Court for the
majority of that time. On December 28, 2002, new legislation came into
effect with regards to the splitting of superannuation assets.
The new
legislation allows for superannuation to be split in the event of a
marriage breakdown. Current family law legislation provides "default
factors" for valuing a superannuation interest. Apparently someone
has deemed that the default factors do not accurately reflect the value
of the military superannuation benefits.
In line
with this the decision has been made that "Scheme Specific Factors"
will be introduced in order to value the DFRDB military superannuation.
The "scheme specific factors" were listed for debate by the
Senate in November 2003, but this did not occur.
The Bill
was subsequently listed for debate on Wednesday, March 3, 2004, at 2pm.
Again this Bill was not debated. I have enquired through numerous sources
as to the content of the DFRDB "Scheme Specific Factors" but
have met only brick walls. I feel that, as the new "Scheme Specific
Factors" will effect a relatively large percentage of military
members, we are entitled to be aware of what is being proposed and know
more about the detrimental effects it will have on property settlements
in cases like mine.
Name withheld for legal reasons
Editor's Note: this letter was sent to DPE's Superannuation section
on March 23 for a response. As yet, no response to this letter has been
received.
What
about us?
I READ
with interest the recent articles on DPCU clothing and Land 125's development
of a new helmet and new load carriage equipment. This development is
excellent news for the Army though I note the load carriage equipment
and helmets will only be issued to infantrymen.
Does this
mean that non-infantry personnel in the battalion group, such as forward
observer parties, combat engineers and brigade signals attachments,
will have to beg or borrow the new load carriage equipment and helmets
from the battalion Q-Stores, in accordance with current practice?
These personnel
deploy and operate in the same environment, often carrying heavier weights
than your average rifleman and in the same danger as the infantryman
- yet they do not receive an entitlement for the improving versions
of field equipment.
My question
to Land 125 is: will the block scales for the issue of the new load
carriage system, harder-to-see DPCU and new helmets reflect operating
environments rather than corps badge, or will the current ad hoc borrowing
of equipment from the supported infantry battalion continue for artillery
regiments, combat engineer regiments and brigade signal squadrons?
Maj Stuart Kenny
RAA
UK Joint Services Command and Staff College
Maj Nick Stanton, ACPEC, AHQ, responds.
The concern raised by Maj Kenny is significant and is already being
addressed by the Army Clothing and Personal Equipment Committee (ACPEC).
ACPEC has the responsibility for managing clothing and personal equipment
for Army which includes entitlements.
LAND 125
is scoped and funded to provide new equipment and capabilities to the
regular infantry battalions. LAND 132 has a similar mandate for the
Commando capability. Where appropriate, ACPEC will be incorporating
the good work from these projects across the remainder of the Army.
The ECH and IR Signature Managed DPCUs are examples of this intent.
When the projects complete their work on the new pack and webbing, ACPEC
will be seeking to phase in the new items in lieu of the current kit.
This may take some time.
It is important
to keep in mind that entitlement to any items of military kit is based
on capability and the operating environment, not corps badge.
If you
are deploying on operations as either an individual or as part of a
battlegroup, you will be provided with the equipment and level of protection
that you need to get the job done and come home safely.
Left
high and dry in East Timor
I AM posted
to the Defence Cooperation Program-East Timor along with a number of
other military members. There are less than 30 of us from colonel down
to private.
We are
spread from Dili to Los Palos and at times have very limited access
to the facilities that other Defence members in the Australian UN group
take for granted.
Until recently
we have had varying degrees of access to the facilities of Battalion
Group Rear (BGR) in Dili, namely the cash office for cash advances and
the post office for free mail, etc.
We also
got the individual care packs (till February this year).
We have
been told that we no longer have access to the cash office because the
BGR is closing and we, as an external group, need to be weened of this
resource now.
In fact,
we were told that this decision was made and implemented some months
ago, but was only enforced intermittently until now.
I find
it difficult to believe that some person in a position of authority
could be so petty as to think they are doing us a favour by cutting
us off now. There is only one ATM in all of East Timor (ANZ Bank in
Dili) and they charge very high fees.
The machine
often breaks down or runs out of money and takes very few cards besides
their own. There are also circumstances when soldiers need cash advances
even over here.
We are
big people. If we are told the doors are closing but no-one knows when
for sure, we can accept that it will happen sooner or later, but at
the moment you could apply the current logic to other circumstances
like "the mess is closing in a month. You are all getting meal
allowances from tomorrow so you can all start eating at McDonalds".
Let's be
real. We are all Australian soldiers and the DCP-EM support in country
is a lot less than the Australian UN component.
Sure our
allowances, etc, are different and supposedly compensate us for the
inconvenience, etc, but when AUSTBATT was on warlike service until August
2003, their allowances left us for dead, but they were still getting
the support I am talking about.
