Australia’s ‘responsibility’ to veterans goes beyond Anzac Day

As Australia honours the sacrifice of those in the armed forces, the RSL is urging the federal government to act on veteran support.

As Australia honours the sacrifice of those in the armed forces, calls are being made for the government to provide more reliable veteran support.

Returned and Services League (RSL) head Greg Melick said the support should be more than just a vote-winning exercise in the upcoming election.

“Funding to support veterans, their families and these organisations is a national responsibility and should not just be one-off election promises to attract votes once every three years,” Mr Melick said.

“The reality is that the demand for veteran services has risen dramatically, and it is the responsibility, indeed duty of the Australian government to meet this demand.”

Veterans’ stories differ widely, making it even more crucial to develop a functional support model.

Curtis McGrath, 34, and Stan Mellick, 102, are separated by almost 70 years and, by all accounts, have lived vastly different lives.

But a crucial thread links the pair.

The RSL is calling for whoever wins the next election to develop a better funded veteran support system. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

The two men are Australian veterans and proud of their common values of mateship, humour, ingenuity, courage and endurance and their embrace of the Anzac spirit.

“I think the Anzac spirit is about coming together to help each other – whether that be helping out in the floods or on a deployment overseas. There’s, you know, trying to make the world a better place,” Mr McGrath said.

The pair sat down together in the lead-up to this year’s Anzac Day to talk about their time in the service and the challenges they faced during and after war.

Combat engineer and Paralympian Mr McGrath, who served in East Timor and Afghanistan, said Anzac Day served as a “special time” to pay respects to the mates who saved his life.

Curtis McGrath, veteran and Paralympian, was hospitalised in Afghanistan after he stood on a landmine. Picture: Supplied.

“One particular day comes to mind – the day that I was injured in 2012 and I was lying on the ground, needing assistance and my comrades and mates came together and helped save my life.” he said.

Patrolling a former Taliban outpost in a mountainous region of Afghanistan, Mr McGrath stood on an improvised explosive device, otherwise known as a landmine.

After thinking his life was going to end as he was dragged 500m to base camp to wait for a helicopter, Mr McGrath became determined to simply make it the start of another one – as a Paralympian.

Curtis McGrath with his gold medals after the 2016 Paralympics. Picture: Nigel Hallett

After losing both legs, the former soldier went on to become a world champion in Para-canoe just two years after the horrific incident.

Mr Mellick – who served in World War II as a captain – witnessed the devastating Japanese bombings of Townsville in 1942.

For him, Anzac Day is about coming together to help each other, whether that be helping out in the floods or on a deployment overseas.

“The efforts of earlier men and women, have been remembered and somehow continue to spread through the generations and I think that’s encouraging,” he said.

As the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, along with having a current serving partner and being a mum to two independent teenage daughters, RSL national ambassador and veteran Cherisa Pearce has an excellent understanding of the issues facing veterans and their families.

“You know today is about coming together to remember those who are still struggling and, and you know, fighting the battle at home within themselves,” she said.

Major Stan Mellick, 1939-1945. Picture: Queensland State Library

Two veterans talk about what "Anzac spirit" means to them. Picture: Supplied.

Thousands of Australians attended Anzac Day services around the nation on Monday to pay their respects for war veterans.

Harrison Sutcliffe, 17, who is a descendant of a former soldier, taught himself to play The Last Post on an electric guitar to honour his great-great-grandfather and commemorate Anzac Day.

“I’d gone to an Anzac Day Dawn Service with my mum for as long as I could remember. We’d never missed one, so naturally it was disappointing in 2020 when we weren’t able to attend any services,” he said.

“My great-great-grandfather Jack was the trumpeter for his infantry and fought in Gallipoli. He was my age when he went to war, having lied saying he was 19.”

Originally published as Australia’s ‘responsibility’ to veterans goes beyond Anzac Day