Veterans stage sleep-in protest at State Parliament House over Repat Hospital closure
VETERANS have vowed to keep sleeping at the entry to Parliament House until the decision to close the Repat is reversed.
A SMALL group of veterans have vowed never to surrender to State Government plans to close the Repatriation General Hospital and have instead captured the high ground at State Parliament.
The vets and supporters on Tuesday spent their second night sleeping in swags in the area at the top of the front steps, despite being told by officials they were not allowed to.
They are using the toilet at a nearby fast food outlet, and while keeping the area clean it is now festooned with swags, blankets, pillows, food supplies, chiller packs, chairs, placards and other equipment.
Veterans Affairs Minister Martin Hamilton-Smith met the men Tuesday night and sought to reassure them services would be improved under planned changes.
“The Repat is not closing. Its facilities are being relocated which will be an improvement,” he said.
Augustinus “Daktari” Krikke, 64, who spent 17 years in the army, including a tour of Vietnam as a medic, travels to the Repat twice a week from Davoren Park for treatment for heart and lung problems.
“We will stay here as long as it takes, and if they stop us sleeping here we will simply sit on the steps,” he said.
“This Government says it is run down — the reason it is rundown is because they didn’t put any money into it.
“It is a place where veterans can relate to each other. If you turn up feeling down the group senses it pretty quickly, closes ranks and helps you over a rough patch. You are not going to get that if they break the Repat up.”
Mr Hamilton-Smith had a long discussion with the group seeking to reassure them the changes were in their best interest.
He said he is in favour of keeping the Ward 17 for mental problems at the Repat site, but noted a final decision may hinge on whether it is considered such patients may also need the facilities of a full functioning hospital for related conditions.
“I want to assure these men there are real advantages for veterans in the Transforming Health changes,” he said.
“It is going to happen. Services are going to be relocated.”
The assurances did not stop the vigil. The four veterans on hand at 8pm say other veterans will arrive to sleep in rotations, with members of the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club on hand as security as they sleep.
“People are donating food to us, and passers-by are giving us fantastic support, signing our petition and saying how disgusted they feel at Labor’s decision to close the Repat,” Mr Krikke said.
The situation puts parliamentary officials in a delicate situation — calling in police to oust the ageing veterans protesting a cause popular in the community would not be a good look, but nor is turning Parliament’s entry into a bivouac which may tempt protesters for various other causes to occupy it for a sleep-in protest.