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Letter to Troops May be Telling the Truth |
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Tuesday, 19 May 2009 |
Defence Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon has criticised the wording of a Defence Department letter urging troops being sent to Afghanistan to consider paying for extra life insurance.
The letter says existing compensation provided by the Federal Government has been found "not to be sufficient in some cases".
It also states: "The additional accident insurance costs for basic cover is less than a night out on the town for a few beers with your mates each month."
Mr Snowdon says the Defence Department has been urging soldiers to consider extra cover since 2007, but that the letter is badly worded.
He says it is important that troops heading to war zones know they can top up their insurance.
"Frankly I have to say it's not very well-worded and if it were worded differently but providing the same advice it wouldn't be an issue," he said.
"We take our duty of care seriously for our Defence Force members, and so to provide them with advice which says you have the option of taking out insurance and you should think about it, is important.
"So I have no difficulty with that at all."
Last month the Federal Government announced a review of Australia's military compensation arrangements.
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