Monday, 23 October 2023
NEX, Newcastle
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Thank you, Jaimie[1]

I acknowledge the Awabakal and Worimi people, Traditional Custodians of these lands and waterways, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present, and future and extend that respect to the Elders of all parts of our State from which you have travelled. I give thanks also to Theresa Dargin[2] for the Welcome to Country extended this morning.

Minister[3], Commodore[4], representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Returned and Services League Australia, Board and members of the Returned and Services League NSW, distinguished guests all,

Thank you for the invitation to be with you this morning for your Annual Congress. This is the third occasion I have the had the privilege of joining you in person, and the second here in Newcastle.

As a community, both within the RSL NSW family and more broadly across our State, the years since 2019, my first year, has been a journey of challenging and unexpected turns.

At the 2019 Congress, you were in the process of adopting a new Constitution and making the first formative steps towards developing what would become the RSL NSW Strategic Plan 2021-2026.[5] Looking forward so as to determine the best means by which RSL’s long and important legacy could be best sustained, grown, and carried forth.

At the heart of that legacy is the notion of commemoration integral to the formation of the clubs and gatherings of servicemen and women returning from the First World War in order to support one another. It is from these clubs that RSL NSW sprang.

Commemoration is both the maintenance of a continued and growing tradition of honouring those who have served, as well as the continuance of the mateship – of looking out for one another and each other’s families – formed through that service, and which we, as a nation celebrate as part of our national character – the active and ongoing effort to not only to honour those who serve, but also to support, connect, and advocate for them and their families.

This is your raison d’être; this is the reason you can be proud.

This year has seen several significant anniversaries: it has been 70 years since the signing of the Korean War Armistice and 50 years since the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. In services across the year, we reflected on the sacrifices of those who served in these conflicts and, in particular, the costs borne by them on return.

I note, for instance, the sincere and eloquent apology made by your president, Ray James, on behalf of RSL NSW, for the injustices and mistreatment received by those returning from Vietnam.[6]

This is vital acknowledgement. There is an important debt of gratitude we owe veterans of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, which is in addition to the sacrifice of your service. For, in returning to the country you so proudly served, and which turned against you or was simply happy to forget, you turned to each other for support and advocacy. You were no embarrassment. You embarrassed us. And, in doing so, reminded us, perhaps even taught us, that compassion and practical support are values of the highest order.

This year also marked the 70^th anniversary of the RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Commemoration, a tradition where young people, taking custodianship of a commemorative service, learn about the nature of commemoration, Australia’s military history, and those who continue to forge it.

To mark the anniversary, the inaugural RSL Schools Remember ANZAC art competition was launched, with students submitting visual responses to the question “Why Lest we Forget?”.

In reviewing RSL NSW activities over the year since your last Congress, with a mind towards how this might inflect progress going forward, there is perhaps no better measure than the Strategic Plan I have already mentioned.

In terms of what we might term the active component of that road map – the ‘what we do’ goals – two were posed in 2020 as for possible completion this year. Firstly, and I quote, “grow membership to support each other and have fun and help all veterans and their families in need”[7]. Secondly, “Through collaboration and support, connect veterans and their families to services”.[8]

In terms of the former: currently, there are nearly 30,000 RSL NSW members, with over 2,000 joining this year.[9] In 2021-22, RSL NSW saw a more than 9% increase in members, and from 2022-23 this rose to nearly 11%, the first growth in membership for 40 years.[10]

I would say that is an emphatic ‘tick’ and worthy of celebration[11]. Well done everyone.

One initiative rolled out in support of this goal is the Sport and Recreation Program. As can be seen through the pages of the Reveille and the RSL NSW website, the opportunity for sub-Branches across the state to develop activities reflecting the interests and needs of their local communities has been embraced enthusiastically.[12] By getting together and learning new skills, staying active and fit, or merely enjoying each other’s company, the many diverse and engaging activities organised by and between RSL NSW sub-Branches have proved wonderful ways of building camaraderie, connecting with the wider community, and encouraging and welcoming new members.

In terms of the second goal to which I referred – the support and connection of veterans and their families to services – much is articulated through RSL NSW’s partner charity RSL LifeCare Veterans Services. In August last year, and as I noted at last year’s Congress, a remarkable $3.1 million was donated to RSL LifeCare through fund-raising by sub-branch activities. Shortly, we will learn how much has been raised since. I understand we are in for more good news. For this, I thank each and every member for your efforts.

