Press conference - Veterans’ and Families’ Hub Funding Announcement; Cost of Living; Caucus Meeting in Canberra; Stage Three Tax Cuts

PRESS CONFERENCE
QUEANBEYAN, NSW
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TUESDAY, 23 JANUARY 2024
 

SUBJECTS: Veterans’ and Families’ Hub Funding Announcement; Cost of Living; Caucus Meeting in Canberra; Stage Three Tax Cuts

MEMBER FOR EDEN-MONARO, KRISTY MCBAIN: Well good morning. It is so exciting to be here this morning at Queanbeyan sub-branch of the RSL and I'm joined with my ministerial colleague and Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, Matt Keogh, along with RSL LifeCare, and as I said, the RSL Queanbeyan sub-branch for a very exciting announcement. During the election campaign in 2022, we made a commitment for a Veterans’ Wellbeing Hub in Queanbeyan. We know that there are veterans right across Eden-Monaro, people who come from Canberra who want to do veterans’ activities within our region because of the friendship and the circle of people that they know in this facility and this region. It is an incredibly important announcement today, as we take the next step in making that Veterans’ Wellbeing Hub in Queanbeyan a reality.
  
MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL, MATT KEOGH: 
Thanks Kristy, it's great to be here with you today. You know, you are such a huge advocate for your region and veterans in this region in particular, and indeed, one of the first events that I did, as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs was out here with you just down the road, meeting with local veterans to talk to them about what sort of services they wanted to see delivered out of the Veterans’ and Families’ Hub, in this town and in this region to make sure we're delivering on our election commitments. And that's why I'm so proud today to be able to officially announce a $5.445 million grant to RSL LifeCare Veteran Services, delivering on our election commitment for them to develop a Veterans’ and Families’ Hub here in Queanbeyan. Now this Hub will not just service the people of Queanbeyan, and the veterans and families here but it will service the veterans and families across the Queanbeyan region across New South Wales here and in the ACT providing and coordinating services for some 26,000 veterans and families. This is part of our election commitment to deliver 10 Veterans and Families Hubs across the country into the areas where we have the highest concentrations of veterans across the country making sure that we're delivering the services that they need and they deserve. It's why Kristy and I did that consultation with the local veteran community here. It's why RSL New South Wales through its sub branch network and RSL LifeCare Veteran Services have been coordinating with lots of other ex-service organisations and veteran service groups across the region to make sure that we're providing the services that coordinate care that veterans need: access to health care, access to advocacy services, employment services, being able to connect to social connection services and programs, which are vitally important. And this Veterans’ and Families’ Hub here in Queanbeyan will be a Hub as part of a hub-and-spoke model connecting to 10 RSL sub-branches across the Queanbeyan region and the ACT providing outreach services to those veterans and their families. And we know family is vitally important because families are quite often first responders, to our veterans that may be in need. And it can be families reaching out for a service, accessing the services available in places like a Veterans’ and Families’ Hub; that can be the first point of connection for that family and enable a veteran to come and access the services and support that they need as well. So I'm very proud to be here with Kristy McBain as a local member delivering now a grant with $5.445 million to RSL LifeCare Veteran Services to develop the Veterans’ and Families’ Hub here in Queanbeyan to support veterans and families across the region. And I'm now going to head over to Dave Anderson from RSL LifeCare to say a bit more about the Hub development programs that they’ll be delivering. Thank you.

RSL LIFECARE VETERAN SERVICES EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER, DAVID ANDERSON: Thank you Minister, and I would like to thank the Federal Government as well on behalf of RSL LifeCare for this wonderful opportunity to establish a Veterans’ and Families’ Hub in in Queanbeyan, and in fact, in this building, which is very, very exciting. As the Minister said, these services will be provided to not just people within the Queanbeyan region but across the ACT as well. We look very much forward to working with our partner RSL New South Wales to bolster the sub-branch network that will create a hub-and-spoke model for delivery of these holistic services across this region. And I'd also just like to acknowledge RSL ACT as well who will be part of this process in bringing this all together. This will work very, very well in terms of delivering services to not just veterans but their families as well. And that's something that we already do within the now five Hubs that we currently have established. And we look forward to expanding these as well. I'd really like to take the opportunity to introduce Mick Bainbridge, the President of RSL New South Wales to say a few words as well.

