A program aimed at supporting veterans to pursue careers in local government has been launched in Newcastle, focusing on providing dedicated advice, guidance, and feedback to ex-service personnel.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and City of Newcastle Infrastructure Director Ken Liddell.

The City of Newcastle Veterans Employment Program, developed in collaboration with the NSW Office for Veteran Affairs and the United Services Union, is a dedicated program helping veterans and employers discover matching skill sets and provide support through recruitment processing.

Some parts of the program include a detailed ‘Rank to Grade Guide’ aimed at helping veterans and employers understand how Australian Defence Force experience can be aligned with government jobs.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the City of Newcastle was proud to support veterans who considered pursuing a career in the local government sector. 

“City of Newcastle has an enormously diverse workforce, catering to a wide range of skills and backgrounds, making local government a great career opportunity for ex-service personnel, no matter their rank or experience,” Cr Nelmes said.

City of Newcastle Director Ken Liddell has 20 years of service in the Royal Australian Air Force and said the skills he learned enabled him to have a successful state and local government career.

“Strong and decisive decision making, collaboration and teamwork as well as leadership and mentoring are all skills encouraged in the services that readily transfer into local council jobs,” Liddell said.

“The ability to continue to serve your community is just one reason why I would strongly encourage any veteran to consider a career in local government as a great post-service career choice.”

Office for Veterans Affairs Manager Craig Delaney welcomed the City of Newcastle’s support in assisting ex-servicemen and women find employment.

“The Veterans Employment Program aims to support our ex-service personnel into public sector jobs across NSW, and City of Newcastle’s commitment to this program will be warmly welcomed by the men and women of our veteran community,” Delaney said. 

“The Office for Veterans Affairs, working closely with City of Newcastle, can provide strong support and assistance throughout the entire recruitment process.”

Royal Commission announced:

The program comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

Some obligations of the royal commission include examining the systemic issues and common themes in past deaths by suicide of Australian Defence Force veterans.

Mr Morrison said the royal commission would not delve into civil or criminal wrongdoing or the causes of death concerning suicide cases.

“We want this to be comprehensive,” he said.

“And I have no doubt that that will get supported.”

The commission, which is expected to take between 18 months and two years to complete, will have a full range of compulsory powers, including the ability to summon witnesses, take evidence, hold public hearings, and compel the production of documents and witness statements.

“This will be an important process for the families, I think, and I hope it will be a healing process,” Mr Morrison said.

“Veterans who return from Iraq and Afghanistan were dealing with a very different set of challenges to previous generations of diggers—we need to take action to support them.

“We see the number of presentations increasing, the demand for veteran support increasing, of course, it is a function of the deployments over the last 20 years.”

The inquiry will be led by Veteran Affairs Minister Darren Chester, who believes the royal commission will help restore hope for veterans and families suffering.

On March 22, Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon met with veterans and their families at Parliament House to call on the government to launch the royal commission.

The day was also met with a petition containing more than 400,000 signatures led by families of veterans who had lost their lives to suicide.

Claydon met with Julie-Ann Finney, who lost her son David Stafford Finney to suicide after he had served 20 years in the Australian Defence Force.

After he discharged, David reached out for help from the Department of Veteran Affairs but was told he had to wait for six months, which was tragically too long.

Claydon said she was relieved the government had finally listened to the calls of the veterans and their families who had campaigned for a royal commission since 2019.

“I’m pleased that the government has finally listened to the calls for a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide,” Claydon said.

“We need to get this rightunfortunately, the inquiry Mr Morrison has announced will not cover the role of departments like Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, previous reviews and inquiries like the 2019 Productivity Commission report, veteran homelessness, or the impact of antimalarial drug trials on veterans’ mental health.

“These are all important issues that families and veterans have continuously raised with the government.”

Claydon said Labor was pushing for the royal commission to have strong and broad powers and terms of reference.

“The government must learn from their past mistakes and put the voices of veterans and grieving families at the very centre of their decision-making about this royal commission,” Claydon said.

“I encourage current and former ADF members and their families to have their say about the royal commission’s scope and draft terms of reference.”

A study conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that there were 419 known suicides of serving, ex-serving, and reserve defence personnel between 2001 and 2017.

On average, this is one death by suicide every two weeks, with already thirteen veterans tragically taking their lives this year alone.

The commission will begin mid-2021, after terms of reference are established.

To have your say about the commission’s scope submit your feedback to: royalcommission@dva.gov.au

Hayley McMahon

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