Brittany Higgins' compensation payout: Diggers erupt over shocking hypocrisy ... trends now
Military veterans and advocates have lashed out at Brittany Higgins' $2.4million compensation payout, claiming it took them years to receive a fraction of that amount from the government.
Daily Mail Australia revealed on Thursday that the Albanese Government has admitted that no veteran or dependent has received compensation of more than $2.3million or more for impairment or injuries.
Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh confirmed to Parliament that 'no single veteran or dependent has received compensation totalling $2.3million or more' in response to questions posed by Nationals frontbencher Barnaby Joyce.
Ms Higgins, a former political staffer who alleged she was raped in Parliament House, received her multimillion-dollar payout from the Federal Government in December 2022 after just one day of mediation. Her claims have never been proven in court.
On Thursday morning, Radio 2GB host Mark Levy told listeners it takes an average of 391 days for military claims to be processed.
He quoted from a serving army officer, Jason, who served for nine years and had a pending compensation claim in the system for months.
Brittany Higgins is pictured with her fiancé, David Sharaz
'[Compensation claims] may be assigned within two weeks, but they sit in limbo for months,' Levy said.
'Other veterans have told us they're still waiting for claims to be processed. Claims lodged in May 2020, October 2020, and June 2021.'
Levy said there seemed to be 'one rule for veterans who risked their lives on the battlefield' who receive 'hundreds of thousands of dollars at best', and another rule for political staffers who work in Parliament House.
He also spoke with Andrew, who works with a veterans advocacy group and accused the government of 'shifting numbers on a spreadsheet'.
'The government's been playing with them for years,' Andrew said.
'The wait time that they have for their claims to be processes and actioned by the department is just unacceptable.'
He said the department had 75,000 claims at the end of February, but said the number hasn't changed within the last three years.
'They keep changing the way they provide those statistics on their website, so now they're saying they have 73,700 claims with an officer, but that just means that it's been someone's walked through the office and dumped [on desks].
'When veterans call back or respond to the delegate they they're told that they probably won't be picked up for a year.'
Andrew said although veterans feel as though the department is grateful for their service, it is unwilling to process their claims within a timely period.
Barnaby Joyce (pictured) fired four questions at the minister for veterans affairs
Ms Higgins had alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her in Senator Reynolds' office in Parliament House in March 2019, which he strongly denies.
Mr Lehrmann was tried in the ACT Supreme Court in October 2022 but the hearing was vacated due to misconduct by a juror.
