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

Veterans education and veterans transition have always been something that I've taken a great interest in. I want to acknowledge the member for Menzies and the member for New England and all those in this place who have served this country in uniform. While we recently amended eligibility for existing supports through the Defence, Veterans' and Families' Acute Support Package, I believe that this parliament should take the opportunity to go further. I have long argued for the equivalent of an Australian GI bill. The GI bill was introduced by the United States government during World War II to provide free tertiary education services to GIs—veterans of World War II.

We have talked a lot in this place. This week we heard the ministerial speech by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the speech in reply by the opposition, talking about the dreadful figures involved in suicide by veterans. We all know that when men and women are serving in the military the suicide rate is about half that of the civilian population, but when men and women leave the military that suicide rate grows exponentially, to a rate that is actually higher than the civilian rate. We know that the younger a person is when they leave the military the greater the risk is.

I don't for a second want to overblow this. I don't believe that the stats reveal that every person who joins the military comes out broken and busted. I'm looking at two fine men who are not broken and busted, and it is the same for the vast majority of men and women who serve in the military. So we should not and we must not allow ourselves to think that way, because if we do it becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. But there are some men and women who struggle, and it is our obligation as governments and as parliaments to appropriately care for them. One minute you're driving, sailing or flying multimillion-dollar—sometimes multibillion-dollar—equipment, and then young men and women transition—they leave the military. We know that those whose transition from the military is involuntary struggle the most.

So I would like to see this parliament give great consideration to implementing an Australian equivalent of a GI bill. When men and women are serving in the military, they have a sense of purpose, a sense of mission and a sense of tribe. Some, when they leave, particularly if it's involuntary, lose that sense of mission and sense of purpose. Enabling young men and women, in particular, to convert that sense of mission and that sense of purpose to a university degree or perhaps to a carpentry apprenticeship or some other form of education helps to give them the opportunity to transition into civilian life and gives them something to focus on. I believe that if you look at the success of the GI bill in the United States and the captains of industry who have resulted from the GI bill, and you look at the amount of money that we spend as a federal government—$11½ billion on the Department of Veterans' Affairs—then, if we can save one life by providing this sort of education program, it is worth the money. Over the next few months I'll be working, I'll be coming back and I'll be talking about what this is going to cost and how it's going to look. I've been working with the Australian Catholic University, which has a terrific entry program for veterans, as do the University of the Sunshine Coast and Griffith University. These unis are walking the talk—they're providing services to veterans and they're looking at recognition programs for those who don't have ATAR scores. Good on them. But it's time for this government—this parliament—to back our veterans through tertiary education.