Another new Vet Affairs’ Minister – doesn’t rate press release
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Darren Chester is the new Minister for Veterans Affairs, Minister for Defence Personnel and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC.
FILE PHOTO: Darren Chester addresses invited guests during a ceremony at RAAF Base East Sale. Photo by Corporal Veronica O’Hara.
But I only know this because I received a press release with his official letterhead this morning – not announcing his appointment, but marking the 75th anniversary of the Torres Straight Light Infantry Battalion.
Now some of you may think I’m mad or ill informed because I didn’t know this already – it was ‘all over the news’ around the end of February.
But’ I’m in Ireland, on holidays, and it didn’t make the evening news over here, strangely enough 😉
But I should have been aware – I should have been told.
Just a couple of days ago, Defence sent out a national press release trumpeting a ‘New chair of the Defence Reserves Support Council in Victoria’ – a regional appointment that very few people (including me) care about.
Yet, the appointment of a new minister apparently does not warrant a press release – not from Defence or DVA!!!
Am I the only one who missed this?
Am I the only one who thinks this is dodgy (something to do with the controversial circumstances of his appointment and/or the resignation of his predecessor)?
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I am yet to see a Minister past or present allegedly representing veterans get of their collective butts and address the inequities of the commutation debacle whereby those that commuted repay that commute in perpetuity and past on to their spouses on their demise.
Their only interest lies in self promotion and insuring they keep their noses in the trough god forbid if they actually started to genuinely look at the rip off perpetrated on those DFRB/DFRDB recipients who commuted.
I refer to Post by ‘Soldier M’. Well written.
I’d like to know the list from 1996 to December 2007 of Veterans’ Affairs Ministers. Why?
In 1996 I commenced lobbying the decision-makers to officially recognise some 3,000 Vietnam veterans (Nashos) who have been refused a medallic award.
It has been a long hard battle and the matter now rests with The Hon. Darren Chester. If you would like to know more go to change.org
I think the ADF that are overseas, should just return to home shores, irrespective of policy and refuse to go overseas, that if the department wants to fight overseas, they can do it themselves. I believe that we should house our Defence Forces strategically around the shores of Australia, and keep out any refugees who attempt to come within cooee of our lands, either by air or by sea, fortunately we are protected from the Land invasion anyway. The ADF should also be deployed as adjunct to the assistance of local policing enforcement. If the Government cannot protect them while overseas and can only manipulate their presence, then we must keep them here, to protect the Australian way of life and themselves. I and members of my family have been there done that, we must defend our right to the freedoms our pioneers gave us and the veterans who protected them. Not have successive governments sell us out.
3 Ministers in 3 months is reflective of the way Government treats out Vets. Lack of leadership leads thru the DVA to poor service delivery to our Vets. It also highlights the low priority the of treatment given and should be provided to our Vets.
Time for the Government to wake up on this issue .
A dissatified Vet
Re: Another new Vet Affairs’ Minister – doesn’t rate press release
What we must all come to terms with is:
– there’s a clear distinction between (A) a Veterans Affairs Minister and (B) The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Minister.
What’s the difference I hear some ask. Well, it’s enormous when you contemplate the role of the last 7 Ministers’, who it has to be stated, have worked exclusively for DVA staff and senior management, the DVA-SES, peddling media narratives (propaganda) cooked up by Ministerial Chief-of-Staff (CoS) and media advisers who pump media stovepipes full of BRANDZAC messaging —— not because it’s what they believe, but purely as a form of maintaining Dumb Australia, that image they keep broadcasting to all n’ sundry that ADF Veterans’ are incredibly well looked after —— It also serves in getting their names written into the pages of history, a kind of ‘I Was Here’ modern form of political graffiti. .
Wedded to the above we see this perversion coming out of the ‘DVA Ministers’ and PM’s office where they fill up their Facebook and Twitter pages with smiling, young, able-bodied and uniformed faces —– now some may have an issue with what I have just stated, but think about it: a Minister allegedly there to support Veterans’ i.e. those who have served, loves filling up his facebook and Twitter accounts with young, smiling, uniformed faces —- yeah right, no “design” behind that consistent image promotion right!
This of course is a direct result of political offices now being filled with Bachelor-of-Arts qualified kids with so-called communication and media degrees, who having learned through study that all you need to do in ‘dumbing down’ and shaping a narrative (storytelling) is to PUMP the well established media stovepipes 24/7 with a select bunch of regurgitated stories and images (Bright Shiny Smiling Kids in uniform) that only promote messaging that makes the Minister look good.
Contrast the above with ‘what you don’t see’ e.g. a DVA Minister standing with a busted arse digger at the VRB, AAT or, with a former SF (2CDO/SASR) 20 year’ multi-tour Veteran who DVA’s hit squad law firm Sparke Helmore is attempting to destroy in hearings for a basic incapacity claim — a Veteran’ already ruined and broken while in service, but then destroyed further by DVA, who kicked the shit out of a Veteran’ who’s only crime was to finally put up a his hand and ask for help.
Sufficed to say: you won’t see a DVA Minister e.g. Dazzle, working for a Veteran’, let alone see that same ‘DVA Minister’ filling up his facebook or Twitter pages with the busted, broken, ruined or destroyed who, somehow managed to finally get justice in his/her Claim —- and you won’t see a DVA Minister coming to the defence of an SF 20 year’, multi-tour Veteran, who under repeat assault by DVA contracted lawyers who, in legal hearings where they attempt to defend the technicalities cooked up by DVA Delegates, the contracted lawyers of Sparke Helmore make slur after slur against a decorated SF member that moves well beyond disgusting —– nope, you won’t see a ‘DVA Minister’ coming to that Troopers’ defence.
‘DVA Ministers’ since Dec 2007:-
Allan Griffin – Warren Snowden – Michael Ronaldson – Stuart Robert – Dan Tehan – Michael McCormack and now No 7, Darren ‘Dazzle’ Chester.
The simple reality is:-
The above ‘Ministers’ all worked for the DVA – they are in-truth, ‘DVA Ministers’ —— It is a complete misnomer to call them ‘Veterans’ Affairs’ Ministers’ as they DO NOT represent Veterans’.
Moreover, they work for treasury and government acting as glorified PR spokesmen representing and promoting the interests of DVA exclusively – ‘interests’ they keep secret – ‘interests’ they internally refer to as Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) – ‘KPI’s’ entirely focused on saving money.