MILITARY MIGHT: CENSUS SHOWS ONE IN 10 RESIDENTS HAVE SERVED AUSTRALIA

ONE in 10 Townsville residents have served in the military, according to new data from the 2021 Census, giving the city the first clear picture of its Defence make-up.

The release of the data revealed there were 14,200 current and former Australian Defence Force members in Townsville, with 8700 of those veterans and 5500 of them current serving members.

The figures have been released in conjunction with a visit to the city from the new Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh.

This is the first time the Census has collected data on ADF members and veterans.

“This data is more than just something to be proud of for Townsville – it clearly tells us as a government that this is a community where we can invest in even more services and support tailored to the defence and veteran communities,” Mr Keogh said.

Mr Keogh said there were about 85,000 people serving the country now, with about 496,000 who had served with the ADF in the past.

“What we can see is that DVA is only working with less than half of that number,” he said.

“They’re not needing those additional supports through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.”

However, Mr Keogh added that additional resourcing was still required at DVA, with the Labor government promising 500 additional staff to help get through the backlog of claims.

He said the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide had made it clear that it was an important step in addressing the issues that led to suicide among veterans and serving personnel.

“We know that the rate of suicide among veterans is significantly higher than across the general population,” Mr Keogh said.

“There are clearly problems that need to be addressed.”

He said Labor had been supportive of the royal commission being established, and the government was looking forward to seeing the recommendations.

When Labor came into government, the Veterans’ Affairs portfolio was moved into the outer cabinet, sparking concern about how seriously the new government would take veterans’ issues. However, Mr Keogh said it did not matter what desk he sat at, the government was committed to delivering on the promises it made during the election.