ANDREW GEE COMMITS TO NEW VETERANS’ AND FAMILIES’ WELLBEING CENTRE FOR CENTRAL WEST NSW

In early April 2025, I stood with veterans from across the region at Vietnam Veterans Park in Bathurst and announced a major new policy commitment – to establish a Veterans’ and Families’ Wellbeing Centre to be jointly based in Bathurst and Orange, with a network of smaller outreach hubs across Molong, Mudgee-Gulgong, Lithgow, Wellington and Oberon.

The Centre would deliver integrated support for local veterans and families, based on the successful Tasmanian hub-and-spoke model which I oversaw as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel.

This Centre would ensure that members of our ADF, veterans and families can access health and mental health and wellbeing services, social connection, advocacy, compensation claims, housing and employment support – all in one place. It would be a one-stop-shop.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide highlighted the tragic, human cost of our country failing to properly care for our veterans and their families. Too many were let down.

Veterans’ and Families’ Wellbeing Centres and hubs are a step in setting things right.

In 2022 I threatened to resign from my cabinet position of Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel because of the government’s failure to properly fund veterans’ compensation entitlements and clear the backlog of 60,000 claims.

At the time I called it a “national disgrace” because I was shocked that veterans could be neglected in this way and treated so badly.

I’m calling on all the major parties and local candidates to publicly support our veteran community and get behind my policy of establishing a Veterans’ and Families’ Wellbeing Centre for our electorate.

Our ADF personnel, veterans and their families give Australia their best and our country needs to give them its best in return.