Liberal backbencher Andrew Wallace has acknowledged systemic failings across multiple Australian governments in properly recognising the service of veterans, stepping in to alleviate some of the pressure on Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh following recent controversies.
On Wednesday, more than 200 veterans, family members, and carers gathered at Parliament House to demand enhanced recognition for members of Rifle Company Butterworth (RCB), who served during the communist insurgency in Malaysia from 1970 to 1989. The group has campaigned for years to have their service reclassified in a manner that reflects the hazards they faced.
Last week, Keogh announced that the government would reclassify RCB’s service from “peacetime” to “non-warlike.” This decision came three years after an independent Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal recommended the change. However, surviving RCB veterans are seeking a further upgrade to “warlike” status, which would entitle them to expanded benefits, including improved healthcare support.
The push for better recognition follows a series of issues involving the Veterans’ Affairs portfolio. During question time on Tuesday, Keogh apologised to the family of the late veteran Sean McCarthy after they were inadvertently excluded from a memorial event marking the 25th anniversary of Australian service in Afghanistan. The incident prompted opposition calls for Keogh’s resignation, although Wallace defended the minister and highlighted the broader historical neglect of veteran recognition across successive governments, including those led by his own Liberal Party.
“Yes, the government sat on their hands for three years on this report and it wasn’t until (RCB members) went and browbeat Matt Keogh a couple of weeks ago that we got an outcome,” Wallace told the marchers. “But let’s not forget this is failure of multiple governments, including my own, over multiple years, so I’m pleased to see that justice is partially done, but let’s keep pushing.” He also expressed regret that 35 veterans had passed away before receiving this improved acknowledgment.
The RCB veterans’ representatives argue that classifying their service as “non-warlike” is inconsistent with the realities they faced defending an air base during active insurgency. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Graeme Mickelberg and colleagues wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, urging the government to award the Australian Operational Service Medal to RCB members, describing the non-warlike classification as “wholly improbable, contradictory and absurd.”
Mickelberg described a “positive meeting” with Albanese following the march, in which the Prime Minister encouraged the veterans to formally submit their case to Keogh for further consideration. Keogh, who addressed the rally and was reportedly received politely, stated that while the government accepted the tribunal’s recommendations, it acknowledged the decision did not fully meet the veterans’ requests. “But it’s a significant change also, because it is the government saying we recognise you and we see you,” he said.
The ongoing debate highlights continued challenges in how Australia honours the service of veterans from less widely acknowledged campaigns and underscores calls for the government to address these issues comprehensively.