David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this very important motion because of the contribution of our veterans who've answered the call that the nation puts out in times of war, or in times when there wasn't war, and put up their hand up to serve. Having had my brother serve in the armed forces for over 25 years—father, uncles, grandfathers—the history of service has been handed down to me. So I sometimes feel a bit inadequate that I'm one of the next generation that hasn't put my hand up to serve.

We are always grateful for what our men and women who serve our nation do for us and for other nations that are our allies or just need our protection and help. The coalition government—like most Australian governments—has, quite rightly, put things in place to support veterans after they leave. However, we've all heard stories where it hasn't been perfect. The coalition government—The Nationals and Liberals in government—have tried to address some of these very important issues.

The most impressive reform recently has been our response to mental health issues that people in the Defence Forces suffer. It has always been a problem with wartime service. In the old days, as a child, I remember my parents talking about people who went off to World War II. The saying was, 'They came back, but they weren't the same person.' Then there were other terms like 'shell shock' that my grandparents used to talk about, and then there was 'combat fatigue'. Now most of us recognise it as post-traumatic stress disorder.

A recent ABC article and survey estimated that up to 50 per cent of serving veterans, when they retire, have some sort of mental health issue, from reactive depression through to post-traumatic stress disorder. The veterans' affairs reform bill went a long way to try and correct this issue. The barriers to getting mental health support have theoretically vanished. If you've done one day of service as a serving Australian soldier, sailor or airman or airwoman, you qualify for support. There is a new funding stream in place while you undergo your mental health assessment for you as a returning veteran and your partner so that the process of assessment and working out whether you do need long-term fiscal support from the veterans' affairs section doesn't leave you cashless and in an impecunious state for up to a year while these lengthy processes go through.

I should also mention that there are many other organisations that really step up to the plate to help service men and women. We are all familiar with the RSL and the Vietnam Veterans Association. They really go in to bat for their colleagues and people who've served before over not only welfare issues but also their health and their physical complaints as well as their mental complaints. I've had occasion to do fundraising bike rides across the alps or parts of them or over long distances for the Soldier On charity, which is also doing a great job alongside the more well-known groups like the RSL and the Vietnam Veterans Association.

We also have other government programs such as the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme, which offers training and mentoring to veterans so that they can start up their own business. There is also other mentoring going out for a year and doing small-business training courses—all the sorts of things that you need to establish a business. We've had the Prime Minister's initiatives where we have corporations and businesses linking and offering to take on veterans as they leave service because they come well-trained and very experienced. But the main thing is: veterans in Australia should know that Australian governments have got their back. We haven't been perfect, but we've certainly made huge improvements in the way we treat our veterans. (Time expired)

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