Tapestry on show
at Shrine ahead
of journey to
France
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Morning Star,
an
Australian-made
tapestry created
to hang in the
Sir John Monash
Centre in
France, will be
on public
display at the
Shrine of
Remembrance in
Melbourne until
25 February
2018.
The tapestry,
like the Sir
John Monash
Centre itself,
commemorates the
service of
Australians in
the First World
War and the
46,000
Australian lives
lost on the
Western Front.
It depicts a
pathway through
eucalypt trees
and bush towards
dawn light, and
features inset
images of
war-bound ships
departing
Australia along
with young men
who were about
to enlist.
Designed by
Australian war
artists Lyndell
Brown and
Charles Green
and brought to
life by
Australian
Tapestry
Workshop weavers
over almost
4,000 hours,
Morning Star
was created
using manual
techniques that
have been used
in Europe since
the 15th
Century.
Australian wool,
sourced from
sustainable
producers, was
dyed on-site
into more than
370 different
colours, shades
and tones for
use in the 5 x
2.5 metre
work.
The designers
have worked
collaboratively
since 1989 and
travelled to
Afghanistan and
the Middle East
as official war
artists to the
Australian War
Memorial in
2007. They say
the tapestry
depicts the
journey of young
Australians to
the Western
Front,
communicating
‘the places for
which the
Australians
fought and the
imaginary spaces
they carried
with them’.
Morning Star
will be
transported to
its permanent
home in France
following its
exhibition at
the Shrine. The
Sir John Monash
Centre will open
in April. |
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Marking 25th
anniversary of
Operation Solace
in Somalia
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A series of
commemorative
events and
reunions will be
held in coming
months to mark
the 25th
anniversary of
Operation
Solace,
Australia’s 1993–94
major commitment
to peacekeeping
operations in
Somalia.
NSW Governor
David Hurley AC
DSC, who was in
command of the
Army’s
1st Battalion,
The Royal
Australian
Regiment (1 RAR)
in Somalia, will
host a reception
at Government
House in Sydney
on 26 April 2018
to mark the
anniversary. He
will lead
members of units
who deployed to
Somalia in 1993
in the Anzac
Day Parade the
day before (see
www.1rar.asn.au/news/7680
for registration
details).
The Australian
Government has
provided nearly
$29,000 in
funding to
assist with
commemorations
of the
peacekeeping
operations
including a 1RAR
reunion function
in Townsville on
17 May (see
www.1rar.asn.au/events/140114
for more
information).
Operation Solace
was a response
to a call in
late 1992 from
the United
Nations for
assistance with
its humanitarian
operation in
Somalia, where a
humanitarian
disaster was
being compounded
by a complete
breakdown in
civil order.
Australia had
already
contributed a
tri-service
contingent to
the UN Operation
in Somalia (UNOSOM)
under Operation
Iguana, but
Operation Solace
was of a very
different
magnitude.
The Australian
contribution to
peacekeeping in
Somalia
comprised more
than 1,500
personnel.
Australia sent
personnel from
each of the
three services
to UNOSOM
between October
1992 and
November 1994
and personnel to
serve under the
auspices of the
Unified Task
Force, with the
main body
arriving in
Somalia in
January 1993.
Four Australians
were wounded or
injured during
operations and
on 2 April 1993,
Lance Corporal
Shannon McAliney
was accidentally
killed.
Read
a Q&A with then
Corporal Lance
Johnson
(pictured above)
about his
deployment in
Somalia in 1993
on the
Anzac Centenary
website.
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Advocacy
services
directory
now available
online
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Looking for
someone to help
you with
accessing DVA
benefits and
services? An
online directory
of organisations
that offer
accredited
military
advocacy
services is now
available on
the
Advocacy
Training and
Development
Program
(ATDP)
website.
Military
advocates
provide
assistance and
advice to
current and
former members
of the
Australian
Defence Force
and their
families. Military
compensation
advocates
provide guidance
and assistance
with submitting
claims to DVA
for pensions,
compensation and
rehabilitation.
Military
welfare
advocates
help clients to
access the
entitlements,
benefits and
support
available from
DVA, other
government
agencies and
community-based
service
providers.
The Advocacy
Training and
Development
Program (ATDP)
provides
accreditation
for qualified
military
advocates who
have
professional
skills and
experience that
meet
nationally-recognised
standards.
This
accreditation
provides
assurance that
advocates are
qualified to
provide advice
and assistance
that meets the
specific needs
of veterans and
their families,
no matter where
they live or
when they
served.
The new
directory
provides contact
details for
ex-service
organisations
offering
accredited
advocates. You
can search the
directory by
town, suburb,
state or
postcode to find
the organisation
closest to you.
When you contact
the
organisation, be
sure to ask for
an ‘ATDP
Accredited
Military
Advocate’.
The Directory of
Advocacy
Services is
available on
the ATDP website.
