The family of a Victoria Cross recipient killed in Afghanistan has been left “shocked” by a callous decision by the federal government, which Tom Elliott has described as a “terrible example of penny pinching”.

Doug Baird, father of Cameron Baird VC, says he “was shocked … to hear the actual bluntness of the whole lot of it”.

“To get this message from Matt Keough, when all we wanted to do was actually just have a meeting and talk to him … that never happened,” he said on 3AW Mornings.

Press PLAY below to hear what happened to the Baird family

Former Senator Michael Ronaldson, who was the original senator that gifted the allowance to the Baird family, then decided to call in to 3AW Mornings to voice his anger.

“This just seemed to me to be an appalling, mean-spirited decision,” Mr Ronaldson told Tom Elliott.

Press PLAY to hear him slam the decision + a follow up from Doug Baird himself

Tom Elliott highlights several examples of wasteful government spending

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