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

I'm pleased to follow the member for Canberra in speaking on this legislation, the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment (Defence Force) Bill 2016. I speak in support of this legislation and welcome the creation of a department that will be focused on Defence Force safety and rehabilitation. Over the years, there have been too many events where defence personnel were poorly supported or even ignored after they suffered health problems that arose from their defence service of this country. Even worse, critical service records have often disappeared or been made difficult to retrieve for injured veterans who needed the records to prove their case and prove their injury.

The recent legislation relating to the British atomic testing that was debated in this House only a few weeks ago and the legislation relating to the atomic testing that took place in Australia in the 1950s and '60s is a good example of the denial of truth and, with it, the denial of justice for so many defence veterans and civilians. Every bit of government recognition and limited support conceded had to be fought for over decades against governments that showed less respect for the people affected than perhaps enemy forces may have shown; in turn, adding to the psychological trauma endured by those affected. There would be little else more demoralising to a veteran than denial of justice by the government in a country where a soldier had served. Over the years, I have personally raised several matters relating to individuals who were seeking compensation or recognition of their war service with the government—sometimes with some success, other times with very limited success.

Another example I refer to is the effect of the Vietnam War on soldiers. There are few, if any, Vietnam veterans that I know who have not been left physically or emotionally affected by their experiences. Only those who have confronted the horrors of war would ever understand the effect on a person's life, and Vietnam had its own unique characteristics. Each year, I attend the Vietnam veterans services, as I did again this year on 18 August, to remember Australia's Vietnam veterans and to commemorate the Battle of Long Tan. This year's service was again organised by the City of Salisbury and the northern branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association, and once again held at Henderson Square at the Montague Farm Estate in Pooraka, where several years ago a permanent Vietnam War memorial was established. I've often visited the northern branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association in Adelaide and spoken with and met many of the members and looked at how they support one another. In many cases, were it not for the support that they give each other, some of them would find life very difficult after having served in Vietnam. I understand that over 500 Australians lost their lives in the Vietnam War, and 58 of those were from South Australia.

The keynote speaker at this year's service was Gaynor Tilley, who served as a nurse in Vietnam. She provided a personal insight into her time there, including some horrific stories. Just listening to her on the day of the service and hearing her very personal account of some of her experiences not only brought back the reality of the war to many of the veterans who were there; for those of us who did not serve in Vietnam, it gave a clear insight into what some of them must have endured as they served our country. Stories about events similar to those that Gaynor referred to will be forever etched in the minds of those who were there and they will never forget them—events which I suspect every person who ever served in Vietnam would have similar experiences of and, in turn, similar memories about.

One person who not only experienced the Vietnam War but has since extensively researched, written and spoken about the war, particularly its aftereffects on veterans, is Dr Glen Edwards. Glen Edwards was one of the first to recognise the psychological injury that Vietnam veterans live with every day on returning from service. He publicly shared his insight from his research in the two books that he wrote about the Vietnam War. The first, Vietnam: The War Within, was published in 1992, and in more recent years was Beyond Dark Clouds, which is a collection of personal stories from Vietnam veterans from Australia, the US and New Zealand who speak openly about the effect of the war on themselves, their partners and their families. Glen served in the Army as a national serviceman and then as a regular soldier serving as a medic in Vietnam. He saw firsthand what it was like to be there and the events that so many of his fellow soldiers had to go through. Glen went on to study in South Australia at the Sturt College of Advanced Education and then at Flinders University. He did further studies at the University of West Florida in the US and then studied again at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. His studies and his work have focused on research, clinical work, lecturing and helping people, predominantly but not exclusively veterans, with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Glen has worked for both the Australian and US governments and the World Health Organization. He volunteered and was contracted to help in Japan and China following the east Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and after the Sichuan province earthquake in China. Glen also worked extensively in the US with veterans and native veterans and was adopted by two Sioux tribes.

I want to quote from Glen's introductory comments to his book, Beyond Dark Clouds. He says:

With each unfolding story we see veterans and their families clearly exposing the fragility and inner conflicts we all harbour at times throughout our lives. The emotional and psychological challenges are often faced alone and in silence, because of the prejudice and stigma associated with mental health, along with the fear of being judged as weak or crazy.

