Television interview, ABC News Afternoon Briefing with Greg Jennett

E&OE transcript
Television Interview
ABC News Afternoon Briefing

GREG JENNETT: The year-long Royal Commission into the tragedy of Defence and veterans’ suicide in this country is starting to click into gear now with the Government. It’s released its formal response to the Commission’s interim recommendations. That happened with a statement to the House today by the Veterans Affairs Minister, Matt Keogh, and he joins us in the studio.

Welcome back, Minister. I think last time you were here you just had the Interim Report in your hands and sort of gave an on‑the‑fly response – today a more considered one. Starting out with a general observation, you, you know, in a very significant place, the Chamber, actually repeated the “s-word" and said sorry today. Is that a formal apology? Was that the intent behind the construction of that message today?

MATT KEOGH: It absolutely was because what we’ve seen in the conduct of the Royal Commission, the evidence that’s come forward and certainly the Interim Report, is that things in Defence, the DVA, the experiences that our veterans, our serving personnel, their families have had have not met the mark. They have not been what they should have been able to expect and that they deserved, and for that we’re sorry. And we recognise that that’s been an issue that’s been occurring over many years, many governments, different colours of government. We’re not trying to point fingers at who was responsible for what, but we do acknowledge that things have gone wrong and that because of that, the people who have suffered that deserve an apology, and I’ve given that today as part of the presentation of our response to the Interim Report in Parliament today.

GREG JENNETT: Okay. So, now the task of righting some wrongs and trying to prevent them from reoccurring falls to you and the Government. When we look at some of the responses, though, they’re a little non-specific with some soft language. For instance, Recommendation 1, which is holus-bolus to tidy up the patchwork of arrangements and laws that govern veteran compensation. You support it or you agree with it, but funding will be considered in the context of budgetary processes and fiscal restraints; timing will be based on an evaluation of what’s politically possible. It sounds a bit on the never‑never.

MATT KEOGH: It’s certainly something that we are getting into right now, but what the Royal Commission has delivered there in recommendation 1 is saying, “Look, we saw a body of work done by the Productivity Commission but understand that what the Productivity Commission recommended was not wholly supported across the veterans and Defence personnel sector, but government you do need to simplify and harmonise that legislation”, and we completely accept that.

The Royal Commission has set out a bit of a proposed time line for how that could be approached and we’re looking at doing that, but we’ve also got to fit it in with the ordinary budget process. That’s important because the Royal Commission also identifies that part of the issue that’s been coming up here is that DVA has not been appropriately funded and resourced over time, and so we don’t want to disconnect those two processes. And because there has been concern from sectors around elements of what the Productivity Commission recommended, it’s going to necessarily require consultation on what we move forward with, which is why we’ve said we will announce in the timeframe there around a pathway forward to get on with that harmonisation and simplification.

GREG JENNETT: It’s a major piece of work, obviously, but are we right to assume it could be done in the life of this Parliament or is this a multi-term project?

MATT KEOGH: Certainly something I would like to see that we can do, and we’ve got to see what sort of feedback we get in that consultation process, but as the Royal Commission has identified this is something that’s been long called for. Work hasn’t happened on this at all by any previous governments. We have said that we will get on with this task and that’s what we’re doing.

GREG JENNETT: And can that all be done, you know, within the Department that you currently have or are you going to have to go back through a process that’s happened multiple times, engaging external consultants? I mean, what’s the starting position here – that you already have a map and a concept of how you want to put it on?

MATT KEOGH: So, the starting position, as the Royal Commission outlines, is the work that the Productivity Commission did. As I said, there has been feedback that some of those things might not be the best way to go forward. We’re looking at how we can take that as a base position, look at what we think we can move forward with and consult broadly with ex‑service organisations, with the veterans’ community broadly, Defence families, veterans' families, serving personnel, the Defence Department, DVA, all the relevant stakeholders, people that are involved in even challenging DVA decisions and the lawyers that are involved in these compensation claim programs to make sure that we get the best input into a new system moving forward that is simpler to understand and works more efficiently in the interests of veterans.

GREG JENNETT: Okay. So, you’ve already said that you are going to be growing the Department itself by five hundred. How many have actually been recruited of that number?

MATT KEOGH: Yeah, so we've only just started this recruitment process, so we’re growing in the tens at the moment, but we have to obviously ramp that up into the hundreds, so if anyone is looking for work in helping veterans, then I really strongly encourage them to apply for one of these roles in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. We’re clear it is a constrained employment market at the moment. That is a constraint. But we want to get these people on as soon as possible so we can get through these claims as quickly as possible.

GREG JENNETT: That’s fully budgeted for already, is it?

MATT KEOGH: Yeah, and that was an election commitment that we took to the last election because we saw this was an issue even before the election that we need to get through this backlog, and that’s why we committed back then to bringing on the five hundred additional staff, and the Royal Commission has recognised that’s a problem as well.

GREG JENNETT: That’s one you can commit to in this current term – that you can do in two and a half years?

MATT KEOGH: Absolutely. The Royal Commission has said that they would like to see that backlog removed by March of 2024. We think we should be able to do it by the end of 2023, and that’s certainly what we’re aiming to do.

GREG JENNETT: All right. What lies next in this process as far as your interactions with the Royal Commission itself because these are your responses to the interim recommendations - what comes next?

MATT KEOGH: So, these recommendations largely deal with claims processing and the interface of veterans with Department of Veterans’ Affairs. There’s some administrative matters around the Royal Commission and also access to information for families about their loved ones who have taken their own life. The Royal Commission has said in its Interim Report that it sees most of the work around how Defence operates as being the subject of the final report, and there will be no doubt much further evidence that it will be gathering from DVA and Defence and from others externally that go into those recommendations that will come in the final report in a couple of years’ time.

GREG JENNETT: And Defence is poised to act on those, pending that final report?

MATT KEOGH: Obviously we need to see what the final report says, but there’s a taskforce within Defence which is focused on supporting this Royal Commission, making sure it gets the information it needs and then looking at how we can respond to further recommendations that will come.

GREG JENNETT: Another one, just finally, Matt Keogh, because we get a lot of viewer feedback on this, particularly when we talk to you – the Australian War Memorial; it’s in your portfolio. You’ve got a budget coming up. We know that you had a little blow‑out, well, if $50 million is a small blow‑out earlier this year. Has there been any additional request for funding in the October Budget for the rebuild project that’s going on there?

MATT KEOGH: No.

GREG JENNETT: Nothing. So, the five hundred and fifty is still the current – 

MATT KEOGH: So, that’s the envelope that the War Memorial is working at the moment.

GREG JENNETT: Alright, no, thanks for clarifying that. It is one that excites a bit of attention, I think, in the veterans’ community. Matt Keogh, thanks for your time today and a big body of work to get on with.

MATT KEOGH: Thanks very much, Greg.

GREG JENNETT: Cheers.

END

Authorised by The Hon Matt Keogh MP

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