Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

'An excellent speech,' says Senator Brockman. 'An excellent speech,' says Senator Reynolds. I have no reason to doubt that energy and commitment. He's a great member for Stirling. I have great confidence he's someone who will hold the seat of Stirling for a very long time. But the point I was about to make—and perhaps I'm guessing now—is that I'm sure Mr Connelly would have made a contribution in his first speech about the importance of veterans. I suspect he might have made some reflections on the Productivity Commission report and even expressed some of his own ideas about what might be a better way, an alternative way, to continue to support veterans and their families in our community.

This is my final point before I sit down. Men and women have served this country and they have become part of the veterans communities, but living with them and enjoying the celebration, the honouring that we do as a community with them, sometimes is equally matched with having to live with some of the suffering and sorrow and hidden hurt that veterans carry in our community. That's a very, very important point to be acknowledged. Senator Lambie made that point in her contribution. I'm someone who believes that veterans deserve to be supported, but veterans' families deserve to be supported as well.

So, with those brief remarks, I will leave it to other senators, other coalition senators, to make their contributions on what is a very, very necessary and very, very worthy piece of legislation. Thanks very much.