Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the immeasurable commitment and sacrifices that our Australian Defence Force (ADF) members make to serve our nation;

(b) that ADF families play a pivotal role in supporting our current serving ADF men, women, ex-serving personnel and veterans; and

(c) that Australia has a proud military history, and as such we have an obligation to all of those who have served in the name of our nation for our freedom;

(2) acknowledges Labor's commitments to veterans, ex-serving personnel and their families, which includes:

(a) Australia's first Military Covenant that will establish a formal agreement to ensure the nation's ADF personnel are fully supported during and after their service, and will legislate regular reporting to the parliament on how Australia is supporting military personnel;

(b) a $121 million investment for a comprehensive Veterans' Employment Policy to provide greater support to our defence personnel as they transition to civilian life;

(c) the development of a Family Engagement and Support Strategy for Defence Personnel and Veterans to provide greater support for military families; and

(d) supporting ex-service organisations' calls for the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation to be included in the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry; and

(3) calls on the Government to support veterans, ex-service personnel and their families by matching Labor's commitments.

Today, I am proud to represent the largest garrisoned city in the country and to move this motion in this place. I have made it known in this place that I am proud to represent the veterans and serving and ex-serving personnel and their families in my community. The electorate of Herbert is well aware of, and is grateful for, the significant contribution that these men and women and their families make to both the social and economic fabric of our community.

I have stood up in this place and fought for veterans and their families in every single debate since I was elected. I believe that the men and women who have served or are serving this great nation deserve nothing less than a strong representative fighting in their corner. It is right and just that, when our men and women have put their lives on the line and their families have made sacrifices at home, they get a fair deal from the country they served to protect. When a man or woman undertakes to serve his or her country, we must in turn undertake a commitment to support them and their loved ones in their time of need. If we are being honest in this place, can the Morrison government say that what it is doing by our current serving and ex-serving personnel, veterans and their families is good enough? Are the veterans who are transitioning from the ADF to civilian life—500 annually in Townsville alone—taken care of and supported after they leave? When I speak with defence personnel in my electorate, veterans and their families are telling me this government does not appear to be on their side.

Independent reports have shown that unemployment in the veteran community transitioning from the ADF is around 30 per cent. This is not good enough. The AIHW report found that the suicide rate for ex-serving men is 14 per cent higher than that of men in the general population. This is not good enough. Labor's commitments are important, and it is so incredibly important that they have bipartisan support. Our current serving and ex-serving personnel, veterans and their families deserve bipartisanship.

The military covenant's principles and standards will be enshrined in legislation and forward government departments will be required to report progress on an annual basis in order to prove that the covenant is working and delivering in the best interests of our serving and ex-serving personnel, veterans and their families. The military covenant will not just be a collection of nice words; it will have reportable actions attached.

Properly targeted funding is also critical in order to address the high rate of unemployment. Labor's $121 million veterans' employment policy commitment will provide the assistance needed and will certainly go much further than the Morrison government's $8.3 million employment commitment. Labor's family engagement and support strategy and the inclusion of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation into the banking royal commission must be supported by the Morrison government. Veterans and their families have every right to know that their superannuation fund is performing in their best interests. And it needs to be supported right now, because it is the right thing to do.

I call on the Morrison government to support our ADF, ex-serving personnel, veterans and their families to match Labor's commitments. Families play a huge role in supporting serving, ex-serving personnel and veterans and, as such, they too deserve to be treated well and supported.

John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do I have a seconder for the motion?

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've taken the opportunity to talk on this motion primarily because I spent last week in Afghanistan with the Australian Defence Force. I took the opportunity to meet literally hundreds of our finest young men and women in both the Middle East and Afghanistan. It's interesting the member for Herbert puts this motion into the parliament, then gives the government of the day a bit of a bagging, and declares that she needs bipartisanship. That's fair enough, if that's the way it needs to be. However, I think our Defence Force has been one area where we have actually been able to deliver a bipartisan support for our Defence Force members.

If you wanted to get political, you would start talking about the investment that the Labor Party made in the six years that they were in government. You'd talk about the investment that they put into the fixed-wing fighter jets, which was zero; the submarines, which was zero; and the frigates, which was zero. This is not coming from me. This is coming from the leaders from Defence: this enormous differentiation between the coalition and its investment into our armed forces, giving them the assets that they need, versus the record of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years.

