Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to add my contribution in support of the Australian Veterans' Recognition (Putting Veterans and Their Families First) Bill 2019. This bill will enshrine in legislation the Australian Defence Veterans' Covenant. The covenant will help recognise and acknowledge the unique nature of military service as well as the sacrifices our veterans have made in defence of our great country, whether that is overseas on operations or here at home as part of the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program, as a member of the catering corps feeding our troops, as a member keeping our aircraft in the air or as a driver transporting stores and equipment across Australia.

The covenant also recognises the unique sacrifices that families make to support and assist their loved ones. As mentioned, the purpose of the covenant is to acknowledge the unique nature of military service, particularly the sacrifice demanded of those who commit to defend our nation and their families. The Australian Defence Veterans' Covenant is an oath that the parliament of Australia endorses on behalf of the people of Australia and reads:

We, the people of Australia, respect and give thanks to all who have served in our defence force and their families.

We acknowledge the unique nature of military service and the sacrifice demanded of all who commit to defend our nation.

We undertake to preserve the memory and deeds of all who have served and promise to welcome, embrace, and support all military veterans as respected and valued members of our community.

For what they have done, this we will do.

This oath is not intended to replace the ode that is traditionally recited on Anzac Day or Remembrance Day, but it is an additional commitment of our respect for veterans. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank our veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. It is thanks to them that we are able to rise in this chamber to discuss and debate legislation. Without their sacrifice, who knows what type of democracy we might have.

Further, to the veterans' covenant, this bill also includes a veterans' recognition program, something I am personally very pleased to see introduced. This veterans' recognition program supports the covenant by providing a new veterans' card, veterans' lapel pin and oath. These provides a pay for Australians to identify and acknowledge our veterans for their service on any day of the year, not just on Anzac Day or Remembrance Day. As a country, we should be remembering and acknowledging the service and sacrifice our veterans make each and every day.

A veterans' recognition program provides a way for all Australians to support our veterans. It allows businesses and other organisations to offer discounts, benefits or concessions to our veterans when they present the veterans' card or are wearing their lapel pin. The veteran lapel pin and reservist lapel pin provide a way for the public to recognise and connect with veterans and acknowledge their service to the nation. The pins will help identify veterans when they aren't wearing their uniforms or medals and will be distributed in the coming months.

I would like to stress that the pins do not seek to replace the returned from active service badge and operational service badges. The returned from active service badge recognises Australian Defence Force members who have returned from active or war-like service during military campaigns in operational areas. The operational service badge recognises all declared operational service, such as border protection, service in the Greater Middle East area or other operations. I strongly encourage any business who would like to be involved in this veterans' recognition program to go to the Department of Veterans' Affairs' website and register their interest in being part of this exciting program. By doing so, they will receive an information pack, which will then help them support and connect with the veteran community.

I would just like to comment on the contribution made earlier from one of the senators on the opposite side of the chamber, where they stated this bill doesn't include current serving members of the Australian Defence Force. I will clarify that, as in the definitions included in part 1 of the bill, veteran means:

… a person who has served, or is serving, as a member of the Permanent Forces or as a member of the Reserves.

The coalition Morrison government puts our veterans and their families first. In the budget announced earlier this year, the government increased fund to the Department of Veterans' Affairs by $300 million. We are strengthening the support for our veterans with $24.4 million in funding for a range of programs, such as extending the trial of the provisional access to medical treatment. This is a fantastic initiative that allows our veterans to access treatment for a range of specified medical conditions whilst their DVA claims are being assessed. This allows faster access to medical treatment and helps prevent further deterioration of their health condition.

We are providing $4 million in funding to provide training to RSL and other ex-service organisation volunteers, who, as we know, work closely with and offer assistance to our veterans. This training will help them to recognise people at risk and, where appropriate, provide intervention and referral for additional support. The coalition government is providing grants to not-for-profit organisations to help them deliver programs that will assist veterans to find employment post-discharge from Defence. The many new and amended listings being made to the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme also offer support and assistance to our veterans.

