The 25% is probably based on the assumption that veterans would have other sources of income that would average out to the average income on a national scale. That would make it a bonus rather than an insult.
I wouldn't expect retirement pay to be 100% of the average income because that would bankrupt the country, but if Australia is like America, yeah, 25% of the average income does not sound like an income you could live on. You would need additional income either from your own labor if you can work, or assistance to disabled or elderly people if you can't.
Now that I mention it, though, I do not know what kind of assistance is available is disabled and elderly people in America. I've seen evidence of lots of money available to disabled folks because I work with them; don't know the extent of it but I do know that they do not want for help with physical disabilities. For the elderly, I don't know, other than that our social security program falls far short of a living income.
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Who are all these people and what do they know? 
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