Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, thank you for joining us for this consideration in detail of the veterans' affairs portfolio. There have been a number of measures for veterans included in the budget this year, and I commend you and the government for your work in this area. Veterans' mental health is a worthy focus of affairs and I am proud to be a member of this government that is investing a record amount into veterans' mental health support and veterans' services. I thank you, Minister, for recently coming to Dunkley to speak at Seaford RSL with veterans about some of these initiatives.

Minister, we also recently met to discuss the personal difficulties that one of my constituents in particular is experiencing in relation to his Defence Abuse Response Taskforce, DART, claim, including the delays in reaching an outcome and the support that he requires. I really appreciated the time and concern you brought to that discussion and the assistance that you are providing to my constituent.

An area that has been brought to my attention, however, both locally in Dunkley and in the media are veterans' experiences in transitioning to post-military routine and often their struggle to cope, especially with employment and what many of us would consider aspects of ordinary, everyday life. We have heard about the shocking suicide rate among young veterans. I acknowledge my colleague the member for Fisher, who spoke before, and his concern in this area.

I would also like to bring focus to the welfare and support of veterans when it comes to re-integrating into the workforce. It is sadly all too common to hear that employers frequently do not recognise the training, accreditation and experiences of trades within the armed forces, as the skills required tend to vary in context and how they are applied. People who have served our country so selflessly do not deserve to be left at a loss when they leave the Defence Force. However, often their experience and skills are seen as nontransferable to civilian work.

Employment is an aspect of life that is so critical to routine and structure, something which goes hand in hand with learning to cope in a new environment and system. It is for this reason that I am incredibly supportive of the Prime Minister's Veterans' Employment Program, which aims to support veterans in finding meaningful postservice employment and to assist businesses to recognise and value the unique talents of former ADF personnel—some of the talents, for example, that I saw when I recently visited the Middle East region and Afghanistan, joined by the shadow minister in this Chamber. Amongst the community, there could be a lot more support for those veterans than there appears to be currently, so I encourage ex-service organisations to get involved with the program and to register their interest in partnering with industry on projects to promote the employment of veterans.

I support the initiatives of the department to improve the transition process by ensuring that all individuals leave the Defence Force with the appropriate documentation detailing their training and abilities and individual transition programs. It is encouraging that many of the initiatives included in the Prime Minister's Veterans' Employment Program will aid veterans in transition to postmilitary life, especially by working with civilian authorities to align military qualifications with civilian qualifications and to fill the effective gap in former members' working history.

Minister, on these points, with the aims of the Veterans' Employment Program in mind, how can we as a government work to ensure that our veterans do not fall through the gaps in the system and that they continue to be supported once they leave the Defence Force? Could you please elaborate on other aspects of the Veterans' Employment Program?

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