RSL NSW PRESIDENT, MICK BAINBRIDGE: Thanks Minister, thanks Dave. As you're aware, the $5 million grant from the Government is imperative these hub-and-spoke model setups for these Hubs for veterans and their families to access free services; they’re one stop shops. You might not know but RSL New South Wales donated $3.3 million to this same cause and RSL LifeCare who with Dave are continuing to carry out a fantastic job that really is the pinnacle of us moving towards better engagement with veterans and their families. If we grab these veterans early, we can make sure that they've got the appropriate care and access to services, which is a fantastic thing for RSL New South Wales, so thank you.

MINISTER KEOGH: Any questions at all?

JOURNALIST: Minister firstly, thank you for your announcement today. You mentioned that there'll be 10 Hubs that you aim to establish across the country. Is Queanbeyan the first cab off the rank in that plan? And how did you come up with this plan? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So, we've developed the plan for the ten Hubs that we're rolling out, which we committed to at the last election, based on looking at where was the greatest need. We saw, certainly the need for greater coordination of services and access to services, like providing a one stop shop, either being able to access services directly in the Hub or being referred to a service provider making sure veterans are getting connected to what they need. Queanbeyan and the surrounding region here and the ACT has a huge concentration of veterans and families, some 26,000 veterans in the region. So, making sure we had a Hub here was vitally important, and we've been hearing that need. Kristy’s been talking about this, since we were in opposition about the need to make sure we're supporting the veterans in the region here. And so that's what made it part of our commitment to 10 Hubs around the country. All of these Hubs are different. They're meeting different needs the needs of veterans in this Queanbeyan region and the ACT are different to the needs of veterans in Rockingham in Western Australia, or to Darwin in the Northern Territory, or to Nowra in New South Wales. And so we're rolling those these 10 new Hubs out over the course of the next year making these announcements around who's going to be running these Hubs. And this is one of the first ones that we've been able to announce to be setting up as part of our 10. That's a great initiative to be supporting the 26,000 veterans in this region. 

JOURNALIST: Minister, can you talk us through some of the services that will be available to veterans at this Hub? 

MINISTER KEOGH: So broadly, what’s going to be available through this Hub will be access to and referral to healthcare providers, mental health care providers, employment services, connection to social connection programs, and it's really important for families and for veterans themselves. I'll let Dave talk a bit more about the specific organisations that they are partnering with and looking to work with to deliver those services specifically, and what will be here and what will be external referral. But that's what we’re seeing broadly at each of the Hubs is that mix of services that are available directly on site or as a close referral to make sure that veterans are connected to what they need. Because, we understand that there is a broad cross section of services out there to support veterans, but accessing them, knowing how to access them, where they are available, that is complex and difficult, that having a Hub that can provide that connection is really important as well.

DAVID ANDERSON: Thank you, Minister. Really our program and the model was based on a wellbeing program. So, we provide key services such as claims and advocacy support for veterans putting claims into the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, we have our wellbeing team who as the Minister said, refer veterans and families out to other organisations to provide that support, and other organisations that we've worked with closely, such as Open Arms, Invictus Australia, and a number of community organisations, as well. And really, that's what makes it work. We're also able to provide employment services for people and one of our most important programs is in fact, our homeless veterans program, which is a growing problem within Australia. And we are now really finding that it's not just supporting homeless people, but those who are at risk of homelessness as well. And so, they’re the broad range of services, but it's a very a much holistic, veteran centric approach.

JOURNALIST: How important are these facilities for our veteran communities?

DAVID ANDERSON: They're incredibly important because what it does is it take services and delivers them into the into the regions. And we've mentioned before about having a one stop shop. So, for a veteran to be able to actually come to a premises and have a range of services available to them in one location is incredibly beneficial. And the Minister mentioned the social connection situation as well, we're finding that with our Hubs that we have established, and especially in Nowra for example, veterans are coming to the Hub with their families. And these are people who may have previously been isolated and not wanting to come to something like this, but now their families are encouraging them to do so, and they've got access to these services.

