Doorstop Interview — Hunter Valley, NSW

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Doorstop
Hunter Valley, NSW
Tuesday, 17 March 2026

JOURNALIST: So how exciting is it that you know the Hub is open here in the Hunter today?

MATT KEOGH, MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL: Opening the Hunter Veterans’ and Families’ Hub is very exciting for all of the 22,000 veterans and families in the Hunter region. This was a more than $5 million commitment from the Albanese Government, and we've been working closely with RSL Life Care, New South Wales RSL and the various other veteran organisations through the Hunter to bring this to fruition and now we have not just a wonderful building, but most importantly, great services that will be provided from it.

JOURNALIST: You mentioned in your speech about the Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide. How does a Hub like this, I suppose, address you know, some of what was discussed in that Royal Commission?

KEOGH: So the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide highlighted a lot of issues that we have to engage with as a Government, but some of the critical ones there are about having a more wellbeing centered approach to supporting our veterans, not just being about fixing physical injuries or mental health, but looking at a broader set of wellbeing factors. Having these Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs located across Australia means we're better able to provide broader wellbeing support to our veterans and their families. The other thing the Royal Commission identified was that there has been a proliferation of some thousands of different services to support veterans. Now that's a great thing, but finding them and knowing which ones are right for the right veteran can be difficult and often quite confronting for a veteran and their family. So having Veterans and Families Hubs like this one that we've just opened in the Hunter makes it easier to navigate that, because the Hub can stand there with the veteran and the family to help them.

JOURNALIST: And there's a lot of talk at the moment about the changing face of what it means to be a veteran. You know, a lot of people automatically think of an older gentleman, but tell me a little bit about how this Hub is serving different generations of service people.

KEOGH: Certainly, I think many Australians have traditionally thought as veterans, as being older people that might have fought in a World War. Well, those world wars were many, many decades ago, but we have many contemporary veterans now that have participated in many conflicts, but also have served us here at home and through peacekeeping operations and many other different Defence Force Service. And what's critical to understand is that any person that has served a day's full time in the Australian Defence Force is recognised as a veteran and can obtain support through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and be supported through Hubs like this one in the Hunter.

JOURNALIST: Minister, you've said time and again that families are on the front line of supporting veterans when they need it most, how important is it that families have a centre like this to come to, to support them as well?

KEOGH: Very much we see that families are often the first responders to a veteran who is in crisis and needs support, and so making sure that families know that Hubs like this one in the Hunter are available to support them as a family and to support their veteran is incredibly important. And what we see is that often, a veteran family member may come into a Veterans’ and Families’ Hub to access service, to support themselves, and then are able to engage with their veteran partner, for example, and tell them about what's available at the Hub so that they can get help as well.

JOURNALIST: Thank you so much.

ENDS

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.