‘We failed you,’ Anthony Albanese tells Vietnam veterans

Those who serve in Australia’s armed forces should never again be treated as Vietnam veterans were, Anthony Albanese has declared.

Victoria Cross recipient Keith Payne at commemorations in Canberra marking 50 years since the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Those who serve in Australia’s armed forces should never again be treated in the way Vietnam veterans were when they returned home, Anthony Albanese has ­declared.

On the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the Prime Minister said Australians who served in the conflict deserved “much better than you received”.

“It's something that we need to learn the lessons from, and should never happen again,” he said. Mr Albanese told RSL members in Ipswich, Queensland, that the ­nation had matured to the point that “we can disagree with a war without diminishing the respect we feel for every man and woman who puts on our uniform and serves in our name”.

Anthony Albanese attending a service in Ipswich, Queensland, to commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tertius Pickard

“We should have acknowledged you better as a nation then. But the truth is, as a nation we didn’t,” he said. “Times have changed, though regrettably too slowly for many veterans who are no longer with us.”

Peter Dutton said resurgent authoritarianism around the world offered an insight into the reasons for Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War.

“Australians stood with our friends against those hellbent on conquest,” the Opposition Leader said. “Vietnam is a reminder that the values we hold dear endure ­beyond any conflict – provided we never become indifferent to ­defending them.”

More than 60,000 Australians served in Vietnam, including 15,000 conscripts. The conflict claimed 523 Australian lives and left 3000 wounded.

Vietnam veterans in Canberra to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh acknowledged the trauma many Vietnam veterans faced, paying tribute to those who established the crisis counselling service Open Arms. “The support it offers is informed by your experiences. It is an enduring legacy that you can all be proud of,” he said.

But the RSL has called on the government to improve mental health support for veterans, pointing to the much lower rates paid to psychologists for counselling veterans than those for NDIS clients.

RSL ­national president Greg Melick urged the Albanese government to “level the playing field” to support veterans suffering mental health difficulties.