Having just spent a week with the troops, it is amazing to see the support that they are given and to see the high quality of the men and women that make up our Defence Forces. I still, right now, am blown away by the high quality of our troops and their respectfulness, their knowledge, their degree of discipline, their commitment to the job and their absolute incredible detail to every aspect of their job. It was something to behold. Certainly, when we were in the Middle East where the average temperature was around 40 degrees, to go through the various exercises with the troops was tough. Justine Keay, the member for Braddon, was also on the trip. It was great to be able to go through that experience with her.

The other aspect that I was taken by was the fact that so many of these young men and women, 22- and 23-year-olds were, in fact, married and had children, but were still totally committed to their country and the battle that we are facing throughout the Middle East. Their sheer commitment to what we are doing over there is unparalleled by anything that one could imagine. It really was an education for me, and I came away with an incredibly high opinion of each and every one of the troops that I spent some time with while we were over there.

I understand that the covenant that is being put forward by the government is going to put in place the structure of how we view the role of our military. If it is not already acknowledged within the Defence Force, that is certainly going to make it clear how important our Defence Force is to the people of Australia. What is going on over in Afghanistan is incredibly complex. It is a country full of turmoil, with the ISIS and the various different iterations of ISIS and also the Taliban effectively trying to blow up the elections which are going to be held this week. The Australian troops are over there in conjunction with the American troops and the Brits trying to do their absolute best to make sure that these elections in Afghanistan go ahead. They're doing enormous work, and if we can come out of next weekend's election with a credible government— (Time expired)

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion, and I thank my friend the member for Herbert, Cathy O'Toole, for moving this motion on a topic that is quite close to me personally and to our team. During my 13 years of service in our Defence Force I saw firsthand the immeasurable commitment and sacrifices made by our personnel, and I saw firsthand the detriment that prolonged service can have on individual personnel and their families. Support services for veterans have come a long way. It is worth remembering that for a long time it was the family unit that had to carry the burden of life after war, like operational service in particular, and it was up to the family to try and start healing the scars caused by service to our country. It is necessary service to our country, but it is not without cost.

I was reflecting after the speeches about the West Gate Bridge tragedy earlier today, at the start of question time, that my dad and his family lived not far from the West Gate Bridge—in fact, it was only a matter of months after dad had returned to Vietnam that that big section of the bridge came down—but also that my pop, my father's father, who worked in the bottle factory that was a stone's throw from where the bridge came down, lived with his own trauma from his service in the Second World War. Both of them were infantrymen and both lost mates in battle. It was a reminder that it is the families who bear the burden.

In the Northern Territory we have many of these families. The Northern Territory is home to 8.1 per cent of Australia's permanent ADF personnel. When you include the families, we are looking at about 12,000 people out of our relatively small city. The defence community has always been vital in the north, and in Darwin in particular. You don't have to look any further in the past than Cyclone Marcus to see the fantastic support provided by the ADF to our community. We also had US marines assisting us during the clean-up of the cyclone. I was recently in Washington DC and passed on our community's thanks to the United States Marine Corps for their assistance in the aftermath of Cyclone Marcus.

I just want to mention what I'm doing personally, because words are one thing but actions are what really count. I want to—and we will, because we are without a support centre in the Northern Territory—form a support centre for not only current and former members of the ADF but also first responders in our community and their families. As a community we value that service, and we will make sure that there is somewhere off-base—away from the workplaces of police, firemen, ambos, people who work in border protection and the members of our ADF—where those people and their families will be able to reach out and get support. That is a commitment.

I want to touch quickly on the veterans' employment policy because it's also important. The best thing, I think, that we can do for our veterans is help them into work or study. We need to make sure that we're supporting our veterans, and I'm proud that our team has got a comprehensive veterans' employment policy. I'm also proud that recently we announced, as the member for Herbert said, the military covenant, which will recognise the immense commitment of our armed forces to our nation.

Finally, I want to mention that I recently joined with the Families of the Fallen—the families of those that we lost in the long years in Afghanistan—and it was great to be with them as they provided solidarity for each other. That support for our families is so important. It's vital, and that's what I am committed to for my electorate.

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this very important motion because of the contribution of our veterans who've answered the call that the nation puts out in times of war, or in times when there wasn't war, and put up their hand up to serve. Having had my brother serve in the armed forces for over 25 years—father, uncles, grandfathers—the history of service has been handed down to me. So I sometimes feel a bit inadequate that I'm one of the next generation that hasn't put my hand up to serve.

