Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I start, I'd like to acknowledge and join with the remarks from the member for Wills and acknowledge the unique service to his country that he provided, which I think was quite exceptional and should be recognised, along with the service of all members in this place. Earlier this year I had the privilege of presenting a unit citation for gallantry to my constituent Geoffrey Eaton. Geoff was a private on the front lines during the battles for fire support bases Coral and Balmoral during the Vietnam War. He did me the honour of requesting that I present him with the citation, in lieu of his unit's commanding officer. At the presentation, Geoff told me his story and described some of the harrowing experiences he went through during those days in 1968. It was another moving reminder for me of how critical it is that we appropriately recognise and acknowledge our veterans' service. I believe that today's bill is another important step, both practical and symbolic, towards proper recognition for all of our former service men and women.

In August last year I held a Fisher veterans forum at the Caloundra RSL, in my electorate. I invited then-senator Jim Molan to take part in the forum. The veterans we spoke with were passionate about the importance of service and the ADF. They were modest about their contributions and, most importantly, they were passionate about supporting one another. When it came to the help they wanted from government, the message was loud and clear. Veterans want the support that we provide to be straightforward to access and they want practical, pragmatic solutions. It is clear from this concise and well-designed bill that the government has heard that feedback, having created a Veterans' Recognition Program that is practical and straightforward. I want to thank the Minister for Veterans' Affairs for his efficient and committed work on this matter.

The bill before the House, the Australian Veterans' Recognition (Putting Veterans and Their Families First) Bill 2019, has two aspects. One sets down clearly in legislation the commitment that the Commonwealth government owes to veterans in return for their selfless service to our country. The second sets up the legislative framework for some of the government's simple and practical measures to aid in the further recognition of veterans in the community. The first aspect, part 2, lays out the minimum that veterans can expect from our community in return for their service. The second aspect, part 3, sets up the means for our community to go further.

Service to our nation is, at the best of times, exacting and tough. It imposes great discipline and even in peacetime exposes men and women to risks that are not faced in civilian life. Service in peacetime requires sacrifice of time, of freedom, of comforts and of family. It can involve long stretches away from home in unfamiliar and hostile places. As we've seen recently in the Queensland floods, it can require a willingness to go into situations that others are seeking to flee and to deal with the worst that nature can do to ordinary people. It's physically demanding, emotionally tough and psychologically stressful. In times of conflict, while on deployment there is another layer of sacrifice that is hard for civilians to imagine. Few of us understand what it is to intentionally risk our own lives. Few know how it feels to be vulnerable to armed attack or to watch close friends and colleagues be injured, or even killed. Service men and women in conflict zones live with constant stress and privation from the luxuries of home. They can be required to deal with the worst of human suffering and to operate effectively in almost impossible situations. It's clear that these experiences, these sacrifices, are like nothing else in a person's life.

It is therefore right that the government recognises and acknowledges the uniqueness of that sacrifice in this bill. It is absolutely right that the government acknowledges that those who return from service of this kind may need special support with their health, with getting new employment and housing, and with enjoying some of the day-to-day activities in which we all take part. We owe our service men and women a great debt. It is right that the government, with this bill, acknowledges that in fulfilling that debt it must provide the care and support that veterans need to participate in education or employment, or to achieve economic wellbeing and sustainability. This represents, I believe, the government's acknowledgement of the least that we can do.

The second part of the bill provides the government with the ability to go further. By authorising the production of visible symbols of service, including the lapel pin and the veterans card, which will form part of the coalition government's Veterans Recognition Program, we will make it easier for individuals and organisations to provide extra acknowledgment in veterans' day-to-day lives. This may be as simple as a thank you in the street or a seat given up on the train, but it might include discounts, concessions or other special offers made by businesses and organisations in the community. With the proposed covenant, a uniquely Australian oath in its unpretentious simplicity, this bill also provides a means for all of us to buy into these same commitments. Alongside our government, alongside businesses and community groups, the covenant gives ordinary Australians the opportunity to give thanks and to acknowledge the debt we all owe to our service men and women.

