Radio interview – 2CC Canberra with Leon Delaney

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
2CC Canberra with Leon Delaney
Friday 18 August 2023 

SUBJECTS: Vietnam Veterans’ Day Commemoration, Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicides, Vietnam Veterans’ Medallion

LEON DELANEY, HOST: Now today we acknowledge and commemorate Vietnam Veterans' Day in this the 50th anniversary year of the end of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Joining me now the Federal Minister for Veterans' Affairs Matt Keogh, good afternoon.

MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS MATT KEOGH: Good afternoon.

LEON DELANEY: Well you had the honour of delivering the presentation at the National Commemorative Service here in Canberra this morning representing the Prime Minister who's currently in Queensland of course. How significant is the observation of Vietnam Veterans' Day this year in particular because of that 50th anniversary?

MINISTER KEOGH: Look it's a very significant anniversary, 50 years on from the end of our official involvement in the Vietnam War. And I think in particular given the way in which so many Vietnam veterans were treated when they came back home after the war initially, and in the period immediately thereafter, it was very important to make sure that proper recognition was afforded to our Vietnam veterans and the commemoration of their fallen comrades and recognising the people who came back, came back often with physical and mental injury as well.

So I think any anniversary like this is a significant one, but particularly given the treatment at the time, to make sure that there is that, I guess, sense of closure and proper acknowledgement for our Vietnam veterans.

LEON DELANEY: Okay. And how was the ceremony today, good turnout?

MINISTER KEOGH: Look, it was a wonderful ceremony today, I think particularly in the context of the Canberra winter weather.

LEON DELANEY: Oh yeah, it's a bit nippy today that's for sure.

MINISTER KEOGH: We started with rain, nothing like the conditions though that our veterans had to endure when they were in Vietnam, but it was a lovely ceremony and we really saw, you know, several thousand people, I think about 3,000 veterans come out to be part of the commemoration at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial there on Anzac Parade.

You should have seen so many wreaths being laid by so many different ex service organisations that represent our veterans, as well as of course from the Governor General and myself and others. But importantly the veterans being able to be recognised and to participate in the ceremony, that was the most important part.

LEON DELANEY: Yeah. And of course you've referred to the sad situation after the Vietnam War, or even during it, when people returned home from the war, the welcome that they didn't receive. Do you think we've done enough now to rectify that error from the past? Because I think for the last several years now, we've been acknowledging a lot more clearly the sacrifices that were made.

MINISTER KEOGH: Look, we certainly have but, you know, the words at the end of the ode should always ring true, “Lest we forget.” We should never forget the sacrifice of people that have worn our uniform, whether that was on the beaches of Gallipoli, all the way through to our involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of course including the Vietnam War as we commemorate today on Vietnam Veterans' Day, and particularly, you know, it was traditionally known as Long Tan Day, which is where Australia lost the most people in any one battle during the Vietnam War.

But I think it's also important to reflect on the legacy that our Vietnam veterans have left us in that regard. So they found themselves in a situation where they didn't have all the support that they needed. They formed the Vietnam Veterans’ Counselling Service themselves. They staffed it themselves. They eventually got Government support for that service and that's now turned into Open Arms, which is run through the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and that provides counselling for all current serving and former serving personnel and their families. That's a really important legacy.

The research that has occurred as a consequence of what we've learnt about mental illness and PTSD in particular, because of what was confronted by our Vietnam veterans, is terribly important, not just for them but for all of the contemporary veterans that have come after them as well.

LEON DELANEY: Yeah, and of course there was some elements of the community at the time in the late 60s and the early 70s that were saying to returning veterans that, "Oh, you weren't actually engaged in a real war,” and that sort of level of disrespect I guess is the appropriate word there. All of that I think has been overcome now, hasn't it? We don't see anybody trying to argue that particular point anymore, do we?

MINISTER KEOGH: We certainly don't see that argument, but it is definitely the case that that's what was confronted by our Vietnam veterans when they returned. And the organisations that represented veterans at that time were not accepting of Vietnam veterans broadly, and that caused even more anxiety and angst and mental ill health for our veterans at that time.

