Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Thursday, 8 September 2016, I had the great pleasure of visiting a magnificent group within the electorate of Hindmarsh in Glenelg, and that was the members of the William Kibby VC Veterans Shed. The Veterans Shed is named after William Kibby, an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. It is a fantastic initiative within my electorate that provides support for veterans. It is on Kibby Avenue, Glenelg North, adjacent to part of the Glenelg North Community Centre. I was really pleased to be accompanied by my colleague the member for Kingston and shadow veterans' affairs minister, Amanda Rishworth, to meet the great members and vets involved in the shed and see the wonderful work that they do supporting vets.

The William Kibby VC Veterans Shed is an initiative of a great bloke called Barry Heffernan, a Vietnam vet himself and a passionate advocate and supporter of our great service men and woman. It is the first veterans shed registered with the Australian Men's Shed Association. It is specifically intended for veterans of all conflicts and anyone who has served in the Australian uniform, regardless of whether or not they saw operational service.

The aim of the veterans shed is to create and maintain an environment for veterans and ex-service personnel where concerns, past traumas, health issues and welfare issues can be discussed with other veterans who have empathy through similar life experience in operational areas. In addition to offering advocacy and support to veterans and their families, the shed offers veterans the opportunity to learn new skills and put their existing skills to use helping the community. It is fantastic to see that Barry Heffernan and the other veterans have constructed a wonderful memorial garden at Kibby Reserve.

I would also like to congratulate and commend Barry Heffernan, Ken Parnell and all the others that are involved for their strength and tireless dedication to highlighting the complex challenges faced by many of our service men and women. I also commend the great team of veterans and volunteers who create such a welcoming atmosphere at the shed. They make an outstanding egg-and-bacon sandwich, I have to tell you, having been the recipient of one!

The men and women involved in the veterans shed have taken up the challenge to help themselves and each other. They are independent and give back to the community with a generosity that is impressive. These men and women served to protect us, our country, our values and our way of life. They deserve to be listened to and heard and have their concerns taken seriously.