We are always grateful for what our men and women who serve our nation do for us and for other nations that are our allies or just need our protection and help. The coalition government—like most Australian governments—has, quite rightly, put things in place to support veterans after they leave. However, we've all heard stories where it hasn't been perfect. The coalition government—The Nationals and Liberals in government—have tried to address some of these very important issues.

The most impressive reform recently has been our response to mental health issues that people in the Defence Forces suffer. It has always been a problem with wartime service. In the old days, as a child, I remember my parents talking about people who went off to World War II. The saying was, 'They came back, but they weren't the same person.' Then there were other terms like 'shell shock' that my grandparents used to talk about, and then there was 'combat fatigue'. Now most of us recognise it as post-traumatic stress disorder.

A recent ABC article and survey estimated that up to 50 per cent of serving veterans, when they retire, have some sort of mental health issue, from reactive depression through to post-traumatic stress disorder. The veterans' affairs reform bill went a long way to try and correct this issue. The barriers to getting mental health support have theoretically vanished. If you've done one day of service as a serving Australian soldier, sailor or airman or airwoman, you qualify for support. There is a new funding stream in place while you undergo your mental health assessment for you as a returning veteran and your partner so that the process of assessment and working out whether you do need long-term fiscal support from the veterans' affairs section doesn't leave you cashless and in an impecunious state for up to a year while these lengthy processes go through.

I should also mention that there are many other organisations that really step up to the plate to help service men and women. We are all familiar with the RSL and the Vietnam Veterans Association. They really go in to bat for their colleagues and people who've served before over not only welfare issues but also their health and their physical complaints as well as their mental complaints. I've had occasion to do fundraising bike rides across the alps or parts of them or over long distances for the Soldier On charity, which is also doing a great job alongside the more well-known groups like the RSL and the Vietnam Veterans Association.

We also have other government programs such as the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme, which offers training and mentoring to veterans so that they can start up their own business. There is also other mentoring going out for a year and doing small-business training courses—all the sorts of things that you need to establish a business. We've had the Prime Minister's initiatives where we have corporations and businesses linking and offering to take on veterans as they leave service because they come well-trained and very experienced. But the main thing is: veterans in Australia should know that Australian governments have got their back. We haven't been perfect, but we've certainly made huge improvements in the way we treat our veterans. (Time expired)

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's an honour to speak on the motion today, and I thank the member for Herbert for raising this important topic. She is known as a fierce advocate for veterans not just in the north of Queensland but also right around Australia. It is because of the immeasurable commitment and sacrifices that our Australian Defence Force members make to serve our nation that I rise to place on record my support for their service. I'm proud to have spoken on this topic many times before in the parliament, and today I again place on record my unwavering support and gratitude to the brave men and women who currently serve our nation and also to the veterans for their service and contribution to the Australian way of life.

Knowing this, and growing up with a father who served in the Navy during the Second World War as a signalman onboard the HMAS Ararat, I understand what it was like for those serving in the war. Enlisting at the age of only 20, he served in the Second Australian Imperial Force until allied victory in the Pacific. The HMAS Ararat was an Australian warship positioned in the newly captured allied territory of Cape Gloucester, New Britain. Whilst he was not one to tell many stories from the time he served, we know that life onboard the HMAS Ararat was not easy. This is reflective from the experience that I hear from men, women and veterans today. They give up and sacrifice so much so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today.

In my electorate of Oxley, there are currently almost 2,000 veterans who now call our community home, along with a further 1,000 residents who are current serving members of the Defence Force. I'm proud to know many of them personally and enjoy working alongside our local RSL branches to help improve services for their members. But there is much, much more to be done. That's why just last month the Leader of the Opposition, alongside Labor's shadow minister for veterans' affairs, the Hon. Amanda Rishworth, announced that, under a future Shorten Labor government—if we are privileged to be elected—we would develop and sign Australia's first military covenant. This would put in place a formal agreement to ensure the nation's armed forces are fully supported during and after their service and will legislate regular reporting to parliament on how Australia is supporting military personnel. We will work with the Australian Defence Force, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and ex-service organisations to draft the relevant wording of a military covenant and associated legislation to make sure that we get this right. They deserve nothing less.