But of course, those same organisations now are run by Vietnam veterans, and they are able to avoid those mistakes of the past by themselves working with our contemporary veterans and making sure that they get the support and welfare and advocacy that they need from those organisations.

LEON DELANEY: Yeah. And of course while some people saw the Vietnam War as being not a legitimate war because it was considered to be a war that perhaps Australia had no business participating in, that makes no difference to the sacrifices that people were asked to make and then ultimately did make. And we've seen similar things in more recent engagements, particularly with the Iraq war where the general opinion seems to be, "Look, we shouldn't have been there, that was really not the best decision we ever made," but it doesn't take anything away from the sacrifices that have been demanded and the efforts that have been provided by those who have served, and they still deserve every bit as much recognition as any other veteran, don't they?

MINISTER KEOGH: Look, this is a very important point. There'll probably be conjecture for many decades to come about whether we should or shouldn't have been in Vietnam, just as you referred to whether we should or shouldn't have been in Iraq or Afghanistan.

But the point of today and the point of all of our commemorative activities throughout the year is not about the politics of any particular conflict, it's about recognising the service and sacrifice of our Defence Force personnel. Those people who put on our uniform, who have served our nation and the sacrifice of their families as well in supporting them when they've returned. That's what really important. The people. You know, the cost of conflict. Recognising that, respecting that in our personnel that make that sacrifice and their families that support them as well.

LEON DELANEY: On that basis why has the Federal Government refused a request from the Royal Commission into Veteran Suicides for an extension of the time it has to complete its investigation?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, you know, we've been in consultation with veterans’ organisations obviously throughout this Royal Commission going on and working through its very important work. It's a Royal Commission that we called for in Opposition and it's already received one extension. But the very strong view is that we want to get the recommendations from this Royal Commission so that we can get on with the job of fixing up the problems that are leading to the high rates of suicide that we see in our veteran community.

People don't want to see it dragged on; they want to see action. We completely understand that as a government. It's why we were responsive very quickly to the interim report.

The Royal Commission flagged a need for an extension because it said it had additional work to do in terms of the types of hearings it was doing in lived experience evidence and private hearings. The Government's agreed to provide additional resources to the Royal Commission to allow it to do that work without the need for an extension.

LEON DELANEY: Okay. Because obviously the Commissioners involved had their reasons for asking for the extension and if they felt that they weren't able to complete the work appropriately in the allowed period of time that would raise some questions about whether or not we'd got the right result at the end of it, wouldn't it?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, as I said, they raised an issue about the amount of work that they wanted to undertake and that, as themselves, that may take more time, and so we've provided them additional resources and some mechanisms to allow them to conduct parallel hearings that will mean that they can get through that work in the time that is allotted to them, so we can get their recommendations in a timely fashion and get on with the job of looking after our veterans and serving personnel.

LEON DELANEY: Indeed. And the due date for that final report is, I believe, June of next year, so obviously we've been waiting a long time to see what that outcome is.

With the commemorative services today, are there any further events this year marking the 50th anniversary year of the end of Australia's involvement in Vietnam?

MINISTER KEOGH: There are certainly some anniversaries that will occur for particular battles or events that occurred during the Vietnam War over the course of the rest of the year, but today is the, if you like, the pinnacle of the commemorative activities that have been ongoing this year, today being Vietnam Veterans’ Day, which is on the anniversary of the battle of Long Tan.

But the other thing of course is throughout, we launched this at the beginning of the year, is the medallion that is available for Vietnam veterans and for the family members of Vietnam veterans that have since passed away.

We've already had take-up of some 21,000 veterans receiving that medallion. And if veterans or the families of those that have passed away are interested in a medallion, they can register for that at the DVA website, dva.gov.au/vietnam50. We really encourage the take-up of that.

We've found veterans have been really pleased to be able to receive that medallion and that official recognition from their government, which as we discussed before, you know, that wasn't really what occurred when they came back initially from the war and making sure that on the 50th anniversary there is that recognition.

LEON DELANEY: Indeed. Thanks very much for your time today.

MINISTER KEOGH: Thank you.

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