Partners and children did not go to Vietnam but may have been irreversibly scarred by Vietnam, as well. And again, going on to Glen's comments, he says:

Equally unfairly, the partner and children have for a long period of time silently borne the burden of society for the veteran. Much of their pain and suffering has been locked away deep within their hearts and minds, shared only in secret or not at all.

Those comments, I believe, sum it up beautifully. Glen talks about how, for so many of them, they carry the burden and the pain with them and never say very much at all. The only ones who understand it, who perhaps share in it, are quite often partners and other family members, who also have to not only share it but in reality live through whatever the former veteran is living through.

I recently met with Dr Glen Edwards. He is a person I've known for some years, but I recently met with him, and he told me again about some of the work he continues to do overseas, particularly in Japan and China, and he also travels frequently back to the US. I take this opportunity to commend him for being one of the first people to apply himself to helping war veterans, particularly with their psychological health concerns. I can commend him for sharing his work so widely, not only through the writing of his books but also through the ongoing work that he continues to do each and every day. As a result of his experience, he is quite often called in to help people who are suffering psychological problems in other areas of society, because it's understood that he has the experience. And, as I referred to earlier, whether it's trauma that has arisen from a natural disaster or through service, whether it's police forces or the ambulance services or the like, it's that understanding of what those people may be living through each and every day that enables the person trying to help to do so.

On 14 August, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs made a ministerial statement in the House about veterans and their families. I noted some of the statistics from the statement, and I want to quote some. Firstly, there are currently 58,000 men and women in the ADF, and, in 2016-17, 5,200 left the service, of which about 1,400 separated involuntarily. The average serving time is eight and a half years. There are about 320,000 veterans in Australia, of whom 165,800 are DVA clients. Between 2001 and 2015, there were 325 certified suicide deaths of ADF members, with 51 per cent of those from amongst ex-service members. At least 45,000 veterans live with a mental health service-related disability, and more two-thirds of them have post-traumatic stress disorder. All of those figures give rise to several questions. Firstly, how do those statistics compare with the statistics of other comparable countries? Why are suicide rates and mental health problems so high amongst veterans? Why are 1,400 serving ADF personnel discharged involuntarily each year?

Military service is unique, and only our defence personnel can speak about the personal sacrifices, risks and harsh conditions that they endure. It's particularly the case if they're then called to active duty, which I have little doubt takes its toll not only in terms of them being away from home but also in being at risk every day of their life and seeing the horrors of war right before their eyes. It is my understanding that only a person who has ever been in that situation could truly come to terms with it. The truth is that, in coming to terms with it, many of them find they cannot cope. I have spoken to some veterans who have returned and, in more recent times, with a veteran who served in the Middle East. He was trying to set up a support group for his colleagues, because he understood not only what he went through and how it affected his life and that of his partner, who was also a defence person, but also how they might be able to use their experience to support others. It was a wonderful gesture on his part that he showed that level of concern.

The truth is that, if we have all of those statistics, it may be that our ADF personnel are either not well enough prepared before they enlist and go into a military conflict or perhaps they are not well enough supported when they come home. I don't know, and I'm not in any way making any suggestions. I simply ask the question: are we providing them with the adequate support at the time of enlistment, during their training period and at the time they return home? Maybe if we did and we were able to improve that level of support then particularly the level of psychological health problems could be lowered.

I understand that the Department of Veterans' Affairs spends some $4.9 billion per annum on health services for our 291,000 Australians. From my quick calculations—and I stand to be corrected—that is much, much higher per capita than for the rest of Australia. Yes, I accept that they are a unique category of Australians, but it seems to me that, if we were able to give the veterans some additional support, it would not only be in the nation's economic interests but also be in the social interests of our community to do so, and it would be the right thing to do.

The last thing I want to mention is that our defence personnel and our veterans obviously span decades. The truth of the matter is that we're now dealing with defence personnel who enlisted predominantly since World War II. The reality is that most of those who enlisted before that have since passed away. I frequently associate with them and I have a strong defence network in my community. Indeed, on Sunday, I'll be attending the charter lunch of the National Servicemen's Association, Para District Branch, in South Australia, which I attend every year. I speak firsthand on a regular basis with veterans in my electorate, and one thing that they continuously raise with me that they would like to see improved is the support that they get from government with respect to a number of the needs that they have. I believe that this legislation, by focusing on our defence personnel, goes some way towards doing that, and I hope it will be an improvement on what is presently available to them.

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