Chalmers defends government U-turn on veterans’ support

Treasurer Jim Chalmers addressed the Labor government’s backtracking on proposed changes to veteran funding. “When it comes to our efforts to take the threshold from 12 visits up to $5000 a year, obviously it became very clear to us that that was not going to be supported by the parliament and wasn't supported in the broader community,” Mr Chalmers told News24 Political Editor Andrew Clennell. “Every single minister is asked to find ways to fund pressures in their portfolio, and this minister, Minister Keogh … has found an extra 16 billion dollars to invest in veterans. “This is one of the biggest increases in spending in a portfolio area over the course of our four years in government."