ANZAC Day Commemoration (Veterans' Advisory Council) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 13 April 2017.)

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (16:11): I rise to speak to the ANZAC Day Commemoration (Veterans' Advisory Council) Amendment Bill currently before the council. On behalf of the opposition, I indicate that we will be supporting the bill.

The bill seeks to amend the ANZAC Day Commemoration Act 2005 to transfer the functions of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Council to the Veterans Advisory Council and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. This was necessitated by the Premier's review into boards and committees, where the ADCC was slated for abolition. This makes sense as we approach the end of the centenary of the Great War and therefore a return to more regular levels of commemoration, which presumably cost less and require less attention and planning.

According to the government, the Crown Solicitor advised of the best course of action upon the dissolution of the ADCC. The ADCC had the power to appropriate funds from the ANZAC Day Commemoration Fund. This power will now be transferred to the minister acting on the advice of the Veterans Advisory Council. Once the bill is enacted, the minister will amend the terms of reference of the Veterans Advisory Council to include advice on the spending of fund moneys. All this seems quite straightforward. I have received a briefing from Rob Manton, the Director of Veterans SA, on the bill and I am satisfied this this new structure is fit for purpose.

My only concern is the ability of the current minister to properly administer the duties and responsibilities that the bill places on him. My concern is somewhat relieved by the fact that the Veterans Advisory Council will be providing advice, and I just hope their recommendations are followed closely without any autocratic or unilateral actions, which are customary with this minister. I commend the bill to the council.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (16:13): I rise to speak in support of the bill. The bill seeks to transfer the functions of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Council to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, following on from the 2014 boards and committees review.

The bill proposes that in these matters the Minister for Veterans' Affairs will act on the advice of the Veterans Advisory Council. Honourable members will recall that the Veterans Advisory Council (VAC) was established in 2008 to provide a strong voice for the veteran community at the highest levels of government. It ensures that the views of the veteran community can and always will be heard by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Premier and the cabinet of our state. The council is recognised and respected across government for the important and varied work it undertakes on behalf of our veterans, their loved ones and the entire veteran community.

I am advised that the council comprises 17 members and a chair. Its members include broad representation of former and current serving personnel, as well as members of the veteran community. The VAC is capably chaired by Air Vice Marshal Brent Espeland, who is retired at this time and who last year replaced the distinguished the Hon. Sir Eric Neal, who had served in the capacity since the council's establishment in 2008.

There are no specific statutory qualifications required to be appointed to the VAC; however, it is regarded as essential that the membership body be genuinely representative of the veteran community it serves. The current composition of the council satisfies this important criterion, and I know that care will be taken to ensure that this remains the case into the future.

There are more than 30 major ex-service organisations in South Australia and more than 300 smaller and associated groups, along with those veterans who choose not to belong to an ex-service group. So, the VAC is charged with representing a very significant and diverse range of people and their views.

In terms of direct community engagement and veteran community representation, the Veterans Advisory Council (VAC) works tirelessly to ensure that the views and concerns of South Australia's veteran community are conveyed accurately and thoroughly to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, who is then better able to advocate on their behalf and their families' behalf to either a state or commonwealth level.

Over the last nine years since the VAC's inception, the state government has taken the opportunity to use its outreach capabilities to conduct direct engagement with the veteran community in the knowledge that the recommendations it provides as a consequence of its broad membership are fairly representative of the diverse veteran community.

South Australia has led the nation with our state-based veterans' affairs portfolio. It is a portfolio that continues to grow as we look to veterans' issues and concerns into the future. Our VAC consultative and advocacy model is being adopted by other jurisdictions across the nation, which is a welcome endorsement.

The VAC's role under this proposed legislation will be to evaluate grant applications to the ANZAC Day Commemoration Fund and provide recommendations for the consideration of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. This process will ensure the broadest possible base of advice is offered to the minister to inform his or her decision. In view of the great diversity of the veteran community, this is an important condition to meet.

We need to ensure that our ANZAC Day commemorations continue to do justice to the ultimate sacrifice paid by those who did not return from war and to the considerable sacrifice made by those in service who were fortunate enough to return home, although rarely unscathed. We must always take care to honour the fact that not all war wounds are visible ones.

It is of the utmost importance that our living veterans continue to be treated with concern, with respect and with a view to ensuring that their broad range of views and concerns are heard by our government in as true and as accurate a manner as possible. That is what our VAC capably facilitates. I commend the bill to honourable members.

The Hon. T.T. NGO (16:18): I rise to speak in support of the ANZAC Day Commemoration (Veterans' Advisory Council) Amendment Bill 2017. When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years. Australian and New Zealand forces landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. At the end of 1915, when allied forces were evacuated, Australia had lost more than 8,000 of its sons. Although the Gallipoli campaign failed, the ANZAC legend was born. Australians recognise 25 April as a day of national remembrance. ANZAC Day has been broadened to include those who have lost their lives in all military and peacekeeping operations in which Australia has been involved.

During my time as a member of the Legislative Council, I have had the privilege of attending commemorations for Australian servicemen and servicewomen. On the ANZAC Day just past, I was fortunate to attend the ANZAC Day march in Adelaide and the Cross of Sacrifice service. The Ode of Remembrance was particularly moving.

That week, I also attended a commemoration of the fall of Saigon. It has been 42 years since the communists in North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam. The event was very well attended by Australian Vietnam veterans and their families, and there was also a strong contingent from the Vietnamese community. The fall of Saigon anniversary is always a reminder that, in Australia, our rights and freedoms are protected, and those who have fled war and oppression, myself included, have been granted a chance to live a safe, peaceful and free life.

