James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to commend the motion to the House, and I thank the member for Fisher for bringing it to us. It is quite disappointing that we have to be having a partisan debate about anything to do with supporting our veterans, in particular this program. This is the first time I've ever spoken in a debate in this place about supporting our veterans where we haven't had that really important bipartisanship and unity amongst all members for something which I think is fundamental to the Australian character—ensuring we are doing absolutely everything and using all the resources available to us at every opportunity, as a government, to support those men and women who have served our nation in uniform.

Like any motion or bill in this place regarding veterans, I particularly thank all of the members of this House and the other house who have served our nation, particularly in conflict. I thank them for their service, and I recommit all of us to the important task of supporting veterans in their futures, from a health point of view, from a career point of view, from a wellbeing point of view.

In my electorate, I have the Jamie Larcombe Centre, which is an excellent facility providing support to my veteran community and, frankly, veterans throughout metropolitan Adelaide. I also have some unbelievable people in my RSL clubs that do excellent work and run excellent programs to support veterans from a variety of points of view in their post-service lives. That is why it is so disappointing to see we have lost the bipartisanship around this particular measure, around the proper and full support to veterans while studying as they seek to maximise their future opportunity in their careers post serving our nation. It is with great regret that we have seen a breakdown of this bipartisanship.

A good example of where this program may well have an excellent future, or would have if it continued on, is the exciting pathways for our veterans that will continue to be created as the defence industry in my home state of South Australia increases through programs like the submarines and the Future Frigate Program, if the Labor government isn't planning on scrapping that, as has been quietly leaked to the media, strategically, in recent days and weeks. We have an enormously enhanced skills capacity in a range of different levels of education, and this program could no doubt have provided the kind of support for veterans who see opportunities to study and to go into those exciting shipbuilding programs in both the frigate program and submarine program.

But by taking this support away, I do regret that there is a good chance that there will be veterans that would have availed themselves of this opportunity, would have used this program to support their study to get qualifications that could have led them to a very significant career in naval shipbuilding in my home state of South Australia. Regrettably, that will not be the case now for many veterans because this program is being taken away, and that won't just be the case in South Australia; it will be the case across the nation.

Supporting veterans in every way we possibly can to achieve their full potential post service career is something that I would have hoped we would have complete unanimity around in this place. That is why I thank the member for Fisher so much for highlighting this, because it is indeed an opportunity for us to talk about how we need to have bipartisanship and unity around supporting our veterans' community towards achieving their full potential in a post-service career. By taking this program away, indeed, we are in a situation where someone if misses that opportunity, they will miss the opportunity of achieving their full potential in a future career. That is very regrettable and disappointing. I urge the government to reconsider this. I urge the government to think about the sorts of future participants in this program that could have achieved great things and will not be able to do so because they are taking it away. I hope they will reflect on this, reconsider the decision, and reinstate the program. I commend the motion to the chamber.

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