MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Ms LAWRENCE (Hasluck) (16:35): Let me start by thanking the veterans and the RSLs serving the veterans in Hasluck at Ellenbrook, Bassendean and Bellevue and also the families, the volunteers, the committee members and the advocates who give so much of themselves to support those who have served. They understand better than most that supporting veterans is not something we only do a few days of the year.
I've spoken previously in this House about my own service in the Army Reserve. I have always been careful not to overstate that experience. Compared to those who have deployed, served overseas or faced conflict, my experience was very limited, but it gave me an appreciation for the culture of service.
It taught me about duty, it taught me about teamwork and it taught me that military service affects not only the individual who wears the uniform but entire families and communities. It's always easy for people to remember just the Anzacs, but the veterans of today are those who served more recently, in conflicts such as Vietnam—the nashos—the gulf and Afghanistan, and those peacekeepers, as well as those who have served in disasters here at home.
Next week, I will join with the ADF for parliamentary exchange, as I have done before, and in September I will host my fourth ADF intern. I carry their stories and their perspectives into my work. One of the first stories I told in this parliament was about a veteran from the Perth Hills—a 30-year-old veteran, a man whose body was riddled with shrapnel, a man who was physically and mentally broken, a man who asked me why he could not access the support he needed.
That story has stayed with me because it captures what this debate should really be about. Under Minister Matt Keogh, the government has implemented 32 royal commission recommendations already, with two-thirds now expected to be completed by the year's end. He has consolidated the VETS act in the biggest reform in a century.
He has committed more than $770 million in additional funding to support the implementation of these royal commission recommendations. He has invested hundreds of additional staff in DVA to reduce the claims backlogs and improve decision-making times. He has improved treatment and rehabilitation pathways for veterans through a wellbeing focused approach.
He has increased support for mental health interventions for earlier access to care. He has established consultation mechanisms to strengthen veterans advocacy. He has made the largest investment in allied health fees for veterans in more than two decades, and there's a lot more.
Are these reforms complete? No. Is more work required?
Absolutely. But, unlike those opposite, we are getting on to do the work. The member for Riverina's MPI is strident, but I find myself asking a simple question: if they were so important, why didn't the coalition do them when they had the chance?
They were in government for almost a decade. They left a backlog of 42,000 claims. They could have increased DVA staffing and reduced the claims backlog years earlier.
They didn't. They could have driven cultural reform within Veterans' Affairs years earlier, and they didn't. They could have expanded wraparound support services for veterans and families years earlier.
They didn't. They could have acted on longstanding concerns from veterans about delays and bureaucracies years earlier. They didn't.
They could have embraced a prevention and wellbeing approach to veteran support years earlier. They didn't. Instead, many veterans spent years battling a system that too often treated them like a problem to be managed rather than Australians to be supported.
Supporting veterans should never be partisan. Every member of this House owes a debt to those who have worn Australia's uniform. It's a debt we can never fully repay, as those who serve write us a blank cheque when they put on that uniform, and every government carries the responsibility to try to work to repay that debt through practical action.
To the veterans of Hasluck, to the members of my Bassendean, Ellenbrook and Bellevue RSLs, and to veterans right across Australia, I say this: your service is valued. Your voices are absolutely important; the consultation process is open, and they will be heard there. This government remains committed to ensuring you get the support you have earned and to ensuring that it's actually delivered.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Boyce ): The discussion is now concluded.