Doorstop with Member for Curtin, Kate Chaney

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP WITH MEMBER FOR CURTIN, KATE CHANEY
LEIGHTON BATTERY, MOSMAN PARK, WA
SATURDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2023

SUBJECTS: Saluting their Service Grant Announcement, Veteran Mental Health Support

KATE CHANEY, MEMBER FOR CURTIN: Yes, it's very exciting to be here today to celebrate the Leighton Battery’s heritage project. The Western Suburbs has played a key role in the defence of Australia for many, many years from the Leighton Battery that was here in World War Two, and after that, right through to Campbell and Irwin Barracks in Curtin playing their role today. And it's thanks to volunteer organisations like, the Royal Australian Artillery, Heritage Society, that we actually can commemorate these important parts of our military heritage. And great thanks to the volunteers who have made this possible and put together that 5.25 inch gun project. I really look forward to coming and seeing the tour and being part of remembering the amazing role that the Western Suburbs has played in the Australian Defence history.

MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS, MATT KEOGH: Well, thanks, Kate, it's great to be here with you, here in Mosman Park, with the Royal Australian Artillery, Historical Society here at the Leighton Battery. When we say the words “lest we forget” at the end of the Ode of Remembrance, they mean something. They are about all Australians across the country, remembering those that have served, remembering those that have made the ultimate sacrifice, but all that have put on the Australian Defence uniform and have served our country. And the Saluting their Service grants are about making sure that we continue to remember all those that have served not just on our important days of remembrance, like Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, but on every day of the year and throughout our lives, and the Saluting their Service grants enable that, not just by the creation of memorials, and commemoration parks, but also by supporting the museums and the historical sites that enable us to bring to life today Australia's military service from right back at the beginning of Federation all the way through to today, and sites like this here at the Leighton battery are an important way for people to learn about that military heritage, that history, the way in which people served our nation here from the Second World War, and afterwards. And so we have, today we're announcing the grant recipients through the Saluting Their Service grants for 2023 – 24, round one, there are $750,000 worth of grants that are going out through this round across the country. And here in Western Australia, a significant number of recipients and nearly $300,000 of grants coming to organisations in Western Australia to support the commemoration and the recognition of service to our nation. And that ranges from large projects like this, to the memorial to the Battle of Crete, that will be in Perth, at $150,000, all the way down to Campbell Primary School, which will be receiving just under $500 for the creation of a mural on a wall to commemorate the service of our nurses through involvement through our wars. But right here at Leighton, we've had a number of batteries in guns over different types. And they have been expanding on this site making it available for the public to see since the 1980s. And that work, the tireless work of volunteers over such a long period of time continues through to today, where they are moving on now to the 5.25 inch gun display area, which is around where the gun is situated. But importantly, the tunnels and the rooms underneath it, enabling them to become a display area to highlight the work that our personnel did there. The way in which the entire Western Suburbs of Perth were engaged in the war effort, and afterwards, in defending our nation, and the way in which across the country and across the state, including the northwest of Western Australia, the different engagements that we had during the Second World War, so that people can come here, can see how their local community was affected, see maybe where relatives signed up from, to understand how the war touched upon all different aspects of communities here in Western Australia. And we're very glad to be supporting the Leighton Battery with a grant of $125,000 to enable them to the next phase of that project. And I'll let Graham here say a few words about how that project is going to unfold.

GRAHAM MCKENZIE SMITH, VICE PRESIDENT, RAA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Thank you Matt, essentially, the 5.25 project is to reach the stages of developing the underground sites and underground rooms to reflect a lot of the themes that Matt has covered there. Covering the Volunteer Defence Corps and their role in the defence of Western Australia, covering the day after operation of the 5.25 gun post war, and the Western Suburbs at war, and also mentioned the North-west, and the about 113 defence heritage sites around the Perth metro area. And so it's a very exciting project, which we're looking forward to now by bringing to fruition with this grant from the Saluting their Service Grants. And so I'd invite you, you all to come here on a Sunday, but tours are on every Sunday from 10 to 3, and you can have a good look around the tunnels and learn exactly what we're trying to do with the site. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

JOURNALIST: So this site I guess has been brought back to life for decades now, how does it feel to know that you've received quite a sizable amount of funding to take that transformation to new levels?

