Take care of disciplined forces retirees

THE fantastic idea mooted by Acting Police Comm David Manning in setting up a unit to attend to retirement needs of ex-cops is commendable.
It should be a relieve to the hundreds of ex-cops out there who may have lost hope in the system.
The proposal should be supported by the relevant authorities, including the Government for the system to be realised.
This unit should go further to offer whatever assistance to policemen and women who have served the force from Sept 16, onwards who are in retirement and neglected.
All good things should come to an end and you cannot be a law enforcer, (a soldier or CIS Officer) forever.
At some stage, you will come of that uniform.
The unit that is about to be established will be there to serve your needs for you and your loved ones, long after your service is well and truly over.
I am a former digger (27 years PNGDF 15 ADF) veteran myself.
I am unable to confirm the level of guidance, care and assistance offered to ex-servicemen in all three discipline forces (police, defence and CIS).
Defence probably is better off; they have a military super created by an act of Parliament. A board and support staff manages the military servicemen’s retirement benefits.
How much care and assistance they can provide to ex-diggers? Probably prepare and payout retirement benefits upon separation from service and maintain ongoing pension for those who are eligible.
I doubt they fund and issue health care cards or senior discount cards and other services to the pensioners. A tailored own home assistance scheme maybe.
A central organisation should be established and their sole responsibility is to care for all retired service personnel from the three discipline forces and their immediate family needs after their active service to the state is over. In countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, the US and others, there is an established organisation called Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA).
The primary role of the DVA is to cater for the well-being including compensation, medical support, pension, support allowances, financial support, age pension, and a whole range of other day to day needs for all personnel who have provided “undivided services to the State”.
Many are serving members while others are retirees. Their clients are all members of armed forces, all policemen/women, including support staff, prison officers, State Emergences Services (SES), fire fighters, paramedics/emergencies service workers and whole range of other individuals.
The DVA also accept compensations claims from members on active duty who have sustained injuries, including death benefits.
Service personnel can be compensated and continue to perform their duties.
They also provide any ongoing medical support regardless whether it becomes a life-long medical condition or minor surgery, as long as the cause of injury sustained is in line with the “call of duty” to the State.
Hundreds of pensioners from all discipline forces in PNG who have rendered valuable service to the state are lost and compounded with life threatening issues in a wild and rigid environment out there because there is no back-up plan for them and their families from the state.
That is an absolute a disgrace and should never happen in this day and age.
The pensions for all Papua New Guinea (PNG) discipline forces and ex-servicemen are probably the lowest compared with all the other Commonwealth countries.
The low pension rate cannot sustain the high living costs, let alone the pension payments not paid on time when mostly needed for ends to meet. With the proposed unit in RPNGC, there should be a highly trained professional staff with state of the art equipment and resources to support ex-servicemen and their families.
For the policemen/women currently serving and facing an uncertain future after reaching retirement age, it should be a relief.
With that in mind the current retirement and pension system should be reviewed with emphasis on increasing higher percentage of employer contribution.
A more reliable and realistic pension system that can articulate and reflect the yearly rising living standards in PNG must be put in place.
There must be a comprehensive exit plan and support services to their graves for all ex-servicemen.
They deserve the best of the best and a special place in the community.

SGT T. Mura (retired),
Brisbane, Australia