Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the member for Herbert for her contribution and acknowledge her involvement and engagement with the Defence community around her electorate, the importance that they have in her mind and her service of the needs of the Defence community. I am pleased to participate in the debate on the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2016 and offer Labor's support for this legislation. As a former Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and Minister for Veterans' Affairs, I see some people in the advisers box with whom I used to work closely. I thank them for the work they have done on the legislation because I think it is very important. It is a continuation of work which has been ongoing for a number of years.

The bill will allow for interim incapacity payments at 100 per cent of normal earnings to be paid until a final incapacity payment can be determined. It will extend access to non-liability mental health treatment to all past and current members of the Australian Defence Force irrespective of how long or where they served or their type of service. It will align the end date for veterans' incapacity payments with the incremental increase in the age pension age to 67 by 2024. These are important amendments. Whilst, to the outside observer, they might seem rather pedestrian, they are in fact not. They will have a measurable and important positive outcome for the veterans community, and that is something which I know all members in this House would support.

As I say, I come to this debate as a former minister in this space, and I think it is fair to say that, over the last decade or so, there has been an evolution in the way in which we deal with veterans, veterans entitlements and, indeed, existing members of the Defence Force community. One of the things that I think it is very hard for us to understand—those of us who have not served, particularly since 1999—is that there has been such an intense effort by the defence forces over this period that active service has meant active service. Many veterans have spent some years away in uniform fighting for the causes for which we have asked them to fight. That is important because, in the period post Vietnam, we suffered from not treating people correctly—indeed, shamefully so, I think. That came back to haunt us in many ways, but, most importantly, it came back to haunt us in the ways in which veterans exhibited, over time, mental health issues and other health issues which have meant that they required treatment.

I have always taken the view that, as a potential Defence Force recruit, once you march into Kapooka to do your basic training you are the responsibility of the nation till the day you die. You should immediately be recognised as a potential client of the Department of Veterans' Affairs because you may, for example, have an accident whilst you are training, which will be seen as part of your service, and you and your family, therefore, may be impacted until the day you die. We need to accept as a nation that, once people put on that uniform, we have a responsibility to them and for them until they pass—and, indeed, for their families. As we know, a significant proportion of Veterans' Affairs clients currently are widows. In a small number of cases they are widowers, but they are mostly ageing widows of Second World War veterans and Vietnam veterans and widows of veterans of the most recent engagement we have had overseas.

I contemplate what has happened since 1999. In the period of peacetime we, of course, had veterans who had issues as a result of their service, but, importantly, in the period post 1999 and post East Timor, there has been an ongoing intensity in the rate at which people have been asked to serve overseas and be involved in some horrific conflicts. That has an enormous impact upon them and their families. When I had a position of responsibility, what came to me was the fact that we are asking people to do six, seven, eight, nine and even 10 tours of duty. This is particularly so for special forces soldiers. It is all right whilst you are in the team and you have all your mates around you and you are serving, but once you leave the security of that uniform and you transition out a lot of things change. Part of what we are now dealing with in the general community is a rising awareness of mental health issues, which have emerged as a result of service. I am pleased to say that the defence department and, indeed, the Department of Veterans' Affairs are both very much alive to this.

One of the issues which we have been able to start to grapple with is not only how to amend legislation to meet the needs of contemporary veterans now and into the future but also how to make sure that their separation from the Defence Force and the transition process is more seamless and that they are being cared for and counselled whilst they are in the departure lounge, so to speak, and when they leave. Now there are on-base advisory services from the Department of Veterans' Affairs on most Defence Force bases around the country, and these advisory services are to work with current serving people around what entitlements they may have as a result of having served as veterans and as a result of their service. That is important—that is very important. What we require them to do as they transition is understand the nature of the services that are available to them through the Department of Veterans' Affairs upon their transition. That is an obligation that the Commonwealth accepts and should accept. Where there have been changes in the way that the Department of Defence is dealing with its personnel—for example, through having an electronic health record—will significantly impact on the way in which the Department of Veterans' Affairs deals with those veterans post-service because their records will be a lot easier to access. The timeliness of claims against the Department of Veterans' Affairs for incidents that have happened during service will change dramatically, and that is very important. It is a very positive outcome that will happen, in my view, as a result of the electronic health record being introduced in the Department of Defence.

