Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to put on record the great work being done by the veterans support group Mates4Mates. Last week I attended the opening of the Brisbane family recovery centre and national headquarters in Milton.

Mates4Mates supports current and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members and their families. Their family recovery centres provide a friendly environment for mates and their families to access a range of services. Support for our veterans is vitally important. This year more veterans took their own lives than the entire casualty list of Australians lost in Afghanistan.

Mates4Mates membership has been doubling every year as awareness and demand grows. They have had 25,000 contacts already this year and provided 4,000 psychology consultations. Mates4Mates chief executive, Simon Sauer told me all about the veterans who acknowledge that they would have taken their own lives if they had not sought help from the group.

In related news, I welcome the government's recent announcements on its veterans employment initiative. Our ADF personnel leave the military with unique skills, and they can make a valuable contribution to business. And surely that is especially true given this government's strong vision for the defence industry and the advanced manufacturing and specialist support and service jobs being created here.

We need to do more to consider how ADF personnel and their skills translate to the private sector and how they can best take advantage of the opportunities post service. It is in everyone's interest to recognise the talents of our veterans and encourage the private sector to take advantage of that expertise.