Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

Through the chair, Senator McKenzie, let me tell you what else is really happening here to our Aussie kids that the government isn't dealing with because it does not want to. But I'll tell you what, your LNP in Queensland are going to love this. You'll want to listen to this because if you get on this, you've got the election won.

Not a day goes by without headlines about the surge in youth crime, the youth mental health crisis, teachers being assaulted, and the dire state of our child protection system in this country. Youth crime is up all over Australia, with communities from Queensland to Melbourne to Tasmania demanding action. Debate across Australia is raging over bail laws, with youth justice advocates pointing to a lack of family stability and children growing up with violence as the norm. Just last week a new study from the University of Sydney's Matilda Centre found the childhood trauma is responsible for nearly half the number of common mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, self-harm and suicide attempts. What's the answer? Some in this place suggest building more detention centres for our kids. Get a life! I've been very clear on this: putting kids in jail makes them better criminals. It does not break the cycle.

In 2016, a veteran called Matt French, with his great mates who have served alongside him, Glenn and Troy, decided to try something new to make a change for these kids and continue to give back to their country. Matt had a rugged childhood himself. He spent his early years living with domestic violence and doing everything he could to protect and help his mother as well. His teenage years were messy as well, but Matt got it together and joined the Army when he was 25. After his service, Matt started to think about how he could give back. He wondered if the structure and discipline that worked so well for him in the armed forces would help other kids like him. In 2016, Matt—or Frenchy, as the kids love to call him—started a plan with his partners. In 2017 Veteran Mentors was born. Matt decided not to ask for government help until he could demonstrate and prove that the Veteran Mentors program worked.

They have been very successful. In fact, they have been so successful, they have an 80 per cent success rate for getting these kids back into school, back on their feet and back into a normal life. They probably don't need government funding—they're really not interested—but boy oh boy do the country and the government need them. Matt directly recruited veterans, including Indigenous veterans that he knew were highly professional in the military, high achievers in the civilian world and fellow veterans who could join this mission and share his vision. Currently 65 veterans share Matt's vision. These men and women aren't just veterans; they are firefighters, pharmacists, elite athletes, medical specialists and team leaders in mental health.

The Veteran Mentors program is for kids aged between 12 and 17 who show poor behaviour like low self-esteem, aggression, lack of respect, anxiety, depression, self-mutilation, tech addiction—you name it, they'll fix it. The Veteran Mentors are national. They work with children from every corner of this country. A lot of these kids have been in the mainstream mental health system for years with zero results. Their schools and their teachers can no longer control them, and their parents are at their wits' end.

In January this year, I joined the Veteran Mentors Junior Leader Program in Kangaroo Valley for 10 days, and I saw the transformation for myself. It was amazing seeing for myself what these veteran mentors are doing for these kids most at risk. It is not just about military discipline. Programs include group therapy, truth telling, active outdoor challenges, healthy eating, conflict resolution and leadership lessons. The veteran mentors share their own stories to help the kids to be comfortable sharing vulnerabilities. They even teach the children to meditate.

In Matt's words, 'These children came to us with an empty toolbox and only know counselling and medication.'

The amount of medication those children are on is absolutely mind-blowing. You should have seen the blister packs. It would bring tears to anyone's eyes. It is more than what I see in aged care. In many cases, for the kids in the Veteran Mentors program the medication they are on is heavily reduced or they are taken off it post program. That's why there is a pharmacist there.

The parents are involved as well. Veteran Mentors run an eight-hour full-day parenting workshop. I believe it is absolutely crucial to have the parents involved. Every child is assigned a veteran mentor to stay in touch with them for two years. This is really special. It's a program that actually gets results. Over 3,000 kids have taken part in the Veteran Mentors junior leadership program, and 80 per cent of those kids are back on the right path. There are three Veteran Mentors junior leadership rounds coming up. I ask the government members who are in Queensland to get up there and look at them. These are part of your answer. (Time expired)