More mental health dollars for diggers
Treatment of mental health problems for Australian veterans will receive an extra $20 million from the Federal Government during 2007. The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Bruce Billson, said that supporting the mental health needs of the veterans’ community was one of his highest priorities.
“Mental illness can affect veterans, young or old, from any conflict or peace operation — past or present, large or small — often with adverse and debilitating consequences for both the veteran and those around them, particularly spouses and children,” Mr Billson said.
The Minister said the demands on the veterans of today differed to the experiences of older veterans as a result of the tempo and variety of contemporary deployments.
“For example, since 1999, there have been around 80,000 deployments of ADF personnel to peacekeeping, humanitarian missions and war zones. With a standing force of around 50,000, Australia’s repatriation services are now responding to the complex needs of veterans of multiple deployments.
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“The accumulative effect of various, very different operational environments, particularly in terms of mental health, is a major focus of my department. Further research is underway with the first qualitative study of female war and peacekeeper veterans dur in coming months which will inform policy and service delivery for all veterans,” Minister Billson said.
