Billson

THE tonic members of the RSL bring to each other through their organisation is priceless.
And this nation let its Vietnam veterans down.
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Bruce Billson made these comments during a visit to the Berwick RSL on Wednesday 21 February.
He said the government recognised the work of the RSL because it was able to do what governments could not by connecting at the personal level.
“That is gold,” he said.
Mr Billson said the Veterans’ Affairs Department now supported more dependents of service personnel than veterans and there was awareness that the families of veterans must be supported.
“But, one of our biggest challenges is veteran health.
“I lie awake at night worrying about some of our Vietnam veterans.
“It worries me that we don’t see them enough at functions and services available to them.
“We have a system that responds to illness and injury, but need to look further and deeper because through their service we have damaged them.
“What can we do to make their lives as good as they can be?
“What can we do for our Vietnam veterans because they are people whose nation let them down on their return from war?
“I understand how they feel, but how can we help?
“You can’t bring people back from a combat zone and just dump them back in the community and expect it to be OK,” he said.
Mr Billson said Australia now had people serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and some returned home totally disabled. “I won’t let them down,” he said.
The minister said veterans were aging and said he hoped to never again see the numbers that served in the first and second world wars.
He said he heard the measure of our troops during a trip to Darwin when he was told about soldiers on the ground shooting at Japanese Zero fighters with .303 rifles during attacks on the city.
“It was like using pea shooters against the fighter planes. Then I have spoken to a young veteran returned from Rwanda who told me of sitting with his rifle not allowed to shoot when genocide was going on.
“Some of our soldiers are fighting against an enemy that has known nothing but war and is hardened to sustaining a battle for 11 hours straight.
“So the word veteran has a wonderful sound to it. But they are ageing and need care and support.
“That is why we spend $11 billion a year on our people.”