Military veterans and advocates have lashed out at Brittany Higgins’ $2.4 million compensation payment related to an unproven sexual assault claim, saying it took years for them to receive a fraction of that amount for her trauma.
WhatsNew2Day Australia revealed on Thursday that the Albanese government has admitted that no veteran or dependent has received compensation of more than $2.3 million or more for impairment or injuries sustained in battle.
Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh confirmed to Parliament that “no veteran or dependent has received compensation totaling $2.3 million or more” in response to questions posed by Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.
Higgins, a former political staffer who alleged she was raped in Parliament, received her multimillion-dollar payout from the Federal Government in December 2022, after just one day of mediation.
His claims have never been proven in court.
On Thursday morning, Radio 2GB host Mark Levy told listeners that it takes an average of 391 days for military claims to be processed.
It cited Jason, a serving army officer, who served for nine years and had a compensation claim pending in the system for months.
Brittany Higgins is pictured with her fiancé, David Sharaz.
‘[Compensation claims] “They can be assigned in two weeks, but they remain in limbo for months,” Levy said.
‘Other veterans have told us they are still waiting for their claims to be processed. Claims filed in May 2020, October 2020 and June 2021.’
Levy said there appeared to be “one rule for veterans who risked their lives on the battlefield” and who receive “hundreds of thousands of dollars at best”, and another rule for political staff working in Parliament. .
He also spoke to a man named Andrew, who works with a veterans advocacy group, and accused the government of “changing numbers on a spreadsheet.”
“The government has been playing with them for years,” Andrew said.
“The wait time they have for their claims to be processed and processed by the department is simply unacceptable.”
He said the department had 75,000 applications at the end of February, but said the number has not changed in the last three years.
“They keep changing the way they provide those statistics on their website, so now they say they have 73,700 complaints with an officer, but that just means someone walked into the office and left them.” [on desks].
“When veterans call back or respond to the delegate, they are told they probably won’t be picked up for another year.”
Andrew said the department always says it is grateful for the service of members of the military, but is unwilling to process their claims within a timely period.
Barnaby Joyce (pictured) fired four questions at the Minister of Veterans Affairs
Higgins had alleged that her then political partner Bruce Lehrmann raped her in Senator Linda Reynolds’ office in Parliament in March 2019, which he strongly denies.
Lehrmann was tried in the ACT Supreme Court in October 2022, but the hearing was adjourned due to misconduct by a juror who introduced outside materials.
The ACT’s chief prosecutor then decided not to re-prosecute the case, citing concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Ms Higgins is suing the Commonwealth over the way her former bosses, Coalition senators Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash, allegedly treated her after she revealed her rape allegations to them.
Ten days after the charge against Lehrmann was dropped in December 2022, Ms Higgins received $2.4 million from the Labor government after a single day of mediation.
Ms Higgins was forced to disclose the value of her payout in the Federal Court on December 7, 2023, while being cross-examined in Mr Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
That same day, Mr Joyce asked Mr Keogh: ‘For each month, how many veterans or dependents have received compensation since the current government took office? How many veterans or dependents received compensation or other forms of payments totaling at least $2.3 million?
«In each case, what was the period from the presentation of the claim to the approval of payment? Without asking for personally identifiable information, what injuries, conditions or circumstances does each payment relate to?
Veterans Affairs Matt Keogh is pictured with his wife, Annabel
When Mr. Keogh’s office responded to those questions in February, it revealed ‘no veteran or dependent has received compensation totaling $2.3 million or more’ between June 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023.
This week, Mr Joyce told WhatsNew2Day Australia: “The idea that you can go to a meeting and walk out a few hours later with more than $2.4 million is just incredible.”
“Many veterans find it incredibly infuriating that such a quick payment for such a large amount can be made for a supposed event in Parliament, while they wait years and don’t receive an amount equivalent to something like that.”
He said some of those veterans include those who have been on active duty and have crippling and life-changing injuries.
“What service men and women have told me time and time again is that the government demonstrates that it can act quickly when it wants to,” he continued.
‘Why is working in Parliament different from serving our nation in uniform on the battlefields?’
The number of military veterans’ compensation claims between June 2022 and December 2023 was also listed. In that period, 4,170 veterans received defense-related compensation and 64,934 veterans received military rehabilitation compensation.
There were also between 77,967 and 77,025 veterans per quarter who received a biweekly disability compensation pension.
In December 2022 alone, the month Ms. Higgins’ $2.4 million claim was settled, there were 169 veterans receiving defense-related compensation and 3,145 veterans receiving military rehabilitation compensation.
Joyce had also asked, if any diggers received a payment similar to Ms Higgins, what their injuries and circumstances were, and what the approval deadline was.
However, those questions were not applicable because no veteran has received that much.
According to Ms. Higgins’ settlement agreement, her $2.445 million payment included $1.48 million to cover loss of earning capacity; $400,000 for pain, anguish and humiliation; $220,000 for medical expenses; $100,000 for past and future household assistance; and $245,000 for her legal costs.
Senator Reynolds and Senator Cash were banned from taking part in the mediation talks, despite Mrs Higgins’ claims that they did not support her after her alleged rape.