Signing a covenant will build on Labor's previous commitments to the current and ex-serving Defence community, including our $121 million veterans' employment policy and our family engagement and support strategy. Labor's commitment to those who serve and have served is rock solid. This includes Labor's announcement of a family engagement and support strategy for Defence personnel and veterans, to provide greater support to our military families. Developing a family engagement and support strategy will enable us to identify where we can provide greater support to military families, to those who matter most to our ADF personnel and veterans—their wives, husbands, sons and daughters. This also acknowledges the important role of families in the rehabilitation of ADF members and veterans from both physical and mental injury and illness.

You can read about the experiences and you can hear about the experiences, but, by viewing and being part of the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program, you get to see firsthand the dangers, the sacrifices and the sheer hard work that our men and women go through every single day. It puts a brand new perspective on things. I'm really pleased that I've been able to participate in two programs as part of this really worthwhile program.

I know that our troops are the best in the world and are incredibly dedicated to serving our country. But I also know that, in my own local community, there are many ADF families that are separated from their loved ones. I cannot imagine the trauma, difficulties and fears that those family members go through from day to day not knowing, due to operational issues, where their family members are and whether they are safe. As the member for Herbert stated earlier, Australian Defence Force families play a pivotal role in supporting our current serving ADF men, women, ex-serving personnel and veterans. We thank them for the sacrifices they make.

From my own experience on the ground, from working with our veterans groups, I understand how critical and important it is to streamline medical and treatment processes for veterans. As I said in my earlier remarks, I've hosted round tables with the shadow minister and will continue to work in partnership with our wonderful RSL sub-branches. This includes programs like Paws for Hope and Understanding by the Forest Lake RSL, which is led by sub-branch president Mr Bob Richards. This initiative is one of its kind in Australia. I know that we'll continue to keep working alongside the members of the RSL to make sure that we help them to transition from high-stress, combative environments to general society.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Military service is unlike any other form of employment. The risks are real and the consequences are life-changing for those who have experienced war or warlike service. They will have no superannuation; instead, they are provided with a fortnightly pension. This is a pension that is not fixed, but rather is subject to review by the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation—known as the CSC. They will live with the threat of reassessment and review for the rest of their lives, with every financial decision viewed through the prism of that uncertainty. They will be entirely dependent on the pension administered by the CSC, and therefore entirely dependent on the conduct of the CSC.

They are definitive examples of a fiduciary relationship, yet the government has refused to extend the terms of reference for the banking royal commission to those who receive a CSC pension. The refusal is predicated on the belief that the current regulatory regime surrounding the CSC is sufficient. The government argues that the additional standards for governance and scrutiny prevent the trustee from behaving in a manner that would amount to misconduct or conduct that would fall below community expectations, but we already know that the CSC is failing to meet community expectations. Anyone who has taken the time to speak with our veterans will be aware that the actions of the CSC have a profound impact on the lives of veterans and their families. And in light of Commissioner Hayne's interim report, it is incredible to me that the government still seeks to rely on purported 'regulatory oversight' as a justification for excluding the CSC from the scope of the royal commission.

Consumers are entitled to expect that their dealings with financial institutions will be conducted in a manner that is fair and honest. As the commissioner noted in the interim report, treating people fairly and honestly has important economic consequences. When you are a young veteran struggling to adjust to life-changing injuries and with the CSC pension as your only source of income, we know that the consequences of misconduct are far more than purely economic. The consequences are far-reaching and they are devastating. The 2017 Senate report The constant battle: suicide by veterans highlighted the fact that our veterans are particularly vulnerable during the period of transition from Defence to civilian life, and that vulnerability is exacerbated by those systems and practices of those departments and institutions that our veterans fought for.

I acknowledge that the government is working to improve the discharge process through veteran-centric reforms, and I note the Productivity Commission is currently investigating the compensation and rehabilitation scheme, but in my view these measures only lend further support to the idea that the CSC should be included in the royal commission. We know there are problems, so let's not sweep them under the rug yet again. Let's review the system, give our veterans a voice and see how we can improve it.

The government may say that the commission is independent of the government and that it is a matter for the commissioner to investigate if he so chooses, but I would draw the House's attention to a letter from the office of the royal commission to the Alliance of Defence Service Organisations dated July 2018, wherein it is stated: 'The scope of the commission's terms of reference is a matter for government.' So, on the one hand, we have the royal commission saying the inclusion of the CSC is a matter for government and, on the other, we have the government saying the inclusion of the CSC is a matter for the royal commission. Which is it? Government, I urge you to look at this closely and put our veterans first with respect to this.

