Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In rising to speak today on this bill, I wish to first and foremost express my continued thanks and gratitude to Australia's veteran community for their tireless service to our country. As I'm sure honourable members have heard tonight, this bill is about putting veterans first, putting veterans' families first and recognising the unique and special service that veterans provide in defending our country. I think that we not only need to recognise their service but also understand the impact that that service has on both the lives of veterans and the lives of their families. I certainly hope this bill will go some way to making life easier for them as they adjust to life following their valued service.

In rising here tonight, I wish to speak first and foremost about my personal experiences—be they second-hand—of people I might know or have heard of who come from Tasmania and about why I personally think that this is a bill that deserves wholehearted support. Tasmania, the state I come from, like all Australian states and territories, has a strong history of military service. Currently there are more than 10,000 veterans living in Tasmania. Indeed, Australia's last surviving soldier from the Gallipoli campaign was a Tasmanian. His name was Alec Campbell.

Alec join the Australian Army at the age of just 16 and was said to be nicknamed 'The Kid' by his fellow servicemen in Hobart because, at the time of his training, he was still too young to shave. Of course, the Alec Campbell I know is the one who was still attending Anzac Day marches in my lifetime, who still had youthful enthusiasm despite seeing some undeniably terrible things. There's something quite profound in me being a young girl attending Anzac Day marches and thinking: 'What would I have done if I'd been in Alec's situation? Would I have been brave enough to put my hand up to fight for my country?' Those are questions that I dwell on every Anzac Day—or more regularly than that. Being a young person growing up at a time where Alec was still alive in Hobart and was attending Anzac Day parades at the same time I was, one can't help but meditate on that for a moment.

Speaking of Tasmania's young war heroes, 14 of Australia's 100 Victoria Cross recipients are Tasmanian. Given the nature and aim of this bill today to appropriately recognise the contribution of our veterans, it would be remiss of me to not mention Ordinary Seaman Edward—or, as he was known, Teddy—Sheean. Teddy Sheean was a Tasmanian World War II hero and one of our best-known wartime servicemen in Tasmania, perhaps second only to Alec Campbell for being our last living Gallipoli veteran. On 1 December 1942, when Teddy was 18 years old, the ship on which he was serving, the HMAS Armidale, sank as a result of enemy attack. As the ship went down, Teddy continued to defend his fellow shipmates, firing at the enemy while at the same time surely knowing that his own life was soon to end on that ship as it sank. Efforts are currently underway in Tasmania, led by former senator for Tasmania and now Minister of Veterans' Affairs in the Tasmanian state government, Guy Barnett, to ensure that Teddy Sheean is appropriately recognised for his heroism on that fateful day in 1942. I have heard Minister Barnett speak on this topic very regularly. I'm always taken aback by the passion with which he speaks of the need for us to recognise Teddy Sheean. It's that same need that we bring to this bill today—a need to recognise our veterans for the contribution that they have made.

I am quite fortunate in that not too many of my immediate family have been caught up in the perils of war, except my great-grandfather John Henry Beard of Oatlands—who I never met, but I did meet his wife, my great-grandmother. John Beard went to war in his 30s. He fought in World War I at quite an old age, particularly in comparison to, for example, Alec Campbell. My mother, who was alive while my great-grandfather still was, tells a story of when I asked her: 'What experiences did my great-grandfather share with you? Was war something that was talked about around the dinner table? Was it something that every Anzac Day you all came together and celebrated?' and my mother said no. There was an understanding or an acceptance in the family that the war had greatly affected my great-grandfather. He was suffering from shell shock and a few residual wounds from that time. My mother was instructed, 'Don't ask. It's not a chapter of his life that he wants to relive and so if you are respectful of the service that he made then you won't ask him about it.' I raise that tonight not because I think we're doing the wrong thing in recognising our veterans—I certainly don't—but because I think it is an important step for this government to take, to say that we need to support veterans' families—like my great-grandfather's family 50-odd years ago—to be able to come to peace with what has happened, to be able to talk about it publicly, to celebrate it, if that's what's appropriate, and to commemorate it—again, if that's what's appropriate. Looking back at my mother's stories of speaking with my great-grandfather, it certainly appears that he didn't feel supported in sharing his stories, whether that was because they were too traumatic for him to deal with or because he didn't feel that it was appropriate to share those stories with his family. Being an inquiring sort of person, I certainly would have relished the opportunity to sit down and talk with my great-grandfather, had our lives overlapped, about his experiences in war. But, as I said, it wasn't something that was really spoken about.