It is that separation which starts to cause us concern. I mentioned to you earlier about the prospect of people having served six, seven, eight or nine tours overseas—fighting on our behalf in that great Australian uniform under our flag—and when they come back, they may or may not have had a physical injury, but they may have acquired, over time, a mental health issue, which they themselves do not recognise yet, and may not become obvious to them for some time after they separate. That is an issue—that is a real issue for us. I know there has been a Senate inquiry which has looked at suicides over the last 12 months, and that is important, but we need to understand the way in which Defence personnel behave once they leave.

One of the issues which is really difficult to track—you might not believe this, but I am sure you do—is that when some people leave their uniform, they do not want to have a bar of it. They have had it. They have had a gutful and it is time to leave—'I don't want anything to do with my previous unit or the RSL, or anyone else; I just want out of here,'—and we lose track of them. We lose contact with them. Some of these people may, in the future, as a result of their service have an issue around their mental health, which they themselves may or may not recognise. Because they have lost contact and because they are not with their mates, who they had previously, or their unit, or because they are not associated with the RSL, Soldier On or Mates4Mates, or any one of the other organisations that exist, they fall through the cracks. These are the people we should be most concerned about because these are the ones that I know—at least I think I know—will have the most difficult way ahead. When we are contemplating this legislation, we should not see it in isolation. We should see it as a part of a broader canvas, which is designed to deal with the current and ongoing needs of Defence Force personnel and potentially their families. That is important for all of us.

I know from my own observations and experience that the Department of Veterans' Affairs team, despite the negative press that sometimes they are given by particular people who live in other parts of this parliament, are, in fact, dedicated to what they do and work extremely hard to get a beneficial outcome for Defence personnel and their families, including providing the best of medical care that is available, whether it is because of their physical health or because of their mental health. That is important. There has been an increase in recognition of mental health issues as a result of a report which was initiated by Labor during its period of government when I was then the minister—the Dunt review into veterans and the mental health support coming from the Department of Defence and, indeed, veterans affairs, which was involved in looking at suicides. It was very important work which provided a framework for Defence moving forward.

That is not to say it is perfect, because it is not by far, but we need to recognise that things are happening and things have changed. In 2012, the then Labor government initiated the Bravery Trust, which was formerly known as the Australian Defence Force Trust. It was established with a grant of $14 million from the Commonwealth. Its purpose is to provide financial support to veterans, current and former members of the Australian Defence Force, and their families who have suffered injury or illness as a result of their service and are experiencing financial hardship. That is important. It is important recognition that there are sometimes people who, despite the best efforts of themselves and their families, are unable to manage and need support. This trust provides them with the capacity to get access to their support. It is very similar to the SAS Resources Trust, which is, in itself, a perpetual trust. In fact, the Bravery Trust was established to mirror the SAS fund and to provide that ongoing support.

The RSL has a significant role and an ongoing significant role in working with serving veterans and veterans who have left the Defence Force to make sure that they have access to services. This has been a significant challenge for the RSL, because a lot of younger veterans have seen the RSL as a place for old codgers to hold up the bar. We know that is not the case. I can well recall an annual meeting of a particular branch of the RSL where the then RSM of the Army got up and said, 'You have got to do more. You have to understand current serving veterans and their requirements.' That remains the case.

Significantly, we have seen the development of new organisations that are aimed at contemporary veterans, Soldier On being one of them—and a very good organisation it is—and Mates4Mates being another. These are important initiatives, but they go hand in glove with what government does and what government support is available. So whilst this legislation we are discussing today is important there is a much bigger picture, and we have to understand that bigger picture and our role in it.

We have to understand that there are people who are hurt—immeasurably hurt—as result of their service to this country, and they may not recognise it themselves for some years past their service. We have to be available for them to provide the support they need on an ongoing basis, and we need to be alive to the fact that some of them will not want to talk to us. We have to find a way to connect to them and make sure they understand the services that are available to them and their families. If we can do that we will make a difference and maybe, just maybe, we will address the issues of the suicide, self-harm and abuse among far too many of those who have served this great country.

We have an obligation in this place to support this legislation. But we have a broader obligation to all serving men and women, and all past veterans and their families, which will be with us till the day they die. It is something I am personally committed to.

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