JOURNALIST: What will be the community perception of having a facility like this in Queanbeyan, is this something that the community is really going to, I guess, get around and support?
 
DAVID ANDERSON: I believe so, the support that we had during the process of the application and writing the business case was very, very positive. It provides the opportunity for people to engage more broadly with the community at large. If I can draw from our experiences once again in Nowra and also the Riverina area, it's the community support that really makes this work. And it's been incredibly well received.

JOURNALIST: Do you think that perhaps, facilities like this have been needed for quite a long time? Is this perhaps something that's well overdue for the Queanbeyan area?

DAVID ANDERSON: Look, I think that everything takes time. And I think that in putting together this model, there's been a lot of consideration put into how to make it work and the locations that they go, and the best way to get those services out to a wider majority of people. So, we're really happy that these Hubs are now in process, and we can get these services underway.

JOURNALIST: And how many people will be able to visit this facility on a given day?

DAVID ANDERSON: Well, to give you some context, once again, our facilities in Nowra and Wagga over the past 12 months, we had 2500 people actually come through the center. So I would expect there to be similar numbers in this region. And at any one given moment in time we’ve got 50 People in the center, but we could have 80. So, it's a varying number. But once again, to build it up to those numbers, it takes a bit of time, but with local support and the assistance of the Government but also once again, this community connection, that's what will help bring more people into the centers. 

JOURNALIST: And do you know how many people will be employed at this facility once it's fully up and running and officially launched?

DAVID ANDERSON: So, the team itself comprises of four RSL LifeCare staff. But we've also been engaging with volunteers as well. So it's a situation with the volunteers can provide support to I guess, get veterans organised, we will get them welcomed into a center. And then our team can prepare paperwork and get them aligned with the right services. But the core team is four but they're also supported by a wider team of approximately 40 people at RSL LifeCare.

JOURNALIST: And what sort of input did the veterans community have in the design of this facility?

DAVID ANDERSON: So, we did a number of community consultations along the way, which has played a large part in it, and the facilities got three key areas. There's one which is like consulting or meeting rooms where people can have the confidential conversations and prepare their paperwork. The other is like a multifunction space where people can come in for one hour, they might be running and go fast, and then the next day has all the settings set up to hold a RSL sub branch meeting. And then there's that social connectivity space as well, where we will be having something like a kitchen or coffee drop in in and lots of tables and lots of areas where people can meet, they can connect. And as I said, what's happening now is more people are being drawn into these social connectivity activities. And it's going really well.

JOURNALIST: Thank you, David. We might grab a couple of comments from Minister McBain. Minister thank you once again for your time this morning. What have you been hearing from the Queanbeyan community in relation to I guess how much need there was for a facility like this?

KRISTY MCBAIN: Over the last three and a half years that I've spent in this role, I've met with a number of veterans groups with a number of individual veterans about some of the challenges, but also some of the opportunities that they want to see in that transition from the ADF back into the civilian world. And it became clear that there was obviously some challenges in getting some of the services that they were after. And they wanted to make sure that there was social connection points, connection points that were less about filling out the paperwork and more about connecting with likeminded people. So this opportunity that now exists in Queanbeyan, the Veterans’ Wellbeing Hub is going to be about doing all of those things. It is about social connection, it is about meeting people that are like minded, it is about speaking through experiences. And it is also about helping you delve through the myriad of paperwork that is sometimes required transitioning from the ADF into civilian life. So, I think we are really meeting the brief of what local veterans have talked to me about. And really interestingly, we've spoken to a number of veterans that live over a border, which you know, exists on a on a map, but for our community is pretty seamless. And they want to come to this place to Queanbeyan where they feel like they have real deep connections in the community with the other veterans and be able to connect more deeply here. So I think it is a big way not only for Eden-Monaro and the Queanbeyan region, but also be ACT, having this Hub here, more specifically.

