Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am privileged to have in my electorate one of the oldest RAAF bases in the country, RAAF Richmond, as well as RAAF Base Glenbrook, home to Headquarters Air Command. That means that many of the 2,000 men and women who work at these bases also live in my electorate. I have the same number of returned service personnel living in Macquarie, so that means we have thousands of people who are being or have been asked to risk their lives now or in the past in service of their country. They either are or will be veterans.

Last Sunday in the Blue Mountains, my community honoured not only those who served in the Vietnam War but also those who currently serve at our annual Vietnam Veterans Day march. I would like to congratulate and thank the Blue Mountains Vietnam Veterans Association for the work they do as well as the local RSL sub-branches for the support they give. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day Parade and Service commemorates the Battle of Long Tan, one of the most significant engagements by Australian forces during the Vietnam War on 18 August 1966. Each year in Springwood on the closest Sunday before that date, Vietnam veterans gather for a commemorative service and wreath laying. It is one of the largest events of its kind in New South Wales and it is always a very moving event. This year War Memorial director, Brendon Nelson, spoke about the reception Vietnam veterans received on their return to Australia, which we all know was much less than anything that anyone serving at behest of their country should experience.

Mr Nelson shared the story of one of our locals: Katoomba resident Bob Bowtell, who died of asphyxiation in a tunnel complex close to what we then knew as Saigon and whose body was recently repatriated to Australia. It was a sad story and one of the real tragedies of that particular encounter. But only a year earlier, I heard the story not just of Bob but also of one of the men who survived and, in fact, had tried to rescue Bob Bowtell. He told us his mental health had suffered as a direct result of those efforts and of his Vietnam experience. That's the reality of what our community was honouring at the Vietnam Veterans Day march. It was a gathering of hundreds of people, and they all believed that respecting the sacrifices that our defence personnel have made and continue to make is one of the best things that we can do as community to honour what they've done.

I think our community recognises, either from personal experience or from the experience of family and friends, that there can be a very heavy price to pay for serving your country. It isn't just the physical wounds but also the mental ones that truly baffle families, which is why we welcome the government's introduction of the recent expansion of non-liability health care. We have offered our support to the government and want to make sure that people are aware of this program and that it is available to everyone who has served even one day in the ADF.

Those in my electorate are probably more aware than some in other communities of the cost to people's mental health, partly because we have one of the leading veterans' treatment hospitals, St John of God, in North Richmond. This facility has specialist expertise in PTSD, alcohol and drug treatments. It takes a holistic approach.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 11:46 to 11:55

As I was saying, when I spent time at St John of God a few weeks ago, I had the chance to admire the artwork that patients do as part of their treatment. In fact, a lacquered tray now has pride of place in my Parliament House office on the coffee table. It's a reminder of the work that veterans sometimes need to do so that they can feel that they can fit back into society. I really praise the work St John of God does.

We were there for a service to honour veterans. Guest speaker Paul Field, who is also known as the manager of the Wiggles, has turned his hand to capturing the stories of veterans and others who've experienced PTSD in a new book called Gimme Shelter, which is a collection of interviews. I think the deeply personal stories that he shared really do bring to light the struggle that people have, whether it's as a Black Hawk helicopter crash survivor or as witness to a friend's death in an explosion in Afghanistan. Certainly, for the veterans and their families who were at St John of God, the experiences of rebuilding a life after serving in the armed forces were very close to home.

It is vital that veterans have access to the health services they deserve. Not everyone will want to be in a hospital situation, but it's so important that primary health care is readily available. That's why the government's indexation freeze on the DVA repatriation medical schedule is troubling. That fee schedule has remained stagnant. The feedback we're getting is that it's acting as a disincentive for some medical specialists to provide treatment for veterans. We would really like to see that addressed.

In the time that I have left, I want to share some of the insights that I had during my week-long stay at RAAF Base Amberley recently as part of the Defence parliamentary program. I certainly walked away with a deeper understanding of the commitment people make in signing up to be part of the armed forces. I think there are some lessons there about how we move forward about transitioning people back into civilian society.

I had the opportunity, during my week, to meet the incredible individuals who make up the Air Force, from the ground defence team, the medics and the firefighters through to pilots and aircrew flying the C-17A Globemasters, the KC-30s, F/A-18 Hornets and the Super Hornets. I think what impressed me most about being part of it was the culture of training that permeates every aspect of the base—certainly how I experienced it. It was repeated time and time again, whether I was in a simulator flying a plane, or being walked through the fire services facilities. As a trainer with 25 years experience, I was really impressed with the high-quality adult education that was being imparted.

While the machines are really impressive and the equipment's great, it was the conversations that had the most impact. The reasons that people gave me for being in the RAAF were obviously many and varied. What everyone talked about, though, was the impact that it has on their family and friends. Whether it's their mum and dad, whether it's their siblings or whether it's their partner and their children, families clearly pay a very high price for their member's service. They have long times apart and they have little control over where they live. While that is something that they choose when they go forward, I think there are then consequences from that when people transition back into society as veterans.

Certainly, the RAAF base at Amberley gave me an idea of the sense of community that is created. I can only imagine what it's like to suddenly not have that community around you: to one day be in the ADF and the next day to be a veteran. There doesn't seem to be the cross-over that we need between those two services. I can only imagine what it's like to suddenly find you need to sign in to go back onto base to see friends and be a part of something, because you have lost your access. All of those things, I imagine, are very confronting.

That's why I am pleased Labor has already committed to the National Mental Health Commission's recommendations around family engagement and support. We need to work with families to identify how we can smooth this transition. This was highlighted even more last night when I was able to meet Mark Wales, a former SAS member and famous for his role on Survivor. Last night, in this place, he talked about transition and the challenges. He highlighted the role that education plays in that transition.

Another conversation I had was about how challenging it can be to get an education while you're still serving in the Defence Force, yet that education is absolutely vital for your transition into civilian society. They're the areas I would really like to see all of us, both sides, put attention into. We will certainly be very keen to identify the things that will make life just a little bit easier. As parliamentarians we make decisions that greatly impact people's lives and their families, and we should take that responsibility for their futures seriously.

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