Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the annual statement to parliament on veterans and their families. All Australians owe an enormous debt to our veterans and to their families, who shoulder so much of the burden. We're such a lucky country in so many ways. We're lucky that we live in a country, a nation, where we don't regularly see our defence forces on our suburban streets—or, if you do see an Army vehicle driving down your street, you actually feel proud rather than concerned, as is the case in some countries. We're lucky that we don't see heavily armed Defence personnel routinely patrolling our streets—as I've seen in some other countries—just so we can go about our daily lives safely. We're very lucky, but obviously it's not all about luck. We live so freely in this nation because of the brave and fearless men and women who have served this country and who are still serving this country. It is because they stand ready to defend our freedoms that we have our freedom. Australia owes them so much, but the least we can do for them is to ensure that, when they return from service, we look after them in every way that we can.

I'm very proud that Labor has announced that, if elected, a Shorten Labor government would commit to developing a military covenant to ensure that our serving men and women can be in no doubt that we value their service and remain committed to looking after them. A similar covenant exists in the United Kingdom. Labor proposes that the military covenant be signed by the Chief of the Defence Force and the Prime Minister and that, importantly, it would be accompanied by legislation that would mandate regular reporting to the parliament on how we are meeting our commitment to our veterans. This will build on Labor's previous commitment of $121 million to assist veterans in finding and maintaining employment after service. So many of those incredible skills are not being utilised by our civilian workforce.

It is particularly important that we assist veterans to transition from military life. Employment after service is an important part of that transition. That transition to civilian life sometimes can be difficult not only for veterans but also for their families. Gaining employment provides structure, engagement with the community and a sense of purpose, as well as, of course, ongoing financial security. Veterans have particular skills that can be valuable to civilian industries. All of the parliamentarians who have participated in the parliamentary placement program would have seen that across the three services—throughout Australia and throughout the world, in fact.

Military life, to summarise it, is characterised by regimentation; a severe military disciplinary code, which has a greater onus than for normal civilians; long and irregular working hours; and, for some ADF personnel, long hours of unrelenting boredom and then minutes of fear that can actually live with people for the rest of their lives. They must maintain a high standard of physical fitness and have frequent relocations and separation from family. Politicians in Canberra are mostly fly-in fly-out workers, but we have no idea of what it's like to be away from your family for six months at a time or the strains that come with that and that go onto your partner. It is a tough life, but the ADF does provide unique training and skills. They are skills that are often not immediately identified in civilian employment but, with specific support, can translate to a valuable employment skill base. It is vitally important that our veterans are given the support they need to realise their potential in post-service employment.

I recently had the honour of representing the shadow minister for defence at some farewell parades for troops deploying on operations—recently, as part of the Task Group Taji 8 at Gallipoli Barracks. On such parades, the enormity of the sacrifice our troops make is evident, particularly when you see the pride of their partners and families who are present. The troops are farewelled to serve this nation in all other parts of the world and, often, to put themselves in harm's way on behalf of other nations and other people. I pray that they will all be returned safely to their families.

Recently I visited the Australian War Memorial, with many other parliamentary colleagues, before Remembrance Day on 11 November to see the 62,000 handcrafted poppies spread on the memorial grounds, sadly representing all of those Australian lives that were lost in the First World War. It was a sombre reminder of the sacrifice our veterans have made for us for over a century and are continuing to make right now. This was especially poignant in this year of the Centenary of Armistice. It is 100 years since the guns finally fell silent on the western front after those years of brutal warfare. It is important that we always remember the sacrifice made by those brave Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen—the ones who did not return home.

One of those soldiers was my great-uncle, Private James Alphonsus Morrissy, who died in Belgium on 20 September 1917 at the age of 23. Jim Morrissy came from Deuchar near Allora up near Toowoomba. He was a private in the 9th Australian Infantry Battalion of the Australian Army. I recently attended a last post ceremony for my great-uncle Jim at the Australian War Memorial, which was an incredibly moving service not only for me but also for members of my family—and the public for that matter—who were able to attend. I'll mention in particular my Auntie Pat and my cousins Joey and Catherine, who were there, all of whom are members of the RAAF. My great-uncle's death at the young age of 23, like that of many of those young, brave soldiers who did not return, had an enormous impact on his family back at home. Seeing the letters from his mum, my great-great-grandmother, is still heart-wrenching today. Today I acknowledge the families of all of our current service troops who, no doubt, worry every day about their loved ones who are serving in faraway lands, particularly at times like Christmas, when so many families get together. They're not able to because they're off serving this nation.

As a nation, we must value the service of our troops and make sure we support their families both during and after their service. Looking after our veterans and their families should be a covenant that our parliament formally commits to. I won't forget.

Debate adjourned.

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