CANBERRA, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) has announced a 118-million-Australian dollar (84.4 million U.S. dollars) package to give all veterans the same funeral benefits.
The funding, according to The Australian, announced by Labor leader Bill Shorten on Saturday night, would increase the funeral benefits given to veterans who fought in Vietnam, Korea and World War II.
Under the current scheme, Australians who fought in those conflicts are entitled to 2,000 Australian dollars (1,430 U.S. dollars) to help with funeral costs, about 10,000 Australian dollars less than what is offered to veterans of other conflicts.
"It's about honoring Australia's oldest promise, that at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them," Shorten said in a statement on Saturday night.
"This is about ensuring all our veterans are rightly honored."
The funeral expense funding accounts for 90.4 million Australian dollars (64.6 million U.S. dollars) of Shorten's package, with some rest of the money to be spent on upgrading local communities' war memorials.
If victorious in May's general election, Labor intends to boost funding for research into veterans' mental health.
"If we can better understand the wellbeing of our current and ex-serving members, we can better understand how to support them," Shorten said.
A report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) in 2018 found that in 2014-2016 ex-serving men aged under 30 had a suicide rate 2.2 times that of Australian men the same age.
