Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would really like to thank my good friend the member for Stirling for moving this motion today and giving us the opportunity to speak about our local RSLs and the impact that they make in our local communities. I know that as a veteran yourself, Member for Stirling, this is an issue very close to your heart, and I thank you for raising it.

RSL Queensland say it very well when they say, 'We are veterans helping veterans, united in our desire to champion the rights of all veterans.' I know, when speaking about the incredible RSLs that we have in our electorate of Ryan, this statement couldn't be more accurate because of the hard work of those individual volunteers. The local RSLs in the Ryan electorate provide a unique and much needed connection to veterans of all ages and backgrounds. They provide camaraderie and advice and practical support for our local veteran community. That camaraderie and support has never been more important than in this particularly tough year. I want to commend our local RSL sub-branches for the work they did to support their members throughout 2020. Thanks in particular to the Toowong sub-branch, The Gap sub-branch, the Bardon sub-branch, the Gaythorne sub-branch, the Sherwood-Indooroopilly sub-branch and for all that you did to bring together your members and the wider veteran community, not only to stop them from feeling isolated but by making it possible to mark significant days in the veteran calendar. I know from talking to the members of these sub-branches that in particular they miss very much the opportunity to get together as a large group, to have a beer and to swap stories as they normally do. Despite that they were stoic and they supported each other throughout.

A good example of this was of course Anzac Day this year, when RSL Queensland were instrumental in the powerful show of solidarity and respect that was their Light up the Dawn campaign. Our local RSLs were a big part of this campaign, and their members along with families and friends encouraged others in the local community to stand on their driveways at 6 am to be part of this nationwide Dawn Service. I did it myself with my young family, my son. It was a really important opportunity to talk to my son who, like all small children, complained about having to get up that early. It was important to talk to him about the fact that this is a very small sacrifice we make to honour people who have made far larger sacrifices for us. I enjoyed having that conversation with him. That is part of the process that all families go through every year.

I was also very lucky to speak with local veterans about what Anzac Day meant for them. Normally, as part of these very large services that we have in the electorate of Ryan you would have community members gather in large numbers to hear the stories of individual veterans. We couldn't do that this year with COVID, so it was my pleasure to help pull together a digital campaign to promote those local stories across the electorate of Ryan. I was lucky to video individual veterans like Tim Simkin and Ken Cullen from the Gaythorne RSL, George Hulse, the Toowong RSL president, and Rick Maher from the Kenmore-Moggill RSL. Even though they couldn't hear from the local community directly, the local community could still hear their stories of sacrifice. I think it was an important part of what Anzac Day is all about.

The Morrison government is committed to making sure that our RSLs have the funding they need to continue to support their local membership. I have been very pleased to help secure some recent funding for my local RSLs to support these ex-service men and women. The Kenmore-Moggill RSL has received $1,200 out of the Building Excellence in Support and Training program, and the Gaythorne RSL has received over $44,000 in the Building Excellence in Support and Training program as well to support their efforts in pensions advocacy and welfare work.

We're also very excited in the Ryan electorate to be building the first Australian cadet unit at Brookfield, which was made possible by the $100,000 commitment that I helped secure in this year's federal budget. We know that Australian Army Cadets is an important community based youth development organisation. It's very passionately supported and pushed by the president of the Kenmore-Moggill RSL sub-branch, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Maher; and sub-branch Treasurer Richard Ponsonby. They have been instrumental in this, and I really appreciate the support.

To all of our veterans in Ryan: thank you so much for your service both when you were in uniform and now out of uniform, supporting your fellow veterans through the RSLs.

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