I would like to close by expressing my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to our veterans. Whether you are young or not—I know we still have people from Korea, people who fought for us in Vietnam and people who have fought in the modern conflicts such as Afghanistan, Timor and the Solomons—to our veterans and our serving members: my heartfelt gratitude to you. Thank you for all you do.

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

I agree with the member for Herbert that we must support veterans and ex-service personnel and their families. It's something that I and this government have made the focus of our work over the last two years. Just two weeks ago I had the privilege of spending a few days with the ship's company of HMAS Melville off Cairns. They were doing their deployment readiness. A number of the ship's company—about 10 out of a ship's company of 80-odd—come from the Sunshine Coast. The level of professionalism demonstrated in the days that I was with them was exceptionally high, as high as I've seen all around the country, whether it be on HMAS Canberra or on the many bases I've had the privilege of visiting. We can be very proud of our service personnel.

When these service personnel are discharged and leave the military our obligations as a government do not cease. Our obligations continue to ensure that we look after them as well as we possibly can not just when they're in uniform but, more particularly, when they leave. We know, and I'm sure the member for Eden-Monaro will back me up on this, that they're flying, driving or sailing multimillion and sometimes multibillion-dollar equipment. These young men and women have a sense of purpose, a sense of mission and a sense of tribe—a sense that no matter what happens their mate is going to be standing next to them and will look after them. Then, when they discharge, they lose all of that. They lose their sense of mission, their sense of purpose and their sense of tribe, and there is a great sense of overwhelming grief and a feeling of 'Well, what the hell do I do now?' The way that we structure our military is that we do so much for them when they are in it that many of these young men and women have never even filled out a rental application form or have Medicare cards—the sort of basic stuff that civilians take for granted. When they discharge, they lose all of that. I think that there is a recognition on both sides of the chamber that we've got to do a whole lot better. I happen to believe that we're doing great work, and it's continuing to improve. But we've also got to acknowledge that there is so much more to do. I want to acknowledge the member for Eden-Monaro for his service to his country, and every member and senator in this place that have served and pulled on the uniform. They know this stuff much better than I do. I've never served. I've had the privilege of looking from the outside, but I'm immensely proud of the work that these, often young, men and women do—like Sara Barnett, who's the XO on HMAS Melville from Maleny in my electorate. She's an outstanding professional, and to see them go through their drills is really quite inspiring.

There are an estimated 15,000 veterans on the Sunshine Coast—and I acknowledge my friend and member for Fairfax here who will also speak on this. The Sunshine Coast has an inordinate number of veterans because it's a great place to retire, but he and I have an obligation to ensure that we do everything that we can as a government to ensure that their transition is an effective one.

In this year's budget the government has committed to more than $11 billion to provide the essential services that our veterans rely on—$11 billion. We're improving our DVA. We know that there are always issues and that not everybody is going to be happy all the time, but we're providing an additional $100 million in this year's budget, on top of the $166.6 million last year, to support the coalition government's improvements to DVA, upgrading its internal computer systems and, importantly— (Time expired)

Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Industry and Support) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the previous member on his comments, and indeed the many members who've contributed to this discussion. It does flag the high degree of bipartisanship across the chamber on these issues. I think that's greatly facilitated by the experience that a lot of our members have in the parliamentary exchange program. I want to congratulate the member for Herbert for bringing forward this motion. She has obviously, with her constituency, acquired a high degree of familiarity with the issues that we're addressing here, and her background in mental health issues has given her a unique insight into a lot of that. She works well with a couple of particularly good friends of mine, retired Brigadier Ray Martin and retired Lieutenant General John Caligari, who are very actively engaged in veterans' issues now.

I think one discordant note was the comments from the member of Murray. I won't go into a rebuttal of that, but I think he should go back and read some of my previous speeches on those issues and he will be enlightened. I know he has genuine concern for veterans' matters, but, on the other issues he talked about, I would firmly state they were simply incorrect. I am proud of what we did in government in personnel issues, the $1.4 billion in emergency funding for force protection measures to reduce the casualties we were experiencing in Afghanistan and the record levels of spending. We took veterans' investment to $12.5 billion, which has not been matched since. But there are always improvements that have to be made in this area as new generations of veterans come through. Obviously, the experience that they have endured over years in separating from Defence has been one that's been highlighted in this discussion.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was involved in unveiling a statue which was raised through public subscription to Private Jack Ryan VC, who was a proud son of Tumut. I believe I'm related to Jack Ryan actually, because the Yass Ryans and the Kellys—good old Irish Catholic breeders back in those days—intermarried. He was a particularly fine example of the people that we admire most in that unique military history of ours. Private Jack Ryan took personal responsibility in those salient and important days in the battle for breaching the Hindenburg Line, which brought the war to an earlier end. This was understood very well by John Monash, in particular, the finest commander that this nation's produced. He had to push harder in those last few days despite the strain that caused because it would have saved thousands of lives in the long run if the war had dragged on in 1919.