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McCormack
appointed
Minister for
Veterans'
Affairs
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Member for
Riverina the Hon
Michael
McCormack
MP succeeded
Member for
Wannon the Hon
Dan Tehan MP as
Minister for
Veterans’
Affairs on 20
December 2017.
Mr McCormack,
who had served
as Minister for
Small Business
since the 2016
election, said
he was proud to
be taking on the
role among other
new portfolios.
‘It is an
honour to be
appointed
Minister for
Veterans’
Affairs,
Minister for
Defence
Personnel,
Minister
Assisting the
Prime Minister
for the
Centenary of the
ANZAC and Deputy
Leader of the
House,’
Mr McCormack
said.
‘As
someone who has
a passionate
interest in
military
history, I look
forward to
getting on with
the job of
advocating for
Australia's
servicemen and
women, and our
veterans.’
Mr McCormack has
produced a
commemorative
Anzac Day
booklet
for residents of
his electorate
each year since
entering
Parliament in
2011, as a
meaningful
acknowledgment
of the men and
women who have
served our
nation.
The former
newspaper editor
and small
businessman
served as
Assistant
Minister for
Defence in the
lead-up to the
2016 federal
election. He
lives in Wagga
Wagga, NSW,
which is home to
the Army Recruit
Training Centre
at Blamey
Barracks,
Kapooka and RAAF
Base Wagga, as
well as many
retired
servicemen and
women.
Mr Tehan, now
Minister for
Social Services,
paid tribute to
veterans on his
departure from
the portfolio.
‘From
our oldest
living veterans
of World War II
to the current
personnel I met
on operations in
Iraq, I have
been humbled by
them and their
service,’
he said.
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VVCS community
webinar to
focus on peer
support
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The next
Veterans and
Veterans
Families
Counselling
Service (VVCS)
community
webinar, to be
held on
Wednesday 31
January, 7pm–8pm
AEST, is
entitled
Peer Support –
the value of
mates.
It will examine
the
importance for
recovery from
service-related
trauma
of connecting
with those who
have had similar
Australian
Defence Force
(ADF)
experiences .
Townsville-based
VVCS Peer
Advisor Timothy
Loch will join
VVCS National
Advisory Council
Chair Professor
Jane Burns
and post-traumatic
stress
disorder (PTSD)
expert Dr Mark
Creamer on the
panel.
Mr Loch served
in the ADF
between 2004 and
2014 as a combat
engineer, and
completed
deployments to
East Timor and
Afghanistan. He
transitioned out
after being
wounded in an
improvised
explosive blast
in Afghanistan.
The panellists
will share
resources to
allow
participants to
help friends,
family and
colleagues
experiencing
challenging
personal times.
Upcoming VVCS
community
webinars will
examine military
transition,
suicide
prevention,
families, anger
and chronic
pain.
The last webinar
of 2017,
entitled
Exercise and
Wellbeing – a
healthy mind and
body,
remains
available on the
VVCS website
along with
earlier sessions
on military PTSD
and sleep
disturbance. They
also appear on
VVCS’s playslist
on the
DVA YouTube
channel.
Register
and submit
questions for
the
Peer Support
webinar.
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Some DVA
clients
whose
superannuation
payments are
split with
an ex-spouse
may be
affected by
a change in
the way the
Department
calculates
incapacity
payments.
Incapacity
payments are
now reduced
by the
amount of
Commonwealth-funded
superannuation
benefit an
individual
receives in
the hand
rather than
the amount
of
superannuation
the client
received
prior to the
split. Any
of the
superannuation
that is paid
directly to
an ex-spouse
(by way of a
separate
member
benefit) is
not
considered
to be
received by
the client
and is not
held in
calculations
of
incapacity
payments.
Incapacity
payments are
payable
under the
Military
Rehabilitation
and
Compensation
Act 2004
(MRCA)
and the
Safety,
Rehabilitation
and
Compensation
(Defence-related
Claims) Act
1988 (DRCA)
as
compensation
for an
incapacity
for work due
to a
service-related
injury or
disease.
Incapacity
payments are
reduced by
the
Commonwealth-funded
component of
superannuation
clients
receive (if
any). After
a
relationship
breakdown
the amount
of
superannuation
an
individual
receives may
be reduced
as a result
of some of
the
superannuation
benefit
being paid
directly to
an ex-spouse
under
superannuation
splitting
laws.
For
further
information
please call
1800 555 254
or email
generalenquiries@dva.gov.au.
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Vetaffairs
Summer edition
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The Summer
edition of
Vetaffairs
is
online now, featuring
the
By the Left
campaign
which aims to
prevent the
questioning of
women veterans
over the
placement of
their medals;
an
update
on DVA's
trial online
claims
application,
MyService;
a feature
on widows
working to raise
awareness of
issues around
service-related
suicide; and
2018 Young
Queenslander of
the Year Phillip
Thompson on the
Prime Minister’s
Veterans’
Employment
Awards.
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