Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I thank other members who have spoken on this important bill, the Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2023, this non-controversial bill insofar as it has bipartisan support—and so it should. Veterans are important. As previous members have noted, today is the 50th anniversary of America's withdrawal from Vietnam, a conflict which claimed the lives of 523 Australians. They are honoured on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial, just down the way—523 Australians, many of whom are buried back in their home communities. There are 70,000 Australians from the two world wars who are not buried in their home communities. They're buried in foreign fields. Their service is remembered on 11 November and on 25 April, but their service should be remembered each and every day of the year because we shouldn't just say 'lest we forget' on those important, significant national days; we should say it every day.

I'm thankful in my electorate—it's very much a military focused electorate, Wagga Wagga being the only inland regional centre in all of Australia with all three arms of the Defence Force. There's the Army training centre at Kapooka, where every single soldier does his or her basic training for 13 or so weeks. There's the Royal Australian Air Force at Forest Hill. If you spend any time in the Air Force, you may well end up serving at Wagga Wagga. And we have an important strategic Navy base, which does a lot of work with HMAS Albatross and the rest of the Navy family.

The purpose of this bill is to deliver minor and uncontroversial amendments to ensure that consistency of veterans compensation for medical travel across the various acts facilitates an annual report from the Repatriation Medical Authority. It modernises some language within acts, it updates references to some superseded acts and it clarifies powers of the minister in relation to the Defence Service Homes Insurance Scheme. Generally speaking, it tidies up miscellaneous measures, and that is why we need to pass it and that is why we will pass it.

Whilst I'm on my feet I would like to again—and with the minister in the chamber—express the view that the $5 million that was committed by the coalition, the previous government, for a wellbeing centre, a wellness centre, in Wagga Wagga should be honoured in the May budget. It's so important. There's a lot of work going on in Wagga Wagga at the moment with RSL LifeCare's Riverina Veteran Wellbeing Centre but also with the community driven Pro Patria Centre, the chair of which is Lyle Salmon, former RAAF personnel. There are very committed members, including Jason Frost, ex-Army. These members want to see a wellbeing centre for veterans.

The coalition government invested more than $11½ billion each year to support the wellbeing of around 340,000 veterans and, just as importantly, their families. There can be no more noble and worthy people. The coalition instituted the ongoing Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which conducted several days of hearings in Wagga Wagga. I'm not making a political point. The member for McEwen made a point about the management of the veterans' affairs portfolio and the delays or lags for veterans. I note that, for 500 additional veterans, there's a claims backlog since the change of government in May last year. I'd also say to any veteran who may be reading this or who may even be listening, if you do need help, please seek help. If you haven't had a good experience with the Department of Veterans' Affairs, please try again. There are people there who are willing, able and eager to help. That assistance is available, and I urge those veterans to take up that help.

The member for McEwen mentioned Minister Matt Keogh. I would like to see this portfolio be included in cabinet. I'm a former veterans' affairs minister, and I know that it is a difficult, complex portfolio area. It's a very important portfolio area, and it needs to be around the big table. If it's good enough for those opposite to be pushing the Voice for outcomes for improving the lives and the lot of Aboriginal people, surely our veterans deserve to have someone around the decision-making cabinet table. This should happen. The veterans' affairs minister, whether it's Minister Keogh or someone else in the future, needs to be around the cabinet table to have the ear of the Prime Minister and the other cabinet ministers. Veterans deserve at least that much.

I commend this legislation to the House.

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