GRAHAM: It’s felt really good. In the dedicated group of volunteers have been developing the site, we concentrated on the 6 inch site, the tunnels, getting those up and running. And it's taken a few years, but now we're getting help from the Town of Mosman Park and Lotterywest earlier on and now the Saluting their Service grants, we should be able to bring the 5.25 project to conclusion, and so, touch wood, you come back in 12 months’ time and you should be able to see the fruits of the of the job. 

JOURNALIST: And you're all volunteers helping to bring this site back to life. What does it mean for you to do that to put it on display for generations to come?

GRAHAM: It feels really good to be able to demonstrate to the people who haven't been affected by war, the younger generations. Make them, allow them, to realise what happened here during the war and post war and to commemorate the service of servicemen who have been wearing uniforms for a long time. 

JOURNALIST: What inspired you to get involved? 

GRAHAM: I've had an interest in military history for a long while, ex-army engineer. And I got involved here too, as part of getting letting people know what went on during the war. Any other questions?

JOURNALIST: You said this would take 12 months, talk us through the process from here.

GRAHAM: Essentially, the process from here is we've got some construction work to finish downstairs and so that, including making it waterproof, and, and then we have, we'll be working with multistorey, one of the museum designers to prepare the actual displays that will be down there. We've got a firm idea as to what the displays will be. But we'll need some professional assistance from them to do the actual design to make it really come to life. 

JOURNALIST: Are they a secret? 

GRAHAM: No, not, not to this stage but they, as I said, there'll be a range of displays down here of covering the volunteer Defence corps, in the Western suburbs, in the northwest, and the heritage sites, which is a particularly sort of passion of mine, letting people know sort of what was going on around Perth during the war.

JOURNALIST: There’s a Veterans' mental health walk in Darwin today. Can you speak about the importance of community events raising awareness?

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly, we've seen across many years now, that mental health of veterans is a very important issue that ties into why we're having a Royal Commission into Defence and veteran suicide right now. But we have seen for decades the importance of supporting our veterans that need mental health assistance, having anything like the walk in Darwin, that brings attention to that issue, gets people to support veterans that might be experiencing mental ill health is really important. It's something that our Government is very committed to. It's why we always say to any veteran or family member, or Defence service member that requires assistance or help to please reach out to Open Arms on 1800 011 046 to make sure that they can get the assistance and support that they require, 24 hours a day. 

JOURNALIST: The Chair of that Royal Commission that came out to say the issues raised in that Royal Commission were not being taken seriously enough.

MINISTER KEOGH: Well I was very pleased to be able to be, as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, able to receive the interim report from the Royal Commission, and within a month be out with the government's formal response to that, those 13 recommendations of the interim report. And as a government, we've moved on all of those recommendations, we've already implemented a number of the recommendations from the interim report, we called for the Royal Commission when we were in Opposition, because we could see the very important issue that needed to be confronted. The rate of suicide in our veteran community is a national tragedy. And we very much look forward to receiving the final report from the Royal Commission in the middle of next year. So as a Government, we can respond to that and get on with making the changes that may be necessary to make sure that our Defence personnel, veterans and families are properly supported and getting the support and service that they need and deserve. 

JOURNALIST: Is meeting those recommendations enough? 

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, we're always looking to make sure that we're providing the best service and support to our veterans. And I'm very happy to be able to say that since the backlog of claims within DVA peaked in September, just after we came to Government, they've now reduced to be under 26,000. That's a reduction of over a third of the claims that were in the backlog. And we're continuing to work on getting through that backlog as soon as possible. That's why we've engaged over 400 additional staff into the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and we're employing more right now because we do see that this is an important issue that needs to be dealt with, and we're continuing to take action. We're also working on the joined up Defence and Veteran Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy right now. We've just released our Veterans’ Transition Strategy to support personnel as they leave service in Defence and re-enter the civilian workforce. And we're working on our Defence and Veteran Family Support Strategy, as well, recognising the crucial role that family plays in supporting our Defence serving members and veterans once they leave service and re-enter civilian life. We're looking at this holistically, we are taking the steps necessary now. There is no doubt more needs to be done. And that's why we look forward to receiving the recommendations from the Royal Commission when we get them in the middle of next year.

END

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling provides 24/7 free confidential crisis support for current and ex-serving ADF personnel and their families on 1800 011 046 or the Open Arms website. Safe Zone Support provides anonymous counselling on 1800 142 072. Defence All-Hours Support Line provides support for ADF personnel on 1800 628 036 or the Defence Health Portal. Defence Member and Family Helpline provides support for Defence families on 1800 624 608