Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

If the defence and security of the nation is the No. 1 priority for a national government, then care and support for veterans who serve that purpose of security and defence must be an equal priority of government. This motion, addressed by members on both sides of the aisle, supports that notion. Indeed, the contributions of those who have made them so far, and no doubt of those who will follow me, also support that proposition.

This year we celebrate the Centenary of the Armistice in 1918. From the beginning of the involvement of the Australian Imperial Forces, in 1914, there were moves in this country to ensure the proper and adequate—to use the expression of the time and the expression that has been used for a century since—repatriation of our armed forces. Repatriation didn't just mean bringing people back from warfronts; it also meant the care and the services provided to them once they returned to Australia. Whilst the range of services after the First World War was, by today's standards, inadequate, the reality is that there was a concern from the outset—particularly by those who came back, many of whom served in this parliament both after the First World War and the Second World War—to ensure that a range of services were provided. Indeed, as I recall, the first Minister for Repatriation was appointed by an Australian government in 1917. So we have a long history of repaying the debt, as a nation, that we owe to those men and women who have served our national interest. We must continue to do so now and into the future.

The nature of the challenges faced by veterans has probably changed over time. Yet there are some fundamentals in relation to both their physical and mental health that remain a constant. It's incumbent upon us as a nation, and we as representatives of the people of Australia, to ensure that we do the best that we possibly can for the men and women who have served this nation. Of course, mental health is a major issue for many of those who have served in theatres of war and in other ways for Australia—for example, in peacekeeping missions and disaster relief missions overseas.

Currently, I think some $200 million is spent on veterans' mental health treatment each year. Importantly, that treatment is demand driven and uncapped; if a client of the Department of Veterans' Affairs needs mental health support, then help is available—as it should be. Indeed, the government has introduced the non-liability mental healthcare scheme, which means that free mental health treatment can be provided without the need for a mental health condition to be related to military service. In the last budget, this was expanded to include reservists with disaster relief or border protection service, along with those involved in serious training accidents. As part of this overall service, counselling and support is available 24/7 to veterans and their families through the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service. In addition to that, those who voluntarily leave the ADF are now automatically issued a white card for mental health treatment on their discharge.

This is a way in which governments of all political persuasions over the years and the decades have sought to address the issue of the health and the welfare of veterans in Australia, in all parts of this country. The honourable member mentioned a covenant with the veterans' community, something which the government is working on at the present time. And I believe it is significant that we do come to some arrangement like that in this Centenary of Armistice, not simply for the services it provides but more importantly for the significance we say that we, as a nation, apply in recalling, remembering, restoring the health of and ensuring that we always uphold those men and women who have served in the uniform of this country in the past, who serve it now and who will serve it in the future.

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