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

I would like to speak today about some developments that I think are quite disturbing regarding the provision of chaplaincy services to veterans in South Australia. The DVA review into chaplaincy services for veterans in South Australian hospitals begins today without any formal church representation. I am very concerned that the Heads of Christian Churches Chaplaincy Advisory Committee is not a formal member of the review, after its numerous requests to be involved have been repeatedly denied by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs.

The sort of work that chaplains do is crucial to the operation of services of a pastoral nature for veterans in the community. I would like to read from a recent article in a local Adelaide paper that takes up what is happening with the provision of chaplaincy services in South Australia. It is headed ‘Spiritual heart of Repat under attack’ and states:

Bruce Stocks is devoted to comforting the sick, the dying, the traumatised.

As a hospital chaplain at The Repat, Daw Park, he is a friendly face and ear to patients and their families.

His time is spent alongside the beds of veterans—in the hospital’s aged care and surgical wards and the psychological unit, which looks after ex-military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorders.

“We’re talking about being alongside people”—people who have given this country military service—“who are dying, whose lives are in crisis, who are looking for spiritual help on a daily basis”.

Last year The Repat’s pastoral care team—three chaplains and 10 volunteers—provided more than 12,000 pastoral visits to patients and their families. More than 5000 were to veterans and their families. About 250 staff sought support.

Operating out of spartan transportable offices, each Sunday they take it in turns to perform a non-denominational service in the hospital chapel that is broadcast on TVs to patients’ bedsides.

We can see that the work they do is important and crucial, yet there is currently no group or individual with chaplaincy expertise on this review. This suggests that the Howard government has already made up its mind on the issue and will use the review to reduce its funding for these services. I sincerely hope that this is not the case.

While consultation opportunities have been offered to the chaplaincy service by the DVA, they give no formal power in decision-making opportunities. I therefore urge the minister to invite the HCCC to become a full member of the review. I would also urge the minister to publicly commit that he will not use this review to reduce federal funding for this very important service.

In the second half of last year 2,846 veterans accessed the pastoral services at RGH Daw Park, South Australia’s main repat hospital. This minister talks about the need for increased emphasis on mental health services. These are actually mental health services of a very basic but important nature to veterans at the coalface. If he is really committed to that, and I hope that he is, he has to make sure that these sorts of services are maintained. (Time expired).