Jack Ryan was a private and took personal initiative in rallying troops around him to engage in feats of amazing bravery and achievement. But, after the war, Private Ryan's experience has been replicated many times in that he was unable to find employment and suffered through the Depression years. He met an early death through the ravages of those experiences in 1941. That's not now a unique experience in the history of our veterans who have separated and struggled to make a life for themselves in the civilian world.

I applaud the initiatives that have been put forward, and we've talked about a military covenant, the Veterans' Employment Program and the family engagement strategy. I call on the government to take on board what veterans are urging about including the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation issues into the banking royal commission. This is a serious issue they have raised with all of us and that we support. I'm also very grateful that we are now proceeding with the Senate inquiry into the malarial drugs issue. That is a matter that really does need to be brought to a resolution.

We have the Invictus Games coming up as well, and that does point to another area where we have to develop strategies around dealing with mental health issues. With the A-type personalities that you get in the Defence Force, sport is a very good measure of dealing with those issues. It's certainly the main mechanism that I use for managing stress. I was privileged to meet two of my constituents who'll be participating in those games: Ben Farinazzo and Ruth Hunt. Both managed a very difficult journey through medical issues and post-service issues that they navigated. We're very proud of them. Their achievements are enormous. I wish them all the best in the Invictus Games coming up. I urge all Australians to embrace these games and to get out and support these men and women. They are achieving tremendous things and are an absolute inspiration to all of us who have lesser impediments to our lives. I really look forward to them achieving great things on the field of sport, as they have done in the field of service.

Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'We are grateful!. Thank you for your service. Navy, Army and Air Force.' Those are the words on a sticker that is now on the cars of thousands and thousands of residents on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, where I reside. It was Jasmin Carmel who inspired that sticker. Jasmin is a mum who lost her boy, Jack, a veteran. I first met Jasmin at the Buderim Ginger Factory. We had a quick chat and, subsequently, we have gotten to know each other quite well.

I myself have not experienced war—not firsthand. My family, like most, have stories of forebears who have. In talking with Jasmin and learning about her son who she lost, she, in such a human, authentic way was able to express the pain and the hurt that others feel—that other families feel. She wanted to do something. She spoke openly about feeling helpless and about wanting to do something to say thank you to other people who are serving and have served. That is what led to her coming up with a very practical idea of printing stickers that just simply say, 'We're grateful!' These stickers are shown on the back of vehicles and probably elsewhere—it is on the back of my car. You do see them everywhere. Even though I'm not one of the ones to whom that sticker speaks, it touches me every time I see it on the back of a car, because it reminds me that the reason we can drive around a free country, is that people put themselves on the line—they fight and they die. We as a country owe so much to those who are prepared to sacrifice their lives and those who return—many of whom do suffer, as Jasmin would say, with PTSD. That's why we, as a government, need to continue to invest in providing mental health services, and we are—thank God, we are. That simple message of saying thank you, that hand-on-heart stuff that is really hard to wrap your arms around in a tangible way and put a value on, is so vitally important. All of us who serve politically have attended many different events of the Australian Defence Force, so we know the importance of ceremony. We know the importance that the simple words 'thank you' mean.

The motion that we discussed today talks about a military covenant. Another wonderful Sunshine Coaster, Graeme Mickelberg, a veteran and great community leader, spoke to me about the importance of having a covenant of sorts years ago. He, together with so many others, has been speaking to government and framing up what this compact is all about. I'm delighted to know that this important year, where we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the guns falling silent on the Western Front, is a time for us to be looking seriously at an Australian veterans covenant. It is why the Australian government is working so closely with the ex-service community to develop an Australian veterans covenant which will acknowledge the service and the sacrifice of the veteran community and recognise the role of all Australians in supporting veterans and their families. The government will be saying more about this in the days and months ahead. I am proud to be part of a government that's doing just that.

Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fairfax and, indeed, all members who have contributed to this debate. The time allotted for this debate has now expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.