As tangible outcomes of the support you have provided, RSL LifeCare’s core service delivery over the last year included:[13]

• providing over $682,000[14] in financial assistance, including $397,000 for disaster relief,
• assisting 341 veterans experiencing homeliness,
• arranging more than 5,000[15] nights of accommodation, either to veterans through the Homes for Heroes program, or to veterans and their families experiencing housing stress through financial assistance,
• helping 816 veterans lodge nearly 4,500[16] DVA claims
• facilitating 220 veterans or partners receiving employment assistance or further education and training opportunities.
• lodging 207 new Veteran’s Review Board appeals, completed 291 Alternative Dispute Resolution mediation discussions and represented 37 full VRB Hearings.
• Guiding 84 veterans through horse handling and riding courses

A pilot laptop program was also rolled out, supplying 50 laptops to veterans and their families, RSL NSW sub-branches, and Veteran Well Being Centres, to help veterans and their families access education and employment opportunities.

RSL NSW funds and organisational partnerships were also significant contributions to the consolidation and expansion of service delivery to Veterans and their families through the Veterans’ and Families’ Hubs network. 

This year, Australian Government grants enabled the submission of business cases for four new Hubs, in the Hunter, Tweed-North Coast, Queanbeyan, and Western Sydney regions.[17]

In December last year, the Nowra Veteran Wellbeing Centre moved into its new purpose-built premises in Wallace Street and, between then and June of this year, over 450 visitors were welcomed and 107 events with 2,600 participants hosted.[18]

The future of the Northern Beaches Veterans Wellbeing Centre at Dee Why RSL Club has also been assured, thanks to the partnership of that Club and local RSL NSW sub-branches.[19]

These Wellbeing Centres are a means of providing ‘one-stop’ centres for services where veterans can rapidly access the services they need regardless of where they live.

In terms of veterans’ advocacy – in putting forward the needs of veterans and their families to government bodies and agencies – this last year has been huge.

Submissions to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide closed 10 days ago[20]. Nearly 6,000 submissions were received during the 27-month consultation period; 80% of which came from serving and ex-serving ADF personnel, and their families and friends.[21] I commend the assistance and support provided to this important process by the RSL NSW Royal Commission Office at ANZAC House and the RSL NSW Veterans’ Services and Policy Committee.

I also note the significant transitions occurring currently at the RSL NSW Board level.

I congratulate you, Giles, on your appointment as the new CEO of RSL NSW. As I understand it, you are currently in the midst of an exhaustive – indeed, perhaps exhausting – hand-over from Jon. I am sure, however, that your considerable experience in the not-for-profit and charity sectors, as well as financial services and digital transformation, will serve you, and RSL NSW, well when you take the reins fully.

It would, of course, be remiss of me not to acknowledge at this point the extraordinary work of outgoing CEO Jon Black. Jon, your efforts over your term, in putting together the Strategic Plan and mapping so clearly the means by which RSL NSW can consolidate and expand its position as NSW’s key veteran’s support and advocacy agency, are nothing short of amazing.

I congratulate, also, Mick Bainbridge, on his election as the new State President of RSL NSW, along with three new directors[22], positions which will be taken up tomorrow after the rise of Congress. Mick, your appointment as the youngest-ever President of RSL NSW marks an important moment in the organisation’s history, both empowered by efforts to ensure RSL NSW is more inclusive and future-focussed, and symptomatic of the success those efforts have reaped.[23] 

If you are ever in doubt of what needs to be done and how to do it, I can offer no better advice than ‘look to the example of your predecessor’.

And of – and to – that predecessor, Ray James; what can I say?

I have lost count of the meetings, the events, and the commemorative services I have attended with you. You have been, for many, not only the face of RSL NSW, but its heart and soul.

Your committed and dignified focus on this organisation and its core legacy of care for the community it supports has been beyond exemplary. Your tireless advocacy and unwavering support for all who have served is truly inspirational. As Patron, and on behalf of every single person in this room, I offer you the sincerest of thanks.

In closing, I offer all in this room best wishes for your deliberations over the next two days.

I might urge you to ‘keep your eye on the prize’, to hold fast in your discussions and decision-making the core principle of care – the raison d’être of your being part of the RSL NSW – that I outlined at the beginning of my remarks.

