Radio interview – 6PR Mornings with Gary Adshead

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
6PR Perth
Mornings with Gary Adshead
Thursday, 10 August 2023

SUBJECTS: 60-day dispensing legislation, Voice to Parliament, Vietnam Veterans’ Day

GARY ADSHEAD: Good morning to you, gentlemen.

MINISTER KEOGH: Good morning.

ANDREW HASTIE: Good morning, Gary. I should let you know that Matt and I may be called away because we’ve just been told that divisions are imminent.

GARY ADSHEAD: Just on the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War that’s coming up next week, I know it’s obviously important to both of you. What can we expect to see unfold, and why is it important that the nation gets involved?

MINISTER KEOGH: So, Gary, this coming Friday is Vietnam Veterans’ Day, a traditional – and referred to previously as Long Tan Day, so it’s on the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, Australia’s biggest casualties during the Vietnam War in that battle. I’m sure many people are familiar with it.

There will be a national commemoration held here in Canberra at the Vietnam Memorial. I’ll be participating in those national commemorations, and we understand at this stage we’re looking at several thousand people attending those commemorations here in Canberra. But there will also be commemorations held in communities all around the country. I’m sure there’ll be one in Mandurah and there’ll one in Perth and they’ll be in all different towns and communities.

It's important because of the 50th anniversary this year of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and it’s doubly important because I think everyone who’s listening will be very well aware that there was a lot of political contention about Australia’s involvement in that war. But these commemorations aren’t about the politics; they’re not about the rights or wrongs about involvement in that conflict. What they are about is commemorating the lives lost, those that returned injured, whether mentally or physically, the families that have supported them. And we’re commemorating and thanking all of those people that put on the Australian uniform that fought under our flag. They did that with valour, and they should be respected and honoured for having done that. And particularly on this very significant 50th anniversary that we come together as a nation to do that on what was Long Tan Day and is now Vietnam Veterans’ Day, Friday next week.

GARY ADSHEAD: And, Andrew, I gather you would have met a lot of Vietnam vets over your time and, of course, through your service. And I also wonder whether, I mean, Afghanistan, the conflict that you were involved in, it ended in a way of saying we can’t win this or we can’t do anymore so we’re withdrawing, similar to Vietnam. Obviously the politics around it were much different.

ANDREW HASTIE: Yes. You know, look, it’s – we have a lot of Vietnam veterans in Western Australia. Matt was telling me there’s about 35,000 living veterans in this country and we have about 4,000 in Australia. It seems –

MINISTER KEOGH: WA.

ANDREW HASTIE: Did I say Australia?

MINISTER KEOGH: Yes.

ANDREW HASTIE: Sorry, in WA. There’s quite a concentration down in the Peel region actually, and so I’ve really enjoyed the fellowship of our Vietnam veterans over the last eight or so years as their representative. So I’ll be joining them in Mandurah for their celebration. But I think it’s really important as we reflect on the 50 years since the end of the war the way that a lot of our veterans were treated when they came home. They weren’t given respect like the First World War and Second World War diggers were. Many of them unfairly copped criticism from the Australian public.

And I think it was last week condolence motions were put for Simon Crean, the former Labor Leader before Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister. And he opposed the Iraq War, and as the soldiers were departing he actually said to them, “Look, I don’t support this war, but I a hundred per cent have your back.” And I was thinking to myself, you know, Simon Crean was a man who learned the lessons of Vietnam and the way many of our soldiers were treated unfairly. So I think it’s good to remember what happened to them and to honour them. Because a lot of them do carry the scars not just from war but from the way they were treated when they came home.

MINISTER KEOGH: I think also, Gary, since that time our contemporary veterans – you know, Andrew’s cohort – have benefited from the great work that the Vietnam veterans have done in developing things like the Vietnam Veterans’ Counselling Service, which is now Open Arms Veteran and Family Counselling run through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, putting in the hard yards pressuring Governments to do the research on things like PTSD, which we just didn’t have an understanding of before and now have treatments and support available for because of the hard lobbying work that our Vietnam veterans have done. And, of course, many of them now are the advocates in our RSLs and in our other ex-servicemen organisations that support contemporary veterans in getting their DVA claims in and getting access to welfare and support. So we do need to thank them for the hard work that they’ve done which has benefited our contemporary veterans as well.

GARY ADSHEAD: Well said. Obviously very important and significant day and week ahead for Australia. I do appreciate you joining us guys. I’ll let you get back to business over there in Canberra.

MINISTER KEOGH: Thanks, Gary.

ANDREW HASTIE: Thanks, Gary. Good to chat.

GARY ADSHEAD: Matt Keogh and Andrew Hastie.

END

Authorised by The Hon Matt Keogh MP.