I'm very honoured tonight to be speaking on this bill to ensure that we can make life just that little bit easier for our veterans, because I don't think that any of our veterans should feel that they can't share their stories, or that they're not supported to share their stories because their community doesn't understand the sacrifices that they have made in serving our country. I have a number of friends who have given active military service or have been in the reserves. I'm not going to name them here today, because I don't think that would be appropriate, but I see two key things in them. One is the pride that they have for their country and the drive that they have in doing what they do, particularly my friends who have joined the reserves. I say: what compelled you to do this? And they all say that they're proud Australians and they want the opportunity to serve their country in whatever small way, even if that is just in a volunteer capacity. With those that do see active service, I look at the families around them—I think the support network those families provide is just incredible. I'm very happy that the bill that we're discussing here tonight, the Australian Veterans' Recognition (Putting Veterans and Their Families First) Bill 2019, will go some way towards making life for those families easier, as well as for the veterans.

Let's not beat around the bush: war is not an enjoyable thing to experience. Growing up when I have, I consider myself very fortunate that I haven't experienced war firsthand. That is no doubt due to the tireless efforts of our veterans looking after our interests overseas, and I'm very thankful for them. But I have some friends who have family members or spouses or friends who have served overseas, and that has had a profound impact on them. I'm very happy not only for the veterans but also for their families and all of the work that they do in supporting veterans to ensure that their contributions to Australia are recognised. That's why I'm very excited to be talking about this bill tonight, and all that it will entail in recognising veterans and their families. I think, particularly, the covenant of Australian Defence veterans—which we've heard a lot about from my colleague, Senator Scarr earlier—represents a really important step in solidifying our relationship with the veterans community and in recognising the work that they do. It's good to see that the covenant will be supported by a veterans recognition program, which will include a veteran card, a lapel pin and an oath. I was researching this tonight, and thinking about the lapel pin and what a small thing that represents but, at the same time, that it will enable everyday people like me, walking down the street, to recognise those veterans who might have served and protected our interests overseas.

Walking down the street, I often think that anyone standing in the vicinity could be a veteran, could have fought for our country, and how am I meant to know who I should thank? Because, as I think I've reflected here tonight, I certainly am thankful for the sacrifice that these people make. Something as simple as a pin could be an indicator. I know in Tasmania I often see our Legacy families wearing pins and, again, it's such a simple way to demonstrate that. I understand that some people may not want to wear a pin if they don't feel comfortable with one, but it's about breaking down those barriers and helping the broader community understand and identify veterans and the sacrifices that they have made for their country, if they so wish.

The Veteran Card will also make it easier for Australians to recognise and respect the contribution that veterans have made to Australia. The Veteran Card, which is a redesign of the white and gold healthcare cards, will be acknowledged by businesses, and healthcare and service providers. I hope, again, that it'll go some way towards making life easier for our veterans. And, of course, we will continue to provide access to health services and benefits to cardholders as well as concessions as relevant. I think these are certainly well deserved for the reasons that I've outlined tonight. Our veterans make a significant sacrifice for our country, and we should be thankful in that regard and I think this card will go a long way to demonstrating that.

I think I have set out what drives and motivates me to care so deeply for veterans affairs in rising to speak on this bill tonight. Like I said, I come from a state that has a long history of military service. Through regularly attending Anzac Day services and Remembrance Day services over many years, and looking at the people around me, I've continually reflected on: what would I do if I were in their situation; and how would I want to be recognised? While I don't think I would be very brave on the battlefield, I certainly think that if I were that I would somehow want to have those barriers pulled down between me and the people who haven't necessarily experienced what I had and be able to talk about it, to have those conversations and tell stories of my experiences of war or in active service.

Anything that we, as a parliament, can do to ensure that those barriers are pulled down to make it easier for people to recognise veterans—or making veterans feel more supported and providing additional support to their families so that they can feel equipped to have the conversations with their families about what they've experienced—is incredibly important work for us to be doing. I know it's getting quite late in the evening, but this is a very important debate for us to be having. And, as I've said a couple of times over the last little while, it's an honour for me to be speaking on this issue tonight. Thank you.