Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like, firstly, to thank the Minister for Veterans' Affairs for his outstanding work and commitment to this area. We certainly owe so much to our veterans. I'm very proud to be part of the first government to make a formal ministerial statement on veterans and their families—the first of what will become annual statements to ensure transparency on services and the sector more broadly. This was a commitment that we took to the federal election last year.

The recognition of the unique needs of veterans and the requirement of ongoing support is a key objective of the direction that the government is taking, and it is one that is not only critical but also owed to our veterans. The first female veterans forum and the first veterans families forum that were held in the last 12 months make it clear that this government recognises that our veterans are now a much more diverse group of individuals and that the impacts of service extend beyond the veterans themselves. Unfortunately, the veterans affairs sector has been long and often invisible in the conversations around mental health and in the societal conversations about homelessness. Consistent with the fortitude that our troops display throughout their service, many of our veterans have suffered in silence.

Our government has committed to a stand-alone Department of Veterans' Affairs: a department that focuses on the needs of the veteran first and a stronger voice for the veterans community. A key focus of this government is on how these men and women transition out of the Australian Defence Force and the resources and services that are there to meet them when they do. Some 5,200 ADF personnel leave the forces every year after an average of around 8½ years of service. The number of servicemen and servicewomen who leave the ADF involuntarily has doubled from the figure that it was 10 years ago. We know that some veterans have fallen through the gap between defence and civilian life, and we are committed to doing all that we can to narrow, and eventually close, that gap.

Many of us will never fully comprehend the impact that service and the various reasons for leaving the ADF will leave on our veterans. The Department of Veterans' Affairs, for example, typically receives two letters or emails every minute, a phone call every couple of seconds and processes around 95 compensation or income-support forms every hour. The department currently supports about 291,000 Australians, with 82,000 of them being widows or widowers and around 2,500 of them being children of veterans.

We know that these support networks need to be wide-reaching. I was very pleased to meet with the fantastic people of the Australian Kookaburra Kids Foundation, when they visited parliament just a few month ago, joined by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs as well as the Treasurer and others.

The resources to address the needs of veterans and their families are certainly increasing, and the minister's commitment to meet the needs of veterans with whatever funding is required, I know, will be welcomed by the veterans community Australia-wide as well as in my electorate of Dunkley. But I have also heard firsthand from constituents of the demands on the system. A gentleman with whom I regularly interact in my electorate of Dunkley has highlighted the exact gap that I mentioned previously—the impact of his service, training and reintegration experience back to civilian life. He has a number of needs that are being addressed by the department's compensation system. I have spoken to the minister personally about this gentleman and I was struck by the minister's dedication to addressing any shortcomings, which I believe is symptomatic of the Turnbull coalition government. The ongoing support is not only recognised but also being progressively addressed by budgetary measures and frequent investment by the government. We still have a lot more work to do but I know the minister is wholly and fully dedicated to this task.

An additional $350 million was committed in this year's budget to support veterans. This brings the estimated budgetary spend of the department to $11.3 billion. Much of this will provide essential services for communities such as Frankston south in my electorate, where Vasey RSL Care provide incredible support to the Dunkley ex-service community, or indeed Mornington Peninsula Legacy at Mount Eliza House, who also do a fantastic job. More widely, the RSL aged-care community do a fantastic job caring for our older veteran community and return the dedication and commitment that our veterans displayed during their service, and the mateship and care for friends and neighbours. Additional focus, though, is still needed for the younger generations of veterans. Around 23,000 clients of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, both men and women, are under the age of 40. It is vital that support is provided to those impacted by the effects of service, young or old, male or female, or veteran partner or child. The Turnbull coalition government will be there alongside them providing the services we owe our veterans and I welcome the bipartisan support towards this.

Listening to how we can improve our support and ensure that no veteran or their family falls through the gap is essential. As the minister said, 'If there is a need, it will be met.' I was reminded of this continual need of our veterans when this last weekend I attended and laid a wreath at the Frankston and district Vietnam veterans sub-branch Remembrance Day service on Sunday. This service recognised the service of our Vietnam veterans and their needs, particularly after their service was shamefully not properly recognised upon their return from conflict. We can only continue working to make up for this, as the Australian government and the Frankston and district Vietnam veterans sub-branch and many other similar organisations across Australia are working to make sure that this is the case and that the government is held to account. At this recent service on Sunday, it was also great to have there fellow Australian South Vietnamese veterans, who fought arm in arm with our Australian veterans during the conflict. This fighting arm-in-arm across nations really recognises the fact that this is shared conflict and that there are shared needs of our veterans. I am honoured to work with the minister to support the veterans of Dunkley and across Australia to remove barriers in accessing treatment and support, and being a voice for all Dunkley ex-service men and women.

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