Veterans' Families Day

Mrs PEARCE (King) (15:01): My question is to the Minister for Veterans Affairs. Can the minister update the house about the state government's commitment to acknowledging the contributions of Australian Defence Force veterans and their families?

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Veterans Affairs) (15:02): I am very happy to inform the house about and bring the house up to date with a very proud and very momentous occasion today. Today we have become the first state to declare Veterans' Families Day. Just before question time, I was very proud to host an afternoon tea for families of veterans, both current defence personnel and former defence personnel. I note that a number of members of this place and the other place were in attendance. The member for King was there. I note the member for Hammond, as the shadow spokesperson, was also there. I also note the member for Dunstan, herself a very proud and very strong advocate for veterans' families. It is great to have you in this place, advocating with your lived experience as well.

We know that veterans' families play a critical role in supporting their loved ones to serve. It is not just former defence personnel that we recognise through this important day. We also recognise the current defence family, the broad family: the mums and dads, the wives, the partners, the husbands, the children and the extended family, who all provide so much support and often give and sacrifice so much in providing that support.

This recognition of defence families is something that has been longstanding in nations that we ally with—Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States of America—and which have for some time been doing this. In the government considering this declaration of Veterans' Families Day, I do want to mention particularly the member for Stuart, the former minister, who led from the front, engaged with the veterans' community, and when bringing this recommendation to cabinet for consideration of government had extraordinary support. I do want to particularly note the member for Stuart for his leadership in this space.

We know that already 6 per cent of all South Australians are veterans. With the extraordinary prosperity that we are growing in our state, particularly with manufacturing and industrialisation, with AUKUS, both pillar 1 and pillar 2, it is absolutely the case that our veterans' community in South Australia will continue to grow. We aspire as a government to attract former defence personnel to work in these critical industries that will continue to build the prosperity of our state. In doing so, we expect and hope that our veterans' community in South Australia will grow, that we can truly get the best that we can as a state in tapping into this extraordinary resource that is veterans.

As I said, we can't expect, we can't hope, we can't plan, to get the best from our veterans' community if we don't take a step back and stand up very proudly and say thank you to their support base, thank you to their mums and dads, thank you to their husbands and wives, thank you to their kids. Whilst thank you is easy for people in this place to say, and it is easy for the community to say, we can never ever underestimate just how profound it is to take a step back and, with all of our collective voices, say thank you. It's strong, it's necessary. I am very proud that today we have done it for the first time.