Besides,
since January this year, our Overseas Living Allowance has been halved.
We are
only talking about a handful of people but we all wear the same uniform.
What's
the beef?
WO2 Bob Varcoe
DCP-EM
Metinaro, East Timor
Still
waiting
I'M sure
everyone's sick of my "harden-up" letters to these pages,
but now it's my turn to have a good ol' whinge.
I appreciate
the importance of OHS, and understand its contribution to our workplace;
but can someone explain why I have to wait nearly four months to get
some fluoro lights changed?
A job was
logged with Spotless on February 6 to change four tubes and their starters.
Nearly
three months later, I rang to chase it up, and was told the contractor
now has three weeks to complete the job.
The more
I thought about this, the more frustrated I got. If Spotless have the
contract to Defence, why do they then contract out the jobs we ask them
to do?
What a
pity I can't just change the lights myself. Now, if I were a civvie
...
Cpl Troy Schmidt
2 Cav Regt,
Robertson Barracks, NT
Where's
the razors?
IT IS quite
possible that Cpl Ikin [Army, May 20] was not in the Army back in those
good old days when we used to line up every second Thursday to get our
pay, cash-in-hand.
It was
during these long missed pay parades, a time when you were guaranteed
to locate even the most elusive member of the unit, that we were issued
with our packet of razors, along with our bar of soap.
This may
answer (although not satisfy) his question about the ruling of only
one packet of razors every fortnight.
However,
it begs the question:
What happened
to our free entitlement of razors and soap?
WO1 Mick Snookes
RSM 4/19PWLH
Simpson Barracks, Watsonia VIC
Check
with your postie
THIS is
in response to Cpl McCulloch's letter [Army, May 6] in regard to how
long it takes for mail to get to East Timor. Being an Army postie from
long ago, and having had input into the receipt and distribution of
mail to Rwanda and Cambodia, don't expect the same "next-day delivery"
you get in Australia.
A postal
plan is put in place way before the deployment of troops overseas, and
it usually involves Australia Post.
Unless
Dili has an international airport and four-lane highways, you can expect
mail delays.
Best you
check with your local AFPO and get them to advise you of the mail route
from Australia to Dili and back.
Failing
that, write to the OC Military Post Office in Townsville to get clarification.
I am sure they will assist you with your inquiry.
WO2 P. Terrell
RTC-WA, Leeuwin Barracks, WA
We
are citizens too
OVER the
past few months I have noticed a disturbing trend in the local, state
and national newspapers and would be interested to know if Defence can
do anything about it.
Articles
such as: a man from X has done a certain act or a woman from Y was caught
DUI, but a soldier has done this.
Are we
not also citizens that are entitled to live among the community without
being discriminated against because we choose to serve our country.
I understand
that there are certain freedoms involved with being a reporter, but
I do not believe that discrimination should be one of them.
WO2 D.A. Kear
1CSSB, Robertson Barracks, NT
Thanks
for the support
ON BEHALF
of my wife, Michelle, I wish to thank the CO of 2/14 LHR(QMI), Lt-Col
Brewer, his officers, warrant officers, SNCOs, and ORs for thier condolence
and support during our grief and troubled times over the early days
of May 2004.
We never
got the chance to hold our child, but we lost a much loved member of
our family just the same.
Cpl Stuart Mather
2/14 LHR(QMI), Gallipoli Barracks,QLD
Well
done at Pucka
I WOULD
like to express my sincere thanks to the members of ALTC and LWDC at
Puckapunyal for their support in raising funds for Cystic Fibrosis Victoria.
Cystic Fibrosis is a life-shortening, non-curable, genetic condition
that affects the lungs and the digestive system. Only 50 per cent of
sufferers will survive to thirty years old. My seven-year-old daughter
has this life-threatening condition.
The effort
shown by ALTC and LWDC was outstanding, in the space of one-and-a-half
days these two units managed to raise $1004.15.
All money
raised will be going towards research for a cure and continued assistance
to individuals and families with cystic fibrosis. I would also like
to express my thanks to my good friend Mandy Elliot who helped me chop
onions and ran around after my children for me when I needed to be at
these functions.
My sincere
thanks and gratitude.
Pte Penny Davison
Storeperson, LWDC, Puckapunyal, VIC
Ask
the Chief
Would you
like to ask CA Lt-Gen Peter Leahy a question? It could be about acquisitions
or uniform, operational tempo or a general welfare issue.
As part
of hearing soldiers' views, CA has agreed to start Ask the Chief
in Army newspaper.
He wants
to know your questions so he can answer them in a future edition as
part of his look back at what the Army has achieved and been part of
in 2003.
As with
Letters to the Editor, it is the right of all soldiers to ask CA a question
through Ask the Chief in Army without using the chain of command.
Submit
your questions in e-mail form to armynews@defencenews.gov.au
with "ask the chief" in the subject line.
From
the kids...
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