Andrew McLachlan (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner Bill 2025 and the Defence and Veterans' Service Commissioner (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025, and I associate myself with the remarks of my fellow senators. The creation of the commissioner position is a product of the findings of the royal commission. It will not only hold Defence accountable but also seek to identify measures which will improve the system.

I wish to reflect, in the time allocated to me, on the fact that, being someone who has served, spent time at the foot of the Hindu Kush and worked with and as a member of Legacy and the RSL, it's sad to me that, in 2026, we are still legislating to assist veterans and hold Defence accountable. One would like to think that Defence would hold itself accountable and that we as a community would support our veterans, because we have a moral obligation to do so. We ask individuals to volunteer. They put their lives at risk, they come home and many suffer—not always physical injuries. Those stresses of reintegrating into civilian life often manifest long after their discharge. None of this should be a surprise after two world wars, Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, yet here we are debating an excellent piece of legislation in 2026.

As a body politic, we cannot continue to grind on and accept mediocrity in the treatment of our veterans. We have to seek excellence and not default to mediocrity. We should be the world leader in the treatment of veterans and their families by treating our veterans not only with respect throughout their service but also with the utmost care—particularly those who suffer from their service in conflict.

But I'll leave this on a positive note. We have arrived at a place where we have a commissioner that will continue to shed light on how we treat veterans in the service, how we discharge them and how we give them care for the remainder of their days. Long gone are the days when we could hold the view that, once they're discharged, they are someone else's problem. We have a moral obligation to care for them, to watch over them and to meet their needs every single day for the rest of their lives. I thank the government for pursuing this legislation, I thank all my colleagues for their great work in committee and I look forward to these bills' passage through this house, their proclamation and their coming into life.