Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I want to acknowledge the member for Stirling and thank him for his service and for bringing this motion to the chamber.

As the motion notes, the Returned Service League of Australia was founded in 1916. Cast your mind back: that was in the middle of World War I—in the middle. There were many, many veterans who were going to come back from that war and face the challenges of returning to civilian life, to our economy and to our community. The RSL advocates for the best possible conditions for serving men and women and for those who served in the past. It's something that Labor on this side of the chamber wholeheartedly supports. I made that point less than two weeks ago when I spoke at RSL Queensland's AGM. I spoke of the need for us to provide better assistance in the transition from military service to civilian life as well. It's the largest ex-service organisation in Australia, with more than 1,200 branches around the country. It supports veterans and communities in many ways.

In my electorate alone, we've got 17 RSL subbranches, covering the Ipswich and Somerset region and in the western part of Brisbane. Many volunteers make a huge contribution to our local community, not just there but across the state, and we've had many people serving in RSL Queensland at a higher level. I thank RSLs, particularly the local ones in my electorate, for the role they play in commemorative services, school leadership awards and citizenship awards as well as individual information, advocacy and support. I was recently at Ipswich RSL, having morning tea at their Christmas celebration and thanking them for what they do.

That said, the RSL itself has admitted that it's had its brand tarnished somewhat in the last few years, through governance and financial problems across state branches, through the actions of a few individuals who have done the wrong thing. The RSL branches and subbranches have taken steps to do the right thing and correct these problems. In recent years some younger veterans, as the member opposite said, have been a bit reluctant to engage in getting involved and supporting them. This is not unusual. We've seen this happen with every generation that has passed since 1916. But eventually they pick up the torch and get involved. You can see that happening with the change from the Vietnam generation, if I can put it that way, to the Afghanistan-Iraq war generation. I can see that changing in the leadership in places that I've been to as I've travelled around the country.

But I want to commend the RSLs for what they do in providing support for veterans in need. It's encouraging to see younger veterans getting involved. One of the things I've noticed as I've reached out to the RSLs is the great work done in New South Wales, in Queensland and in Western Australia particularly with homelessness—accommodation services—and raising the plights of veterans. On any given night, one in ten people sleeping rough in this country is a veteran. On any given night, there are about 5,800 veterans who are homeless. It's simply not good enough, and we need to take steps in an intergovernmental and cross-portfolio way to improve this situation. This is a shame for this country.

We see in the movies how America and England treat their veterans. Sometimes we get a little bit high and mighty, but we have this problem in our society. How many of us walk past? There is the wonderful biblical parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke. I think it's about chapter 10, if I remember rightly. It's in there: it talks about the fact that we should be helping others. We've got to do better. One of the things I remember many years ago, when I was in Washington, just a few blocks away from the White House, were eight black veterans sleeping in a park. I thought, 'This shouldn't be happening in a country like America.' But it happens in our country. So I urge the RSLs to do better. And we've got to do better. We have to provide bipartisan support across this space.

In the time remaining, I want to commend Mates4Mates in my home state of Queensland for the great work they do. They do a fantastic job. They're looking to establish veterans' hubs, I know, across South-East Queensland. I just want to commend them for what they do and the help they provide. I've got friends in the Labor Party who are veterans who have experienced the help that Mates4Mates provide. I know there are constituents in my electorate who travel to Brisbane to get support from Mates4Mates. I know that Mates4Mates reach out. They do great things. They've got a fantastic gym there. They get involved in cycling. They have psychologists and psychiatrists and counsellors to help veterans. I thank Mates4Mates for what they do.

Vince, I thank you for bringing this motion. It's the right thing to do and we commend you for it.

See this speech in context