Presidents
Message
The National and
NSW State Branch President, Mr Tim McCombe OAM, has
been at the forefront of the welfare for Vietnam Veterans
in Australia since the late 1970's. Tim's dedication and
committment to our cause is well known, particularly in
our struggle to have the effects of herbicidal spraying
in South Vietnam accepted as the cause of many cancers in
returning veterans and their offspring. See our
History
page for further information.
The following represents a
catalogue of recent items that effect the Veteran
community, and the steps we are taking for the welfare of
the veterans and their families.
Building Excellence in Support and Training
(BEST)
Now what's happening?
BEST funding reduction by the Federal
Government -
For those who came in late; Last year the Federal
Government saw fit to change the way it administered and
allocated vital funding to ex-service organisations.
These 'BEST' grants form a vital part of funds that allow
organisations like ours, to provide the expertise
required, to administer our many offices and advise the
veteran and defence community.
WANT
TO READ MORE CLICK TO SEE SUMMARY
REPORT
In other news:
Centrelink benefits for those eligible 16-18
years old attending high school were increased from 1
January 12.
The Veterans Children's Education Scheme (VCES) was
not included in this change and the DVA unsatisfactory
answer is "It is too administratively difficult." The
President has now written to the Minister seeking the
appropriate legislative changes to replicate the
improvements in the Centrelink benefit in the VCES. The
President will also raise this issue when next meeting
with the Minister.
At a recent NSW Branch committee meeting it was
decided to issue the following statement:
"This Association deplores the decision to exclude
Veterans Children's Education Scheme (VCES) participants
from the increased Centrelink benefits for eligible
secondary students 16-19 years old attending high school
and operative from the 1 January, 2012. To add insult to
injury the new Centrelink benefit is not taxed whilst the
VCES benefit remains taxable."
Keep watching this space for updates on these issues
as they come to hand.
Current
Issues
1.
Their
Inheritance? (We hope
not)
The Vietnam veteran community
has known about it from the beginning but its warnings
often went unheard.
The 1998 government study
Morbidity of Vietnam Veterans identified a high rate of
psychological stress in the partners of Vietnam veterans
but made no comparison with community
rates.
Gail McDonell, the wife of a
Vietnam veteran and member of the Partners of Veterans
Association Inc, has been researching the effect of the
Vietnam war on families for a PhD. She reports that on
every measurement of social wellbeing, the wives of
Vietnam veterans, as a group, are worse off than the
community norm.
In August this year, Dr Brian
O'Toole of the Brain and Mind Institute published a
comprehensive study. Dr O'Toole was able to compare the
incidence of mental disorders in the partners of Vietnam
veterans with their incidence in the general community.
Dr O'Toole's study found that
the partners of Vietnam veterans have mental illness
levels 20 or 30 times higher than the general population.
More than half the wives interviewed had a history of
major depressive disorder which was related to their
husband's combat experience. More than a quarter of wives
suffer anxiety disorders, six time the rate of the
general population. And the wives suffer Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) at seven times the community
rate.
Grim statistics and all
associated with the effect on the family of the veterans'
war caused psychological difficulties.
WANT TO READ MORE ON THIS
ISSUE? CLICK
TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE
AS APPEARS
IN OUR JOURNAL.
2.
Does the
Repatriation Commission have the right
priorities?
The mental health of ADF
members, veterans and their families has become a big
issue.
And so it should
be.
The children of Vietnam
veterans have a 300% higher suicide rate than their
equivalents in the general community. We don't want that
horrendous statistic repeated for the children of our
younger comrades in arms. So it is vital to encourage the
partners of younger servicemen/women as well as the
servicemen/women themselves to seek help at the Veterans
and Veterans Families Counselling Service
(VVCS).
One of the obstacles to
partners attending counseling sessions is the cost of
child care. It is simply a fact that young families
struggling with veterans' psychological difficulties do
not have a lot of spare cash. As Professor Dunt said in
his review of military mental health: 'There are too many
barriers to seeking mental health care…'. Clearly
the cost of child care is one of them.
WANT TO READ MORE ON THIS
ISSUE? CLICK
TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE
AS APPEARS
IN OUR JOURNAL.
Our
Journal
Click on the images above
to download an abridged version of our past 3
issues.
The Journal in its current
format began life in 2000. Prior to then it was a monthly
produced A5 size pamphlet that quickly took on the look
of a newsreel with all our agenda items and historical
articles. At the beginning of 2001 the "Newsletter" as it
was called moved into this format and was professionally
published, as well as, becomming a quarterly issue
magazine style journal.
The aim was, and still is, to
bring relevant news of veteran commune concerns and
issues to our membership. It is not unusual that each
issue will bring with it some form of debate over exactly
what successive governments and the DVA, as well as the
RMA, are trying to get away with when it comes to the
responsibility of veteran care in this country. Even
after our lengthy battle for victims of 'Agent Orange
defects and disabilities' , including our offspring, we
still find injustices being committed by all parties of
government and the Department of Veterans Affairs,
(DVA).
Full copies of current
journals are available from our Branch Offices, however
you will receive a copy when you become a member of our
association, and anyone is welcome to join for a small
fee.
Outreach
Program
Our Outreach Program
continues to be extremely successful in reaching out to
Veterans, service and ex-service community living in
regional and/or remote areas.
Any Veteran, widow of a
Veteran, and/or relative of a Veteran in rural NSW,
seeking assistance of the Outreach Team in matters of
Service Pensions, Disability Pension Claims, War Widow
Pensions, and/or MCRS Claims, etc., should contact the
OUTREACH COORDINATOR (below) , who will organise
assistance.
In the event that members
have friends who need assistance they are urged to
contact Dennis Hanmer who will coordinate the visit
program. Of course, the more people wishing assistance in
any one town or rural area, the more fulfilling the trip
will be for the team.
Remember, we assist all
Veterans, and service and ex-service personnel, in any
matter relating to your service that may require the
lodgement of a claim or application with the Department
of Veterans Affairs. We do this free of ANY
charges.
The team will provide
assistance and advice to ALL Veterans of ALL conflicts,
including Peacekeeping and Peacemaking Missions. ALL
personnel who served in the Armed Forces between 1973 and
1993 - ARE ELIGIBLE
FOR REPATRIATION BENEFITS.
OUR SERVICES ARE
FREE.
Contact: Dennis Hanmer (JP)
Mob: 0428 388 221 Ph: 02 9682 1788 Fx: 02 9682
6134
Eml: vvfrgran@bigpond.net.au
Mail: VVPPAA NSW Branch, PO Box 170, Granville.
2142
Operation
Life
Would you like to be able to
help prevent suicides?
What are the signs to look
for?
Where do you find help for
those at risk?
It’s an understanding we should all
have.
SO WHY NOT ATTEND A SUICIDE PREVENTION WORKSHOPS
FOR VETERANS, FAMILIES AND MATES
Operation Life is a program run by the VVCS
(Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service) for
people who are concerned about family, friends, mates or
others in the veteran and ex-service community.
Operation Life is a strategy to prevent suicide and
promote good mental health and resilience across the
veteran community. Its major components include workshops
providing introductory, intensive and refresher courses
in suicide prevention. Welfare, pension officers and
others from ex-service organisations and the veteran
community are encouraged to attend.
Operation Life workshops are not treatment programs
but are designed to help members of the veteran community
to recognise someone who might be having thoughts of
suicide and to link them in with appropriate
help.”
To find out more about Operation Life workshops,
contact VVCS on 1800 011 046 (during normal business
hours) or visit www.at-ease.dva.gov.au.
Operation Life is supported by all
Ex-service Organisations.