Update: the petition is officially with the House Petitions Committee. Here's where we are.

Thank you. Every signature on this petition is one more voice telling the Parliament that the Veterans' Covenant is not a slogan, it is a promise.

A quick update on what your signatures have already enabled.

1. House of Representatives e-petition. A parallel House of Representatives e-petition has been lodged with the Standing Committee on Petitions. The Committee has confirmed receipt, advised that the wording is appropriate, and indicated it is likely to come before the Committee by the end of this month, or at the August sitting at the latest. Once certified, the petition is presented in the House by the Petitions Committee Chair or a nominated Member, and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs is required to provide a written response within 90 days.

2. Senate paper petition. A parallel Senate paper petition is in preparation. Senator David Shoebridge (Greens, Spokesperson for Defence and Veterans' Affairs), Senator Larissa Waters (Greens Leader), Senator Jacqui Lambie (Ind, ex-Army), Senator David Pocock (Ind), Senator Penny Allman-Payne and Senator Jordon Steele-John have all been written to about presenting the Senate version. Senator Raff Ciccone (Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee) and the Committee Secretariat have also been notified that a referral motion is being prepared.

3. House of Representatives champions. Andrew Wilkie MP (Ind, ex-Army), Phillip Thompson OAM MP (Shadow Minister for Defence Personnel, wounded Afghanistan veteran), Elizabeth Watson-Brown MP (Greens, Ryan), Helen Haines MP (Ind, ex-nurse), Sophie Scamps MP (Ind, GP), Monique Ryan MP (Ind, paediatric neurologist), Bob Katter MP (KAP, Kennedy) and Julie-Ann Campbell MP (Labor, Moreton) have all been approached about presenting the petition in the House or following up with substantive interventions in the chamber.

4. ESO endorsement. RSL Australia, RSL Queensland, the Yeronga-Dutton Park Sub-Branch, Families of Veterans Guild, Mates4Mates, Soldier On, Legacy Australia, the Alliance of Defence Service Organisations and the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia have been approached for public endorsement and signature support.

5. Royal Commission accountability. A formal submission is in preparation to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide Independent Implementation Monitor. It will argue that the cap is inconsistent with the Government's stated commitment to implementing the 104 of 122 recommendations it has accepted, or accepted in principle.

What I am asking now.

Please keep sharing this petition. Share it with a veteran, a war widow, or a dependant. Share it on your local MP's Facebook page. Send the template MP letter at bit.ly/vet5000cap (click, hit "Make a copy", fill in your details, send; takes ten minutes). Comment on Senator Lambie's, Senator Waters', Senator Pocock's and Andrew Wilkie's posts asking them to back this in the chamber.

The Government is hoping that by 1 July 2027, the public will have moved on. Every signature, every share, every comment, every emailed MP letter, makes moving on harder.

Thank you for being on this with me.

Rebecca Principal Petitioner