I've sought in my own way in my electorate of Fisher to create more opportunities to acknowledge our veterans. In the process I have encountered one of the very challenges that this bill will overcome. On 11 October last year I held the first annual Sunshine Coast Veterans Day. I worked closely with Fisher and national icon Australia Zoo to provide free entry to the zoo for a day for all veterans and their partners. I received significant support from our local RSLs, including, especially, the nearby Glasshouse Country RSL sub branch and local veterans organisation Wet Vets. Mates4Mates held their regular catch-up at Australia Zoo. In total, hundreds of former service men and women visited the zoo to enjoy the unique wildlife experiences throughout the day. I'm grateful to Wes Mannion, Bill Ferguson and the Irwin family of Australia Zoo and to Jamie Hope of Wet Vets for helping me organise the day.

I'm delighted to say that we've already set up and announced the second annual Sunshine Coast Veterans Day, on Monday 28 October. This year the Minister for Veterans' Affairs himself will be joining us on the day to share the experience and chat to our service men and women past and present. Once again, I want to thank the zoo and our local RSLs, especially Brian Machin, Wendy and Dave Siebrecht and Nick Shelley of the Glasshouse Country RSL sub branch, for helping me to promote the event. I'll be having a stall at the zoo. I'd encourage current and former service men and women, whether they live on the Sunshine Coast or not, to come along, enjoy the zoo's terrific experiences for free and pop by my stand and say hello.

The Sunshine Coast Veterans Day has received terrific goodwill and support from everyone involved, but we have faced challenges in putting it together. Perhaps the most important has been appropriately identifying veterans. Without a universal identification card it's been difficult to create a clear and appropriate means of confirming their status. We had no desire to challenge veterans or to grill them on their service, nor did we want any confusion among the zoo's many ticket desk workers as to eligibility for the scheme. In the end, last year, it was necessary to trust to common-sense and to the community's goodwill. The provision in the bill before us today for a single, clearly-marked veterans' card will make this process significantly easier for everyone in future years. The veterans' card, the veterans' covenant and the lapel pin are simple, practical and timely measures that will enable our community and local businesses to get behind the recognition of veterans and easily offer them the thanks that they deserve. I urge them to do just that.

Before I close, I want to acknowledge once again the work of my constituent Graeme Mickelberg and his son, the hardworking state member for Buderim, Brent Mickelberg. Graeme and Brent both served in the Australian Army and have been tireless proponents of greater recognition for veterans for many years. Brent has consistently highlighted the challenges of transition for recent veterans and has spoken movingly in the Queensland parliament about post traumatic stress disorder, which made his own return to civilian life so very difficult. Graeme is a passionate man whose insistence and tenacious advocacy is impossible to ignore. After 40 years of service as an infantry officer at home and overseas, he is as knowledgeable as he is determined, and he deserves a great deal of credit for helping to bring about the bill before us today.

As far as back as May 2013, Graeme wrote in the Sunshine Coast's Hinterland Times that Australia would be well served to consider a military covenant that recognises the unique nature of military service and enhances the respect accorded to Defence Force members and veterans. Since then both Graeme and Brent have joined me in Canberra to meet with the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and have been a very active part of supporting the development of this veterans' recognition program. I know that Graeme and Brent will be very pleased to see this bill making progress today. I want to thank them for their hard work on behalf of veterans on the Sunshine Coast and all over Australia.

On behalf of everyone here today in this place, I would like to honour all of those on the Sunshine Coast and all over Australia who serve or who have served in our nation's armed forces. We thank you for your service, and we remember their families, who have lived with separation and often with fear of what may come. This bill contains not only a landmark acknowledgment on behalf of the government of our responsibility to honour that service but practical steps to help our community to go further. In the words of the new Australian Defence Veterans covenant: for what they have done, this we will do. I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context