Radio Interview, ABC Melbourne

SUBJECTS: Veteran’s Affairs. CHARLIE PICKERING, HOST : The Assistant Minister for Defence, Peter Khalil. Good afternoon.

PETER KHALIL, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR DEFENCE G' day, Charlie. : Welcome. You're not just the Assistant Minister for Defence, you're the local member here. : I am and my office is just up the road, and I spend a fair bit of time at the Coburg RSL, and you know why? It's a fantastic place.

Actually, of all the RSLs that I've been to around the country, this one's special because what they've done here is really remarkable. There's no pokies. It's a community-focused RSL.

You can see from the crowd that we've got here today. People come here for community, to get together for social occasions. Michael Pianta, who's done a terrific job with his committee to make this work.

It's really a special place. Now, I want to ask you a question. : Are you a disco person, a Motown person or a soul person? : Oh, I'm a soul person of the three. : Because the Avenue Ensemble plays some gigs here. Michael's laughing at me at this, but I've got two mates who play on the band, so I'm a bit biased.

They are doing the spooky Halloween show here on the 31st of October. I'm going to dress up. : You could. I could.

I saw you as a disco person, maybe wearing the Bee Gees - : But anyway. : Well, I mean, I can look. I'll get in on anything. If the band is good, I'll be on the dance floor. : They're pretty good. : Well, that sounds wonderful.

Let's talk though, about, you know, more serious issues, but hopefully not in the most serious way. Let's talk about the issues that face veterans in this country returning, you know, returning from. From war, you know.

From service overseas often bring a lot of health and psychological issues as well. But there's issues just fitting in and finding a path when they get back. : Yeah, I think each veteran is different, each individual is different, but there's common threads that they share as far as their experiences and also the difficulties that they face in transitioning back to civilian life.

Employment, mental health issues, challenges, PTSD. There's a whole range of issues, and I think, starting first principles, Charlie, people who put on the uniform, they're making a commitment to defend Australia, defend our way of life and protect what we hold to be precious in this country. And they're putting themselves on the front line, literally.

I mean, the job itself is a dangerous job by its very nature, and because they're making that sacrifice and that commitment and many- we've had over 100,000 Australians die, you know, in wars and in conflicts over a century, but many come back with a lot of wounds, both physical and mental. And I think from our perspective, the government, the community, has this responsibility to put in place whatever supports are necessary to help young veterans to readjust.

Now, there are old veterans here; there are younger veterans here. What's good about this RSL, too, is you're getting a lot of younger veterans coming back to the RSL and seeing the RSL as a place to meet and be part of a community. But government has a responsibility around, you know, support for mental health issues, Allied Health, employment services, helping veterans transition into different jobs and civilian life.

And the Department of Veterans’ Affairs really carries that load as far as the Federal Government. : So, as you say, there's the Department of Veterans' Affairs, your Assistant Minister for Defence, but obviously working hand in hand. What is there for that transition from one portfolio to the other? Is it.

Is there a gap there for people who. They're in the services and all of a sudden they're Veterans' Affairs? How well do the departments work together? : Well, there's a question around bureaucracies working together.

So, the obvious answer is sometimes there are challenges, but I think the programs that are put in place are really important. So, there are programs around employment, transitional employment opportunities and how to get people back into civilian employment. There are programs around home care.

There are, Open Arms is a kind of a free, confidential counselling service to deal with issues that veterans might have. There are Allied Health services. We've just invested another $170 million in additional Allied health services.

There's a whole range of programs. There's obviously a lot of controversy around the DVA as well. Veterans would know this because there's been difficulties with bureaucracy in the past.

There's been a huge backlog of issues and cases for veterans to deal with. We've tried to get through them as quickly as possible by increasing resources, and there's always going to be challenges in that space. Fundamentally, the services that are there for the veterans are to help them reintegrate into civilian life. : If you ask any voter in Australia, they'd say that looking after our soldiers is about as high a priority as we could have, but when the rubber meets the road, it's not always the case.

Could you explain why the government caps Allied Health spending for veterans? Why, if veterans are in need, why is there a cap? : Yeah, that's a good question. You're getting a few claps on this because this has been quite controversial.

So, let me dispel a couple of myths about the capping, which is an unfortunate word that I think that was used, and it's been. I think it belies actually what's happened. The government's actually added $170 million to Allied Health Services.

The cap, as you call it, is $5,000 per annum. However, if there are veterans who are spending more than $5,000 on Allied Health services, whether it's physiotherapy or, you know, exercise kinesiology or whatever it might be, whatever Allied Health service, and that they have certain acute needs, they're exempt from that. Most people are not going to get to the $5,000 mark.

In fact, 90 per cent don't spend $5,000 a year. There are some providers that are charging exorbitant fees for some of these Allied Health services. So, this is part of the reason to try and flush that out so we can spend more on the veterans.

And that includes the reform also includes not having to go to the GP every single time you need a reference to go to Allied Health. So, instead of if you want to go to the physio every week, you don't have to go to the GP to constantly get that referral. You can keep going to the physio or your rehab or whatever it might be and use those dollars directly on the Allied Health Service. : But do you think having that limit, and having that limit known, that $5,000 limit discourages people?

I know a lot of people; they're budgeting, money is tight, and they think, all right, I might not seek those services because I'm going to save it when I really need it. : Well, no, I don't think so. Because if you look at your program, if you're going to be spending, you know, close to $5,000, it's usually because you have acute needs and you'd be having a medical reason for doing that, and you're exempt from.

You could spend way more than $5,000. People post-surgery, for example. Have certain Allied Health needs for a year that may get them over the 5,000.

They have a significant medical reason why they would go above the $5,000. As I said, I think 80 or 90 per cent don't ever get anywhere near $5,000 a year. : One of the other issues surrounding servicemen and women who come home is homelessness. I know there's a lot of return service members who.

They consider themselves a burden on their family. The scars that they bring back, both physical and mental, they don't want to put that on their family. As well, and they end up sleeping rough on the street.

Stories like that, when I read them, make me think we've got a problem with how we handle this. Are we actually, as a country, doing a good enough job of welcoming people home and supporting them? : There's a yes and no to that answer. I think the intent for us is there.

We are; all of us have the intent to look after veterans when they've done their service, and particularly those who have needs, like you mentioned, or homelessness is an issue. I think the difficulty is, the challenge is when we are not meeting those needs. Homelessness is a particularly problematic issue, particularly with veterans.

It's wrapped up in some of the things that you mentioned, but also PTSD and other mental health issues that may arise. But even not so, there's been a concerted effort to invest in housing for veterans, particularly to reduce the homelessness numbers of veterans. That's been quite significant over the last couple of years.

Homelessness is a broader issue in Australia as well, which we're tackling, but for veterans, it goes back to the experience that they had and how that plays out when they come home and then not have a home. We've tried to provide some of that housing for them in those circumstances, even transitional, to get them back on their feet. : I'm really glad you could take the time to talk with us this afternoon.

We obviously barely scratched the surface of the important issues facing those that serve us both here and abroad and the lives that they face when they come home. We appreciate your time. I would love you to come back on Drive and talk about it some more in the future. : I'd love to, Charlie, as long as you come to this spooky Halloween night of Coburg RSL and wear a Bee Gees outfit. : All right, that sounds like the Bee Gees outfit might be a bridge too far.

But, you know, if I must don the uniform to serve, then maybe I will. Thank you very much, Assistant Minister for Defence Peter Khalil. Thanks for joining us this afternoon.