Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition, as I said, will be supporting the motion that Senator Lambie has put forward. In doing so, I do it with a very, very clear message: Australia's obligation to our veterans is not optional; it is enduring, and it must be matched by systems that work when people need them the most. The reason that we live in what I like to continue to say is the luckiest country in the world is our veterans. It is because of the people who fought for this country. It is because of the people who died for this country. And we owe them a debt. We owe them a huge debt. Every morning when I wake up, I say thank you. 'Thank you, Lord, for giving me the opportunity to live in the great country of Australia.' I am someone who, throughout her life, starting when I was 23, has had the opportunity to now visit Gallipoli three times. When you stand in those trenches, it dawns on you (a) what those people were going through, fighting for the freedoms that we have today, and (b) if it were not for the people who were prepared to fight for this country, to die for this country, to fight for the freedoms that we have in Australia, quite frankly, we would not be living in the greatest country in the world. So this motion is the right motion to pass through the Senate.

I want to give a message on behalf of the Liberal Party to every Australian war fighter and every Australian veteran warrior who has worn the uniform. Our message is clear: we see you, we respect you, and we will fight, just like we did when we were in government, to make sure the system that's meant to support you does. It's great when something's there—and that's always the answer; 'We have the system in place.' Then you listen, though, and hear how the system is actually not just not working for veterans but failing veterans on a daily basis. We need to unite in this chamber, put politics aside and actually ensure the system that is in place, that's meant to support our veterans, actually works for those veterans. Again, on behalf of the Liberal Party, we will continue to push for the reforms that have been recommended as a result of the royal commission. We will continue to push for them, for the reforms that make one thing clear to every serving member and veteran—that you should never, ever have to choose between your career and your care, you should never have to fight your own system for the support that you have earned. Our country owes you not just a debt of thanks and of gratitude for the great country that we live in; we also owe you the debt to ensure that, if you need care, that care is provided to you properly by the systems. They should never have to fight. How ironic—they continue to fight. They fought for us and then we make them fight again for proper care. They should never have to fight for a system that they have, quite frankly, earned by fighting for this country.

When we were in government, we ensured that we put in place the veterans royal commission. We did it. Why? Because, quite frankly, the rate of veteran suicide and the stories that were being told publicly across Australia by their families demanded a national, independent investigation that could tell the truth and chart a path forward. We also moved to create enduring architecture for prevention and not just a response.

So I would now say to the Labor Party: you are in government. The Liberal Party acted. We built the reform infrastructure. We pursued long-term change because veterans' wellbeing cannot be treated as an afterthought. In supporting Senator Lambie's motion, I say to the government: you now have the clearest road map. The findings are stark. The recommendations are substantial. The stakes are, quite literally, life and death, as Senator Lambie has articulated. We as the opposition stand here ready to work with you as the government to implement the agreed response to the royal commission in full. Our veterans, quite frankly, deserve nothing less.