JOURNALIST: Minister, we’d like to move on quickly to other matters, Labor Ministers and politicians are expected to meet tomorrow in relation to cost of living discussions, there's been talk that the minimum tax free threshold might be increased from around about the $18,000 mark where it currently sits, and that the tax cuts for those of roundabout earning $200,000 could be reduced, are those things very much on the table as these discussions are expected to kick off tomorrow?

KRISTY MCBAIN: Well Minister Keogh and I were already in town over the next couple of days for a range of Ministerial meetings. And I think it's important that you bring the entire Labor caucus together. We've now spent the last six to eight weeks in our communities listening to our constituents about a whole range of issues. And we know that the cost of living is biting. For the last 18 months, we've been focused on cost of living relief. And that included bring Parliament back in December 2022 to put a cap on coal and gas prices, which the Coalition at the time voted against. We have moved for cheaper childcare, cheaper electricity bills, cheaper medicines, we have tripled the bulk billing incentive, making it cheaper to see a doctor. We've got fee free taking places, more Commonwealth supported places at universities, there is obviously more to do in the space. And that is why Labor MPs are coming together to continue to talk about what we're hearing from our constituents and deliver more for our community. That's what you expect a good government to do. And that's exactly what we're doing.

JOURNALIST: Are Stage 3 tax cuts still very much on the table?

KRISTY MCBAIN: Stage 3 tax cuts are legislated. There’ll obviously be a range from discussions. But at this point they're legislated.

JOURNALIST: We'll leave it there I think, thanks very much everyone.

JOURNALIST: Sorry, can I just ask a question about how veterans from the ACT, will they be able to - I'm assuming the services sort of spread out nationally or will ACT veterans be able to tap into most of the services in New South Wales? 

KRISTY MCBAIN: Yeah, absolutely. Regardless of States and Territories, if you’re a veteran, you're able to access these services and supports. Having the Hub here in Queanbeyan is delivering not only on an election commitment but delivering the services where it's needed most and as you heard Minister Keogh say, more than 26,000 veterans across this region and their families. We want to make sure that this Hub provides services not only to Queanbeyan and the region, but to the ACT as well. There is no residency requirement; if you're a veteran and you need access to services to that social connection, you can get that here at the Queanbeyan Veteran Wellbeing Hub.

JOURNALIST: And how much of an uptake are you expecting? Obviously, I mean, you mentioned the 26,000 figure. Is that the is that the engagement that you're expecting?

KRISTY MCBAIN: Look, I think that there's probably someone better placed than me to answer that, but I think the important thing is we are delivering on a need that was identified by the veteran community themselves, they’ve said that they wanted that Hub in a place that they felt connected to. And the Queanbeyan region is one that most people have a connection to right across the veterans’ community. So, it's important that we place these Hubs where they're needed most, and this place has been identified as one of those regions.

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, to add to what Kristy pointed out, you know, there's 26,000 veterans and families across this region. Of course, we've got a number of significant Defence bases and offices across the region with Joint Operation Command and HMAS Harman. And obviously, the Russell headquarters and Campbell in Brindabella. So, supporting those serving members as well, is really important. Currently serving members can also access the Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs, as can their families. And that's an important part of this, but also situating the Hub here, but also having it operating in a hub-and-spoke way. So, connecting to 10 RSL sub-branches across the ACT and the Queanbeyan region in New South Wales to provide those outreach services as well. So, it's not just about people coming to the Hub, it's also about them being able to access services more locally as well. The two things working together is important. And we've seen that model being utilized in a few different locations where these Hubs are now, to make sure across, especially when we've got broader geographies, like Queanbeyan, that we're able to get those sorts of services connected as close to where veterans and families are as possible. Now, not every service is available at every sub-branch or in every locality. But making sure there's some way for a veteran to go to connect, be referred from, they may need to then come into the Hub or access another service or have those services go out to the sub-branches as well. That point of connection, knowing where to go and being able to access that is really important. So that hub-and-spoke model with the Hub here in Queanbeyan will connect really well with the sub-branches across the ACT and the Queanbeyan region in New South Wales. Thanks very much, everybody.

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