Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to stand publicly in the Main Committee today to acknowledge the acts of dedication to Australia of members of our veteran community. These men and women have dedicated significant portions of their most productive and healthy years in the service of Australia in times of international conflict. Many of them made these considerable sacrifices without any thought for a moment of the cost to them. They had their minds set on filling the need of their country. It could be said that many of these fighting men and women were unaware of exactly how big a sacrifice they were making when they set off to battle wearing the uniform of Australia.

My electorate on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland is home to a great number of veterans. It is interesting to see that the latest figures, as at July 2005, show that there were 2,646 veterans living in Fisher receiving a pension from the government. It is no wonder that there is such a large number of former service personnel living in my region—it is clearly a wonderful place to live. It is home to a growing number of families as well as to retirees and war veterans. It is little wonder that some of these groups are actually increasing in number. An increasing number of ex-service men and women are relocating to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. We have a number of active RSL branches in the region, support services are good, a Department of Veterans’ Affairs office is located in an easily accessible location in the Maroochydore CBD, not far from my electorate office, and the weather in my region is comfortable and the lifestyle good.

In mid-2005, of the total veterans in Fisher, there were 269 who had served in Korea, Malaysia and the Far East, up from 262 in mid-2004; there were 508 Vietnam veterans, up from 487 in mid-2004; and there were 523 serving members of the ADF, peacekeepers and those who served in other conflicts. That figure had risen slightly from 513 in 2004. The quoted figure also includes 1,362 World War II veterans. Sadly, this figure is decreasing—down from 1,477 in mid-2004. These veterans are now reaching significant milestones in years and succumbing to old age and health afflictions.

While they may be decreasing in number, our thanks to them does not dwindle. I had the fortune to join in public demonstrations of gratitude at a number of Anzac Day ceremonies this year. I had a large number of services in my electorate, as did many other honourable members, and the increase in crowds, particularly of young people, attending Anzac Day services should be an inspiration to all of us. I want to take this opportunity in the parliament to thank once again Australia’s war veterans, particularly those living on the Sunshine Coast. (Time expired)

Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In a similar vein to the previous speaker, the member for Fisher, I would like to take up issues relating to veterans, particularly the families of veterans and, most particularly, the children of veterans, and the recent feasibility study into the health of children of veterans. There have been a number of studies on the sorts of problems faced by our veterans and their families. There is a lot of evidence on the sorts of problems faced by the families of veterans, particularly the children, with respect to dealing with a veteran coming back from a conflict, the difficulties that they often bring back with them and the range of conditions that can be passed on to their children—for example, increased levels of leukaemia, cancer, spina bifida or cleft pallet. The number of conditions is endless. There is a lot to be worried about if you are part of a veteran’s family. There have also been studies done which have shown that the suicide rate for the children of veterans is three times the expected rate, and death from other causes, including accidents, is double. Those figures came from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study of 1998.

There is no doubt that there is a problem and there is no doubt that it needs to be looked at. At the last election, Labor committed to funding a study. The government committed to funding a feasibility study only. That feasibility study has now been completed. The study is with the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, and the minister is currently considering where it will go from here. I note the minister’s press release with respect to the budget said:

The health of Vietnam veterans’ children will also be addressed now that a feasibility study has been completed and a scientific advisory committee’s recommendations are being considered by the Government.

Although the report proposes a pilot study that will take some years to complete, I am keen to pursue a staged approach to see work commence this year over a much shorter research period. My goal is to gain meaningful results sooner to help improve and better target health support and services available for the children of our Vietnam veterans.

I welcome the commitment from the minister to move down that track, but I want to put it on the public record that we need more detail as to what in fact is being committed to. This is a complex area. It is an area where Labor stands with the government, committed to ensuring that real action is taken. I do not underestimate the size of the task involved. What we need is more information from the minister about what in fact is planned to be done, over what period of time and at what cost.

I want to assure all members that the opposition will support the government’s actions in this area, but we need to know what those actions will be. We will be watching very closely to see what comes out from the minister about the future. In estimates, we had difficulty getting evidence of much of the detail of where we are going to from here. The minister has to come clean with that detail as soon as it is available so that we can move forward in this area. It is an area that requires urgent attention. The opposition will support the government with respect to what can be done.