MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Dr REID (Robertson) (16:04): Before anything else, I want to say something that should never need qualification or explanation. To every Australian who has worn the uniform of this nation: Thank you. Thank you for your service, thank you for the sacrifices that you and your families have made, and thank you for accepting a responsibility that very few of us will ever be asked to carry.
When a person raises their hand and swears an oath to serve Australia, they do something that is quite extraordinary. They place the interests of their country and the interests of their fellow Australians alongside but more often ahead of their own. We owe them our gratitude, and we owe them more than gratitude expressed in ceremonial occasions.
We owe them our respect and our remembrance, and we owe them a commitment that when their service is completed they will never be forgotten. Every veteran has a story, some who served in times of war and conflict and others in times of peace. Some spent years away from home, and others carried responsibilities that may never be fully understood by those of us who did not wear the uniform and who did not serve.
But they share something important, and that is that they answered the call to service. Their families also served. They carried the uncertainty of separation.
They carried the worry of deployment and the challenges that come with a life of service, and they also deserve our thanks. Australia has been fortunate to have generations of men and women willing to stand in defence of our country and of our values. We should be grateful for that service, and we should never allow gratitude to become simply a word that we constantly repeat.
Our veterans should know that their country remembers what they gave, respects what they did and values the contribution they continue to make for Australia and for their local communities. I want to briefly talk about some of that local support that our government has provided to our veteran community, particularly on the Central Coast. And when I make reference to the Central Coast I talk about the electorate of Robertson in the south, the electorate of Dobell in the north and also the bottom third of the electorate of Shortland.
One example of that support from this government has been the Building Excellence in Support and Training funding, or the BEST funding. This program supports those ESOs, ex-service organisations, to deliver free compensation and wellbeing advocacy services, and there are some amazing organisations on the Central Coast that provide this service. Recently, in the 2026 funding round for BEST funding, we saw that the Central Coast New South Wales Legacy received funding, as did the Vietnam Veterans Peacekeepers and Peacemakers Association of Australia Central Coast Sub-Branch, who do amazing work for our Vietnam veterans, amazing work for our peacekeepers and peacemakers on the Central Coast.
More broadly, our government has increased the TPI pension and tripled the GP veteran access payment. It's so important that our veterans can access primary care where they are, when they need it. We've boosted veteran home care and improved access to crisis support.
But one thing I'm particularly proud of and that I know the member for Dobell is also particularly proud of is the Veterans' and Families' Hubs that have opened across Australia, including the one that opened on the Central Coast in the electorate of Dobell, in the suburb of Wyong. So really this government is providing support to our veteran community. But I think it is also important that we provide our thanks, that we provide our gratitude for those who have served our nation and who have served their local communities in times of war and conflict as well as in times of peace.