Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

As the opposition have already made clear, we support these bills and, in fact, believe that they are most appropriate. As we are talking about our Defence personnel, I will also take this opportunity to acknowledge that yesterday was Vietnam Veterans Day and also the 49th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. This year also marks the 50th anniversary since Australia's first regiment left for Vietnam. To commemorate the day, I am aware that services were held right across Australia in remembrance of those Australians who served in Vietnam and, indeed, in remembrance of all those families that were, in one way or another, affected by the Vietnam War.

As with World War I and World War II, I believe that there are few communities across Australia that would not have direct links with the Vietnam War, in one way or another. In my own electorate—indeed, in my own neighbourhood—a service was again held at Montague Farm where several years ago a memorial was built in recognition of Australia's Vietnam veterans. When Montague Farm was established as a new residential estate in the early 1990s, each of the streets of the estate were named in memory of one of the 58 fallen South Australian soldiers, with brief details about that solider printed on the street name. It was the idea of Fred Pritchard, the South Australian Housing Trust project manager of the estate, who was himself a Vietnam veteran. Being in Canberra I was unable to attend the Montague Farm service this year, but I was represented by Deb Matheson from my office, who laid a tribute on my behalf.

I was, however, able to attend, as I have done for years, the annual Vietnam veterans march, memorial service breakfast and family and friends day held at Torrens Parade Ground last Sunday. Each year, the event attracts hundreds of veterans, their families and their friends for a wonderful afternoon of entertainment. Sadly, because the veterans are ageing and it requires a huge organisational effort to put on the event, I understand that this year's family and friends day event may have been the last.

The Vietnam War was a defining period in Australian history, as was the Battle of Long Tan. As has been pointed out by several other speakers, some 62,000 Australians served in Vietnam and 521 lost their lives over there and perhaps others died after their return to Australia. Three thousand were injured and many, many more still carry the mental scars of their service in Vietnam.

Last week I mentioned the work of Dr Glen Edwards, a person I have come to know. He was a medic over there in Vietnam who, since coming back from Vietnam, has written two books—one called Vietnam: theWar Within and the other Beyond Dark Cloudswhich track the effects of the Vietnam War on the lives of not only the soldiers but also their families. He has done work with respect to families here in Australia, in New Zealand and in the USA. There is no question that many veterans are still suffering from the nightmare of the service over there.

The Battle of Long Tan—which, again, others have spoken about at length, as I have on other occasions—was something that defined Australia. It not only replicated the courage, mateship and bravery that we saw at Gallipoli 100 years ago; it also, once again, saw Australian and New Zealand soldiers fighting side by side. That battle ended up with 18 Australians killed and 24 wounded. In terms of the casualties of the Vietnam War, it was one of the more significant occasions.

I have spoken about the war on other occasions and I do not want to go into a great deal of detail about the Vietnam War per se today. But I do want to make this observation. The Vietnam War resulted in a mass migration of Vietnamese to Australia. Some 57,000 Vietnamese came to Australia in the years immediately after the war. This year we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the post Vietnam War arrivals of Vietnamese people to Australia. There was a celebratory function held here in Parliament House several weeks ago. I spoke about that earlier on today in the Federation Chamber.

In that spirit, it is most appropriate that the Vietnam War Memorial, located at the Torrens Parade Grounds in Adelaide and opened in 2004, depicts both Australian and South Vietnamese soldiers and that, each year, former South Vietnamese soldiers now living in Australia join Australian Vietnam War veterans in the military parade and memorial service that I referred to earlier on in my remarks.

It was equally fitting that the South Australian Governor, His Excellency Hieu Van Le, a former Vietnamese refugee himself, was at the dais to receive the military salute of both Australian and Vietnamese soldiers marching past in the parade. I doubt if any of those Australian Vietnam veterans marching in the parade on Sunday could ever have imagined that decades after the war they would be saluting a Vietnamese born South Australian Governor.

The treatment of Australian returned Defence personnel has not always been handled well by governments on both sides of politics over the years. Since being in public life, I have developed a close friendship with countless veterans and veteran organisations and I have taken up so many causes and grievances, not always successfully, on their behalf. I have often sat down with veterans and listened with absolute disappointment to their stories about the way that they have been treated as veterans, quite often by the very Defence organisation that they served under. I have watched their health deteriorate from a combination of aging, sometimes mental anguish and dispiritedness. Indeed, only last Sunday I was reminded of a veteran who is still seeking recognition and justice for his service to Australia decades ago. In a similar way, I continue to fight for those people who were affected by the atomic nuclear testing here in Australia, many of whom have since passed away but many of whom are still battling for recognition and justice.

Also yesterday I wrote to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs about the health of veterans of 111 Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, who served at RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia between 1964 and 1966. I understand that half of those Defence personnel have died, in most cases from unusual cancers. Whilst the evidence is anecdotal, there is a belief that the death rate is unusually high and that it may be attributable to one, or perhaps a combination, of the following causes: insect repellent fog containing the chemicals DDT and dieldrin; range fuel used for cleaning and deemed by the Commonwealth as a carcinogenic fluid; or cordite, the projectile propellant used in ammunition, creating toxic smoke and fumes. We do not know for certain whether the death rate is attributable to one, two or a combination of all three of those substances. But, given the statistics and the number of those veterans that have died, with the cause of death in most cases being cancer, the veterans are requesting that the government carry out a more scientific investigation to try to determine whether there is a pattern and whether the deaths are indeed attributable to their service in Malaysia on behalf of Australia.

This bill quite properly makes several improvements relating to the employment conditions of serving ADF personnel, and I understand that, in a couple of cases, those changes will commence from next year. We as a country need to take the same responsibility for Defence personnel who have ceased serving the country. Our support for our Defence personnel should not be limited to the years in which they are serving; it should take into account the years following that. We now have considerable evidence that, in many cases, their injuries, their ailments and their health deteriorate much more so after their service has been completed. In that respect, I think we as a nation could do better.

Labor supports this legislation. I understand that a new ADF superannuation scheme, with an employer rate at 16.4 per cent for any ADF member joining after 1 July 2016, will be implemented. As other members on this side of the House have made clear, we also support Project Suakin, which provides the necessary flexibility to enable a range of full-time and part-time service categories and options. Today we are starting to see more flexible conditions of employment operate in all areas of employment. That reflects the nature of the society that we live in. The same conditions should apply to ADF personnel. This particular change will be equally beneficial for females and males who want to serve in our defence forces but who, for one reason or another, might need to have time out or to commit themselves on a part-time basis to their service to the country because of other obligations or commitments. It is quite appropriate that we accommodate those needs. I also note the measures to create ADF Cover, replacing the existing death and disability scheme. That is an improvement to the current support that we provide our ADF personnel.

As I said at the outset, it is important that we provide appropriate conditions and the appropriate level of support to our ADF personnel who serve this country. It is a unique service, and that point has been made time and time again by speakers in this place. In recognition that it is a unique service, we should also recognise the unique fallouts that quite often result once their service has ended. Our support for our ADF personnel should not be limited to the period of their direct service to the country but should also apply to their years in retirement. With those comments, I repeat our support for this legislation.

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