CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr GOSLING (Solomon) (10:03): I want to acknowledge the NT veterans and families art exhibition, which is showing right now at Darwin Visual Arts. Veteran artist Robby McKenzie has put the exhibition together. He's done an incredible job.
He's an absolute champion. Robby is working with Kat Baldwin, who runs ANVAM, the Australian National Veterans Art Museum, which provides connection points through the arts for our nation's veterans. I want to thank ANVAM in advance for their support of Robby up in the north for FOVA, the Festival of Veterans Art, which will be held next March, including in Darwin.
Another champion is the Darwin veteran artist who wrote a poem as a reflective piece after reading submissions to my old mate Hocks's Afghan taskforce. This artist wanted to give those veterans and family members a voice. The poem is called 'The Anxiety in Me' and was penned for all veterans by this particular veteran.
The way my thoughts storm my mind like a tornado swirling, twirling and thundering … … It's the anxiety in me … The way my body responds to sudden movements and noises in public places … … It's the anxiety in me … The way I wake in a sudden state of fear thinking, knowing, feeling something brewing … … It's the anxiety in me … The way my brain loses concentration in conversation … It's the anxiety in me … Like a thief in the night this anxiety in me is robbing the life inside of me … Then suddenly out of nowhere that tornado emerges and a flood of memories flash before my eyes I see and hear the ships, the guns, the rushing, the yelling, the orders … and then … then the Silence … … that was the life inside of me … The service to my country … The sacrifices given … The days, weeks, months and years spent apart from loved ones … … that was the life inside of me.
"Move don't think, just do," becomes the mantra replacing thinking and feeling. My eyes saw the Darkness and my ears heard the screams so you didn't have to … My body held the wounded and found the lost so you didn't have to … The flag is flying freely because I Pledged to protect it so you didn't have to … That was the life inside of me. And when the dust settles and my feet return to home soil who will bear the darkness and anxiety so I don't have to …?
Who will stand in the gap and say Theres life coming back into you now … Who will hold me and answer when my anxiety screams at me Who will stand up and say no it's not your anxiety but instead say it's OUR PTSD in all of us. Don't fight alone! That's a very powerful reminder from this veteran artist about our need and our collective duty to our veterans.