In saying this this I trust I have not overstepped the mark. Because, that raison d’être is why you are here in the first place, representing the members of your sub-branches, who each carry that cause deep in their heart.

So, what I will do, instead, is use those two simple words which express so much – “thank you” for your participation. This Congress, in bringing together representatives of sub-Branches across the State, is an important and practical embodiment of your motto and vision: “One RSL – working together, delivering locally.”

I also congratulate the recipients shortly to receive Meritorious Service Medals[24] and the Certificate of Merit with Gold Badge[25].

Finally, to every RSL NSW member:

Thank you, for your part in the ongoing and growing RSL NSW story; for continuing its proud legacy of commemoration, mateship, and support; for ensuring the fullest possible embodiment of that sacred vow: Lest we Forget.

[1] Mr Jaimie Abbott

[2] Ms Theresa Dargin.

[3] The Honourable David Harris MP, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, Minister for Gaming and Racing, Minister for Veterans, Minister for Medical Research, and Minister for the Central Coast and Member for Wyong

[4] Commodore Bradley Smith, representing Australian Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Christopher Smith AM, CSM, RAN

[5] Published in October 2020, updated in 2022 and 2023: RSL NSW Strategic Plan 2021-2026 (2023 Update)

[6] ‘President’s Welcome’, Reveille, vol 105 September 2023, p. 4.

[7] Goal 3, ‘Strategic Goals’, in RSL NSW Strategic Plan 2021-2026 (2023 Update), pp. 4-5

[8] Goal 4, ‘Strategic Goals’, in ibid.

[9] The exact stats are 28,637 and 2,366 respectively.

[10] The exact % increases are 9.44% and 10.77% respectively: https://rslnsw.org.au/news/milestone-moment-for-rsl-nsw-members-elect-youngest-president-and-three-young-veteran-directors/

[11] As outgoing CEO, Jon Black, remarked recently, “new members are the future of the League”: Interview with Ray James and Jon Black on RSL NSW website, published August 2023 and available here

[12] Activities include, for instance, pottery classes, walking football, ocean swimming, social sailing, social walks, trivia competitions: https://rslnsw.org.au/news/rsl-nsw-sport-recreation-program-brings-diverse-activities-for-all-members/. Also, participation, for instance, in this year’s City2Surf, , in which over 100 veterans and their families, members representing over 50 sub-Branches and the wider veteran community, ranging from ages 1 to 83, competed: https://www.rslaustralia.org/city2surf; https://rslnsw.org.au/news/team-rsl-nsw-sport-takes-the-2023-city2surf-in-their-stride/

[13] https://rslnsw.org.au/news/rsl-lifecare-veteran-services-achievements-and-progress-report-fy22-23/

[14] $682,516

[15] 5,128

[16] 4,460

[17] https://rslnsw.org.au/news/next-steps-for-veterans-and-families-hubs-expansion-to-hunter-region/; https://rslnsw.org.au/news/a-veterans-and-families-hub-a-step-closer-in-tweed/; https://rslnsw.org.au/news/a-step-forward-for-the-queanbeyan-veterans-and-families-hub/; https://minister.dva.gov.au/news-and-media/minister/greater-western-sydney-veterans-benefit-unique-hub; $50,000 grants from the Federal Government, through the Department of Veterans Affairs, enabled these submissions to be made in each of the four cited cases.

[18] rslnsw.org.au/news/rsl-lifecare-veteran-services-achievements-and-progress-report-fy22-23/. The new centre replaced the temporary shopfront opened in May 2021: https://rslnsw.org.au/news/minister-for-veterans-affairs-media-release-regional-nsw-veterans-get-boost-in-wellbeing-support/

[19] https://rslnsw.org.au/news/rsl-lifecare-announces-plans-for-new-veteran-wellbeing-centre-in-dee-why/

[20] Public submissions closed midnight on Friday, 13 October 2023: media release from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, 16 October 2023, available https://defenceveteransuicide.royalcommission.gov.au/news-and-media/media-releases/royal-commission-thanks-defence-veteran-community-after-submissions-close

[21] ibid.

[22] https://rslnsw.org.au/news/milestone-moment-for-rsl-nsw-members-elect-youngest-president-and-three-young-veteran-directors/

[23] Today, the average age of RSL NSW members is 58, down from 78 in 2019: ibid.

[24] Mr Robert Durbin and Mr William Harrigan.

[25] Mrs Pamela Hansen.