Radio interview — 4CA Cairns, Breakfast With Murray Jones

MURRAY JONES, HOST: Well, special guest in studio this morning, and thankfully, I think we've generally turned on some pretty nice weather. Matt Keogh is the Federal Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel. Matt, good morning, welcome to the studio.

MATT KEOGH, MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL: Murray, great to be with you.

MURRAY JONES: Nice to have you along this morning. Lots to talk about. I've got a lot of things I'm keen to talk to you about, and I know you've got a busy day, so, look, let's get stuck into it. Let's, I guess, kind of set the scene. And I know fairly recently we had the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, and I guess that's basically a launching pad for some of the things that we're doing these days, particularly for our veterans.

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly is, Murray. The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide really set a huge task for Government, which I've had primary carriage of implementing. There were 122 recommendations in its final report. There's also 13 recommendations in the interim report that it delivered. But we've been cracking on, and in particular, coming up to the first of July this year, there's a number of reforms that are coming into place. So, probably the biggest reform is the harmonisation and simplification of the legislation that underpins our veterans’ entitlement system. Many veterans will know, but others may not, there was three different schemes that existed for veterans, and that depended on, you know, the nature of service that you had performed, but also when you were serving. And what that meant was some veterans were covered by two, or even all three, for different sorts of injuries that they'd acquired over the length of their service –

MURRAY JONES: Sounds a nightmare.

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, it was a nightmare. And the Royal Commission identified that. They said this complexity is a contributor to suicidality in the veteran community, which obviously is a huge problem.

MURRAY JONES: Sure.

MINISTER KEOGH: And so, we set about a major reform process over the last few years, consulting really widely with the veteran community. And now, from the first of July, we'll move to a single system going forward, which will make it much easier for veterans to understand what they're entitled to. It'll make it easier for advocates that work with our veterans to support them and it'll make it quicker and easier for the Department to process their claims as well. So, this is a huge improvement from the first of July. We're expecting we'll get a bit of a flood of claims under the new scheme …

MURRAY JONES: Sure.

MINISTER KEOGH: … as you would expect. But, you know, that shows that it's of benefit to people, and it's been great to engage with the veteran community about this new way moving forward of just having one scheme to support all of our veterans.

MURRAY JONES: I mean, they're often at the most vulnerable time in their life. So, making this system as simple as possible, but most importantly, giving them the right to the entitlements that they deserve as well.

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, that's exactly right. When a veteran, you know, someone puts on our nation's uniform, we owe them as a country to make sure that they are looked after. And the way the system operated, having been quite complex, difficult to navigate, has made it much more difficult. And when someone is in crisis, that makes it even more complex. And so, by being able to move to a single system going forward, it's easier for them, it's easier for the people who might be supporting them as well. There's a range of better supports under this regime moving forward, especially to support families as well. So that's, I think, a really great improvement. But it's not just the legislative change. That's a big change, but also from July, we'll be standing up the new Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency. So, this is another recommendation of the Royal Commission, and that's about taking a broader approach to how we support veterans. You know, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, understandably, has been around in, you know, different guises for over a hundred years.

MURRAY JONES: Sure.

MINISTER KEOGH: And it's been about, you lodge a claim, and we'll support you with a health claim, treatment, support, rehabilitation, compensation - incredibly important. But looking at some of those broader wellbeing aspects, and especially, again, as you say, a veteran in crisis or with complex needs, or even just trying to navigate a system. We're quite fortunate here in Australia, there are actually thousands of services that are looking to support our veteran community. Some might be quite localised, some might be national, some can be very specialised into one area of support, some much broader. Veterans don't know where to start. Families who are trying to support their veteran don't know where to start. So, we've been rolling out a network of Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs with an on-the-ground footprint, if you like, of somewhere for a veteran or a family member to go to get, not just to get support, but be referred to the right places. And we're making that a much more national approach, joined up through this new wellbeing agency, which will be able to work across that hub network, but also be available online, on a phone call, in certain places, in person, for veterans' families to be able to contact, be referred to the right services to navigate those supports that are there to support our veterans, making it easier for people.

MURRAY JONES: And it's quite interesting to hear about this because, you know, I am talking about after World War II, but I saw that documentary Under a Bamboo Sky recently and was lucky enough to talk to the director, Serge. And, you know, when you consider the impact on those veterans after they came back. I mean, they had a pretty tough time, but I guess it really focuses, particularly after Anzac Day, when it came up, the need to have that support. And I think that's essential. It really is.

MINISTER KEOGH: And I think one of the things we're much better at now, at one level, but it has also made it more complex, is, you know, soldiers returning from the First World War or the Second World War, we didn't have a good understanding of the concept of mental health.

MURRAY JONES: Sure, yep.