All of these initiatives add to the previous work the coalition government has done for veterans over the past few years, such as reducing red tape in the DVA claims process by streamlining the requirements for certain conditions. If a veteran's doctor diagnoses one of the streamlined conditions, DVA can accept it as service related. This results in less paperwork and a reduced processing time. It is a much more client-focused model, easing some of the stress placed on veterans in submitting their claims to DVA. We are also introducing non-liability health care, which allows current and former Defence members, depending on eligibility, to receive treatment for any mental health condition, cancer, malignant neoplasm and pulmonary tuberculous without the need for the condition to be accepted as service related. Once again, it's a more client focused model, easing stress on our veterans.

Support and counselling is also available for veterans and their families through Open Arms—Veterans and Families Counselling Service. It provides free and confidential counselling, group treatment programs and suicide prevention to help our current serving defence members, our veterans and their families. Open Arms has experienced counsellors who have undertaken specific training to help them understand the unique demands of military life and to help members, veterans and their families transition and adjust to civilian life after military service.

Over the past two or three years the Department of Veterans' Affairs has refocused. No longer are they claims-process driven—rather, they now put the veteran at the centre of every decision they make. This has been supported by the coalition government's investment in the Veteran Centric Reform, focused, as its name suggests, on putting the veterans and their families first. The Department of Veterans' Affairs has been in existence for over 100 years. As a result, and as you can well imagine, some of the systems and services have needed to be updated to bring it into the modern era. This has included putting a focus on improving the digital aspect of delivery. MyService has been introduced to allow some claims to be done and certain services to be available via online servicing. Telephone access, which has been in existence for some years, needed to be upgraded and, through the introduction of the Veteran Centric Reform, improved technology has made it much faster and easier to speak to the department. This has been enhanced through the single contact number of 1800VETERAN.

The Department of Veterans' Affairs has worked in partnership with the Department of Human Services on many service delivery aspects, including the expansion of face-to-face services in some locations, particularly rural and regional areas. There has also been an improvement in data and system capabilities. Investment in computer systems has certainly provided a faster and far more accurate access to veterans' records.

The majority of veterans who leave the Defence Force go on to have success careers, and another recently introduced development for veterans has been the Prime Minister's Veterans' Employment Program. This program demonstrates the importance of government places on raising awareness with employers, both in the private and public sector, of the value and unique experience of our veterans. The Australian Defence Force invests heavily in its service men and women, who have a broad range of skills and experience developed through their careers. Their skill sets, including leadership and problem-solving skills, are in strong demand and will obviously transfer into civilian and public life.

Australian businesses of all sizes and across all industries have an opportunity to employ these skilled and capable individuals when they leave Defence. By making businesses more aware of the value veterans bring to their organisations, employment opportunities for veterans will increase. As a result of that, the introduction of the Prime Minister's Veterans' Employment Awards has also provided some wonderful examples where businesses have benefitted through employing veterans. It provides an opportunity to celebrate veterans in the civilian workforce, such as those who were successful in the 2019 awards.

I would like to pass on my congratulations to these following award winners: Outstanding Contribution by an Individual to Veterans' Employment, Mr Chris Mayfield OAM; Outstanding Veterans' Employer of the Year, BCT Solutions; Veterans Employer of the Year—Large, Boral Limited; Veterans' Employer of the Year—Medium, BCT Solutions; Veterans' Employer of the Year—Small Business, Veterans in Construction; Veteran Employee of the Year, Mr Jordan Ivone; and Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year, Mr Ben Whitham. Supporting the spouses of our veterans was Excellence in Supporting Spouse Employment, Defence Bank; and Excellence in Supporting Veterans' Employment was Ironside Recruitment. They are all worthy and successful winners.

Another area of support provided to our veterans by DVA is the significant recognition of their service through a number of national services, mostly coordinated through DVA. These include many Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services around the country and things such as the significant program of events commemorating the Anzac centenary, during the period 2014 to 2018.

By acknowledging those who fought in the First World War, we also acknowledge all those who have served since. It was a great honour for me to be able to be present and attend the Centenary of the Battle of Polygon Wood in Belgium in 2017. That battle took place on 26 September 1917 as the men of the fifth Australian division prepared for their first major battle in Belgium. The sombre mood of that service and the immense sacrifice of Australians at that place still stays with me today. The Australian people and everyone in this chamber recognise the sacrifice and commitment of those who have signed up for service and made an oath or affirmation to defend Australia. This bill further cements Australia's gratitude for their service. I urge all senators in this chamber to support this bill.