Funding cuts force closure of major Townsville veterans support hub Oasis
Townsville MP Phillip Thompson is demanding action as the city's Oasis centre faces closure, with it’s chairman warning the service cannot continue on "goodwill alone".
​A Townsville MP has demanded certainty for veteran support after an announcement that a veteran hub in the nation’s largest garrison city is set to close.
After the Townsville Bulletin front’s page on Monday detailed the impending closure of the much-loved veteran hub, federal member for Herbert Phillip Thompson said it was “disappointing” the Federal Government had decided “not to work closely with Oasis in Townsville.”
“When veterans transition out of Defence and their families need the support as well, they should be there and able to get it when they need it,” he said.
“We need to work out a sustainability model to make sure the Oasis isn’t just operations for year on year, that it is there for my generation and the generations after because it is simply not good enough …
“The government can find money to throw at everything else, they should be working closely with the hubs to make sure that our veterans are supported.”
Mr Thompson said the federal government and Oasis board must “act now” and “not leave things to the last minute” to make sure that veterans aren’t left behind.
The Oasis Townsville chair Lieutenant General (retired) John Caligari said the reason for the closure was that the hub cannot continue based on “goodwill alone”, with the hub expected to cease operation in early January.
“We are proud of what we’ve built – not just a service, but a standard,” General Caligari said.
“If we can no longer serve as a connector to the best supports and an enabler through complex processes for the veteran community in Townsville, we will step aside with dignity.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs said a new agency focusing on wellbeing would be set up by mid-next year, but that DVA did not provide operational funding.
Originally published as Funding cuts force closure of major Townsville veterans support hub Oasis