MINISTER KEOGH: You know, we didn't have the terminology or the ideas of the symptoms and diagnosis of PTSD, for example. We have that now, which is great. So, we've got some much better tools. We even have treatment. But then that adds another level of complexity of the system that needs to support our veterans as well, because we recognise the broader types of support that they need, but also their families. You know, that unique element of military service has a real impact on those who serve, but it also has an impact on families as well. And that's why the hubs are Veterans and Families Hubs. It's why the wellbeing agency is the Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency, because families are incredibly important in this discussion as well.

MURRAY JONES: Look, speaking of the family, and I know you're doing a lot of things while you're in town, I want to touch on a couple of local things, including the Navy Indigenous Development Program. Got a graduation day that you're attending today at the naval base, I understand.

MINISTER KEOGH: This morning, that's right. Which is a wonderful way in which we can engage our First Nations people in a potential career in defence.

MURRAY JONES: Yep.

MINISTER KEOGH: And so, we've got a graduation of a couple of handfuls of students this morning, which is excellent. And we look forward to seeing most of them actually joining the defence force as well, which is great. And this is a way in which we can make sure that we are seeing a Defence Force that truly reflects our national community. And when we look in Northern Australia, up here in far northern Queensland, or across the territory, or even Western Australia, where I'm from, making sure that we're engaging our local communities into our Defence Force, that it reflects our defence force, that there's good respect and understanding of what our defence force does, is terribly important. This program helps with all of that because it's not just about what they learn and are then able to take forward into Defence. It's also what they bring back to their own communities as well, having gone through this course. So, really looking forward to being a part of the graduation today. I think it's really special for them, but it's a great example of how Defence, leaning forward, can work with communities in Australia to make sure they get an opportunity to be part of our Defence Force and our broader national story through it.

MURRAY JONES: And a little town just to our north, Mossman's had a pretty tough time, actually, in recent times with the closure of the mill, but I see $50,000 has been put aside for the Mossman Cenotaph. So, a bit of a revamp there, I understand, on the cards.

MINISTER KEOGH: I headed up to Mossman yesterday. Certainly, copped the weather yesterday on the way up there as well, so thank you for that. But it was great to go up there and meet with the RSL, meet with the mayor about the $50,000, bit over $50,000 we're contributing to the upgrade of their war memorial there, which will, you know, see a new granite finish on it and, you know, the chiselling in of the names and everything, which is great. But also to be able to go to the RSL hall, sit down with the RSL members, they were able to share some of their historic works that they've got there, that they've been collecting and curating, but also discuss how they've been engaging with the schools, which is wonderful, and also how they support veterans in need of a home as well. They've got a couple of cottages up there, which is …

MURRAY JONES: I remember those!

MINISTER KEOGH: … a bit of a historical quirk almost. Now, people sort of look back at us, but it's wonderful. Like they've been supporting veterans in need of housing there for a very long time, which was excellent. And it's always great to go and meet with our community. It's one of the real pleasures of my job, being able to get out of the big cities, you know, and they refer to Cairns as the big city. I might point out …

MURRAY JONES: Yeah, they do.

MINISTER KEOGH: … but to be able to get out of the big cities, meet local communities, talk to RSLs, talk to the veterans. One of the veterans was from Perth, where I'm from. He wanted to get as far away from his family as possible. No, he - no, he joined the army, went to Darwin, went up to PNG, spent time up there. But, you know, it's wonderful to hear the stories of their service to our country and then, you know, where they've decided to come back to and how they're engaging and supporting each other in our community, which is great.

MURRAY JONES: Wonderful. Look, thank you so much. And look, you know, there's so much more we could talk about. There was the 83,000 there for the Legacy Links as well. And of course, you spent some time with the Homes for Veterans. But look, I better dash. I've done my dad jokes of the day, but I've got a few things to roll onto. But thank you so much for dropping in, bringing the team in to see us as well here at 4CA, but he's the Federal Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh. Have a wonderful day and thanks so much.

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, thanks for having me. It's been great to be up here and, you know, travelling and meeting members of the community with Matt Smith, who's, you know, really engaged with everybody.

MURRAY JONES: He's even taller than me.

MINISTER KEOGH: He's very tall. We're very lucky to have him on the parliamentary basketball team, as I'm sure everyone would appreciate. But to be out with him yesterday, meeting with various communities like Legacy, like going up to Mossman to meet with their RSL and of course meeting a few homeless veterans who we're now housing through our veteran acute housing program here as well, which is wonderful.

MURRAY JONES: Good job. Thanks for spending the time to come to Cairns and drop in and see me as well. See you soon.

MINISTER KEOGH: Great to see you, Murray. Look forward to seeing you again.

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