I have said this before in this chamber and at many veterans' events, but I do not think we can ever give too much thanks to the many Australians who gave their lives in the Vietnam War, so thank you again. Many Australian families lost loved ones, and I am forever grateful for their sacrifice.

That week, I also represented the Minister for Police, the Hon. Peter Malinauskas, at the police ANZAC memorial service, and I had the pleasure of chatting to the leader of the service, police chaplain Tom Playford—the son of former premier Tom Playford. Some of the chaplain's thoughts about ANZAC Day have stuck with me, and I would like to share them with members.

What did those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for Australia leave behind for us? They left us this great country. Those soldiers died because they wanted us to live and enjoy this great way of life. It is the responsibility and the right of every Australian to live this life and to better the country that those men and women left us.

We must also remember that Australian servicemen and servicewomen are still involved in conflicts, peacekeeping missions, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance missions. To date, more than 9,000 South Australians have died as a result of Australia's involvement in military operations. The ANZAC Day Commemoration Fund is designed to offer grants to commemorate Gallipoli and the many campaigns that have involved Australian servicemen and women.

Projects that have received grants in round 3 of 2016-17 include the National Railway Museum's Conservation of World War I Honour Roll, Wish Me Luck: Honouring Our World War II Veterans exhibition at the Flinders University Art Museum, and the RSL Virtual War Memorial. These are just a few of the projects that have received funding. Many other projects have received funding since the ANZAC Day Commemoration Fund was established in 2005.

This bill offers the opportunity for the broadest representation of veterans to be involved, through the Veterans Advisory Council, in the assessment of applications and the allocation of funds. The Veterans Advisory Council's involvement will afford the Minister for Veterans' Affairs the best available advice to inform his or her decisions.

It is imperative that we educate future generations, not only our youth but also our new citizens who are choosing to call Australia their home, on the service and sacrifice of our nation. With that, I commend the bill to honourable members.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (16:25): I thank members for their contributions—I believe there are no further second reading contributions. In summing up, I would like to give a few more details. In 2005, this parliament passed the ANZAC Day Commemoration Act to ensure that the contribution of all who have served Australia in time of war or armed conflict or in international peacekeeping operations are recognised and commemorated in this state.

As others have said, South Australians have always answered their country's call. Our state's history has many examples of the courage, selflessness, sacrifice, tenacity, compassion and mateship that marked the first ANZACs who landed at Gallipoli. Along with projects such as the ANZAC Centenary Memorial Walk, opened on 23 April 2016, the government has sought to emphasise the service of all South Australians during the centenary of ANZAC period.

The government has increased the ANZAC Day Commemoration Fund, enshrined within this act, by $1 million over the four years of the centenary of World War I; that is, 2014 to 2018. This fund, totalling $350,000 annually during this period, has been applied by the ANZAC Day Commemoration Council for commemoration and education purposes to great effect, and I congratulate the council's membership for their work and achievements.

As has been commented upon, there was a review of boards and committees. In July 2014, the Premier announced a review of all government boards and committees. The scope of the review included 429 government boards and committees. The final outcome of the boards and committees review recommended that the Veterans Advisory Council, a non-statutory authority appointed by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, be retained and that the functions of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Council transfer to the Veterans Advisory Council after ANZAC Day 2018.

Following the passing of the Statutes Amendments (Boards and Committees - Abolition and Reform) Act 2015 in August 2015, responsibility for the ANZAC Day Commemoration Council was transferred to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, transferring administrative functions from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to Veterans SA within the Department of Treasury and Finance.

Since the inaugural meeting in 2007, the ANZAC Day Commemoration Council has distributed over 400 grants to organisations and community groups totalling over $1.5 million. These grants have assisted in the education of Australians and has ensured that the service and sacrifice of military personnel is commemorated now and into the future.

Under the proposed amendment before the council today, the functions relating to the ANZAC Day Commemoration Fund will transfer to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Each application made to the minister for a payment from the fund must be referred to the Veterans Advisory Council for its consideration. The Veterans Advisory Council will make recommendations to the minister in relation to such applications. Under this model, the Veterans Advisory Council retains its advisory role, which also includes providing policy advice to government and advocating for the needs of veterans.

The Veterans Advisory Council was established in 2009 to provide a voice for the veteran community at the highest level of government. It is comprised of 16 members, plus a chair, representative of those who have served, by rank, gender, service and conflict. Its current structure also includes current serving personnel from all three services. The focus of the Veterans Advisory Council is now firmly on the next 50 years, ensuring that the needs of our contemporary working age veterans and those still in uniform are catered for in South Australia.

In doing so the Veterans Advisory Council has not lost sight of the origins and the legacy of service in the Australian Defence Force and keeps a very close eye on the needs of our veterans from earlier conflicts to ensure they are commemorated respectfully and their needs are addressed appropriately.

The Veterans Advisory Council's objectives are consistent with those of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Council; that is, to promote the wellbeing of all members of the veteran community in South Australia, encourage cooperation across all veterans' organisations in South Australia, provide veterans an avenue to communicate directly to the highest levels of the state government through the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and, through the minister, to commonwealth ministers concerned with veterans' affairs and also to monitor and provide advice about matters relating to the recognition and commemoration of the service of veterans.

Again, I thank honourable members for their contribution and look forward to the speedy dealing of this matter through the committee stage.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

Bill taken through committee without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (16:31): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.