Police Veterans Victoria disappointed after government funding pledge fails to deliver
A volunteer group supporting police veterans say they have been blindsided after a $400,000 government funding pledge failed to deliver.
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The Andrews government has rejected pleas by a volunteer police veterans support group for funding despite its former minister pledging to help.
In May this year then police minister Lisa Neville pledged to fund Police Veterans Victoria (PVV), according to the organisation’s senior management and guests at a luncheon held at the Sofitel.
But after a letter-writing campaign, Ms Neville’s successor as police minister, Anthony Carbines, has left the volunteer service without any funding at all.
PVV helps former officers who hit hard times, including cases of homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, PTSD, anxiety, depression and financial stress.
It also supports the families of former members.
The service receives on average 20 referrals a month, but receives no government funding, relying on donations from police members, corporates and the public.
Trucking magnate Lindsay Fox has been a significant contributor.
PVV chief executive David McGowan said it was hoping for a $400,000 a year boost from the state government before it was told it would not receive a cent.
“We’ve been left extremely disappointed that the pledge did not materialise for us, especially after the undertakings that were made,” Mr McGowan said.
“While government support for mental health programs is welcome, none of that money is available for the work we do.
“All we asked was for equal funding that the state government provides to support defence veterans, which we say is already well supported at a federal level.”
Mr McGowan said the demands on the PVV had never been higher.
“The more we do, the more referrals we get. The need is clearly there and the Andrews government accepts that.
“But for some reason the government’s support suddenly fell away.”
The service received widespread publicity in 2018 when then Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and union secretary Wayne Gatt walked from opposite sides of Victoria in the well-publicised Head-to-Head walk supporting police mental health, raising $500,000.
PVV has since been based at Victoria Police headquarters and has the full support of the chief commissioner and The Police Association of Victoria.
PVV’s peer support program has 56 trained volunteers with its network is spread across the state.
More than a third of all police who leave the force do so because of ill health.
The government’s rejection to fund PVV came after Victorian MPs received 500 letters requesting funding for it this year.
Mr Carbines, in response to a letter, stated police veterans and their families had access to a number of other Victoria Police programs.
But a spokesperson from The Police Association of Victoria said government funding was warranted.
“Police Veterans Victoria has operated for the past three years, primarily using funds raised by The Police Association and Victoria Police during its 2018 Head-to-Head walk. Since then, this funding has helped hundreds of Victorian veterans that have given entire careers to the community,” he said.
“Supporting veterans should not come down to fundraising alone. It should be supported, in part at least, by Governments who have leaned on them for years and decades to keep the community safe, often at great personal expense.”
An Andrews government spokesperson said the former minister, Ms Neville, made no promise to fund the PVV.
“We recognise being on the frontline keeping Victorians safe can take its toll on police and their families – we thank Victoria’s police veterans for all they’ve done for our community and Police Veterans Victoria for its important work, a statement said. “We’ve invested $6 million to establish the Centre of Excellence for Emergency Worker Mental Health and a Specialist Network of Clinicians who are experts in dealing with mental health injuries of police and emergency workers – including police veterans.”“We’re also backing Victoria Police with record funding to ensure it can continue to look after the wellbeing of its members – including through access to confidential counselling for veterans and their families.”
To learn more about the PVV or make a donation go to www.policeveteransvic.org.au
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