Many years ago in a previous incarnation I was a young airman in the RAAF. Most of the time I did what I was told and did not think of the future. One of our many jobs was to photograph the inside of the fuel tanks of the F-111 aircraft. While they were being serviced, we, like all the rest, just did our jobs believing our leaders knew what they were doing and were not incompetent morons trying to kill us in chemical warfare. We were at the time more concerned about our electronic flashes setting fire to the residual fuel vapours and burning us alive inside the fuel tanks than the long term effects of the chemicals we were covered in.

After a few years it started to become increasingly obvious the chemicals involved in this process were harming the troops. More and more of us became ill with strange skin and psychological disorders, wives and partners became sterile, the suicides started. Being a good government-run organization, everything was denied until the overwhelming weight of evidence forced an open enquiry.

Experts in the field testified about the hazards of those chemicals, the same chemicals that now require a full safety suit and breathing apparatus. We were told not to worry and promises were made as to compensation. As before, everything would be taken care of. Head of the Australian Defence forces Angus Houston met with our members regularly over four years and repeatedly assured us at each meeting, "you are still RAAF family and we will take care of you". Yet on 6 September 2005 the RAAF wiped their hands of us and told us we were on our own and were to have no more contact with their representatives.

Now we find that only those who were assigned to work in those tanks applying the toxic goop will receive compensation, and good luck to them. They deserve every cent they get, but those who dealt with SR51 outside the tanks or on an occasional basis will not be eligible for compensation regardless of symptoms, medical advice or need. This amounts to almost half of the claimants. Those who handled the chemicals, those who washed the floors and dumped the containers, those who burned the remainders in open pits while standing breathing the smoke, are not eligible for compensation.

There is nothing particularly unusual about the government screwing those less fortunate, but here comes the killer punch. The maximum compensation available to claimants on an Ex-Gratis basis is $40.000. Our beloved leaders and those responsible for protecting us have promised to allot one million dollars per person to fight claims made by anyone affected by the chemicals. This, then, is a fighting fund of $580,000.000 of taxpayer's money to counter the claims made by some 580 maintenance personnel,

Unfortunately, FOI restrictions do not allow us to find out how many political cronies have retired from the halls of Canberra on stress-related pensions and generous Ex-Gratis payments after suffering paper cuts or coffee burns, but us guys who just did what we were told and followed orders sure don't get to feed off the scraps of their gravy train.

We are allowed to watch as those defenders of liberal rights, the courts and legal system, take our money and our compensation to buy a new Lexus or BMW for the latest trophy wife.

I am getting old and I am sick. I am not as sick from the chemicals as much as sick of the total disregard of the ordinary Australian person in favour of the rich, powerful and well connected.

I know I am barking at the moon, I know there is little hope of a fair go, We sing the praises and heap glory upon those who die rich and famous. We ignore the ordinary men who offered to give their lives to defend Australia, Australians and the Government of this country.

-- Ferris Darkwater