Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, [1984]-

Call Number
Nef 362.86840994 VET
Created/Published
[Canberra] : [Dept. of Veterans' Affairs]
Issue
(June 1986)
Images
4
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Text

Vetaffairs  

Minister: 'This is our backbone'  

SPECIAL CEREMONY TO  

MARK ADVENT OF VEA  

Moninlu Doutnal  

(Jun£ /QB6  

The new Veterans' Entitlements Act (VEA) is now the  

"backbone of the Veterans' Affairs portfolio".  

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs,  

Senator Arthur Gietzelt, said this at  

special ceremony held at the  

Australian War Memorial in Can-  

berra on 22 May to mark the pro-  

clamation of the VEA.  

He said that the VEA would  

provide legislative basis for the  

whole range of medical, health and  

social services provided by the  

Department to Repatriation ben-  

eficiaries.  

"We now have solid foundation  

on which to build an effective  

Veterans' Affairs system as we ap-  

proach the year 2000," he said.  

The proclamation ceremony was  

attended by representatives of ex-  

service and community organisa-  

tions including national leaders of  

the Returned Services League  

(RSL).  

• war widow was present who  

had become eligible for en-  

titlements under the new VEA (see  

related item below).  

Senator Gietzelt, said that the VEA  

was landmark in Repatriation  

history. It had clarified many con-  

fusing, contradictory and unwieldy  

sections of the 1920 Repatriation  

', ...  

He then referred to the responsible  

attitude ot major ex-service bodies  

during the long period involved in  

the preparation and passage of the  

Bill through Federal Parliament.  

Senator Gietzelt said: "Although at  

various stages the Bill had rocky  

passage it was always clear there  

was agreement that new legislation  

was needed, and that the vast  

majority of the provisions were  

acceptable to most of those in-  

volved in the process.  

"The sticking points were really all  

matters of detail and the spirit of  

consensus and compromise which  

underlay the whole consultative  

process eventually triumphed."  

He said that Defence personnel  

who served in the Vietnam war  

zone but who were not "allotted  

for service" would from now on be  

regarded as having been allotted  

for such service.  

"Included in this category are those  

who served on supply ships such as  

HMAS Sydney, Boonaroo and  

Jeparit as well as aircraft ferrying  

supplies to Vietnam," he added.  

"All such personnel are now eligi-  

ble for repatriation entitlements  

under the VEA.  

"The VEA also provides for the  

restoration of war widows' pen-  

sions and treatment entitlements to  

war widows who have remarried  

since 29 May 1984. Those war  

widows who remarry after 22 May  

1986 also will retain their en-  

titlements.  

• Continued on P.  

War widow lodges claim  

Mrs Judy Bowtell, of Lindisfarne,  

Tasmania, was the first war widow  

to use the provisions of the new  

Veterans' Entitlements Act.  

She was war widow until Decem-  

ber last year when she re-married.  

Under the new Act she is eligible to  

have her pension restored.  

She is pictured below at the Austra-  

lian War Memorial in Canberra  

handing her application for war  

widow's pension to Senator Giet-  

zelt while Ms Anne Thomson of the  

Department's Canberra Regional  

Office looks on.  

Term of  

office  

renewed  

Major-General Alan Morrison, Services Member of the  

Repatriation Commission, has been re-appointed for  

further three-year term.  

His re-appointment was  

celebrated at morning  

tea party last month at-  

tended by senior executive  

officers and members of  

the Commission's secre-  

tariat staff in Central Of-  

fice, Canberra.  

Under the new Veterans'  

Entitlements Act his title as  

Commissioner remains un-  

changed, but those of the  

Chairman and Deputy  

Chairman have been alter-  

ed to President and  

Deputy President.  

Commissioner Morrison,  

58, was first appointed to  

the Commission in Sep-  

tember 1981 after he re-  

tired as Chief of Personnel,  

Australian Army. Before  

that he was Commandant  

of the Royal Military Col-  

lege, Duntroon. He served  

in the Korean and Vietnam  

wars.  

Centre piece of the morn-  

ing tea party was an attrac-  

tively decorated cake  

made by Mrs Wilma Bur-  

sac, Cabinet Liaision Of-  

ficer, Department's  

Special Projects and Co-  

ordination Division.  

It was layered chocolate  

cake with cognac cream  

filling. The top of the cake  

was decorated with an  

iced seal of the Repatria-  

tion Commission. Mrs Bur-  

sac also served Anzac  

cookies and gingerbread  

biscuits.  

Pictured above is Derek Volker, Department  

Secretary and President of the Repatriation  

Commission (left) with Commissioner Morri-  

son at the morning tea party. Mr Volker is  

assisting Commissioner Morrison to remove an  

iced replica of the Repatriation Commission  

seal from the top of the cake.  

Another cake cutting ceremony See P. 3.  

RGH Concord grounds  

to be given 'facelift'  

Most of the areas surrounding RGH Concord in Sydney are to be  

improved by landscaping project to be funded by $76,850 grant  

from the Federal Government's Community Employment Program.  

The project will provide work for  

26 unemployed people and will  

improve the appearance of Con-  

cord through beautification of the  

foreshore of Yarralla Bay and the  

hospital grounds with seating  

provided.  

Labour for the project will be  

recruited through the Common-  

wealth Employment Service (CES)  

from the ranks of long-term unem-  

ployed and other disadvantaged  

groups including Aboriginals,  

people with disabilities and  

migrants with English Language  

difficulties. Fifty per cent of the  

jobs will be available to women.  

The project has been approved by  

the Ministers for Veterans' Affairs  

and Employment and Industrial Re-  

lations. It is scheduled to be com-  

pleted in six months.  

More joint ventures  

are approved P.  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1066039472

APA citation

Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs. (). Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, Retrieved August 14, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1066039472

MLA citation

Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, [Canberra]: [Dept. of Veterans' Affairs], . Web. 14 August 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1066039472>

Harvard/Australian citation

Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs. , Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs, [Dept. of Veterans' Affairs], [Canberra] viewed 14 August 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1066039472

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=Australia. Department of Veterans' Affairs.
  | title=Vetaffairs / Department of Veterans' Affairs
  | year=
  | section=v. : ill. ; 35-40 cm.
  | issn=0819-8934
  | issue=(June 1986)
  | location=[Canberra]
  | publisher=[Dept. of Veterans' Affairs]
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1066039472
  | id=nla.obj-1066039472
  | access-date=14 August 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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